Our final moments in Zambia

     Today was our last day in Namwianga. As we packed up to leave there was a mixture of emotions I was feeling. I was feeling sad because we would not get to see the babies again before we left. I was feeling sad because we were leaving our home for the past 6 weeks. I was feeling excited to see all my friends and family that I have missed dearly. I was also dreading the long journey home. We have all grown to love Zambia, especially Namwianga. We have made some special friends here in Zambia- babies, toddlers, aunties, college friends, our night watchmen, our housekeepers, members of the community, and many more. It was hard saying goodbye to all of the people that we have grown to love. We have all grown to be comfortable with what our lives have been like these past 6 weeks. We have grown comfortable with the lack of showers, with a lack of electricity, and with a wardrobe of t-shirts, skirts, and chacos. We have grown comfortable with our daily routine of meal time and time at the Havens, and spending time with those at the college and with each other. So many of us have hopes of returning. Some plan to return next year as a student, some plan to come back as a supervisor, and some plan to come back to stay forever. I do not want to leave this place thinking that I will never return, because I hope and dream to return to this place that I have grown to love so much.

     I have witnessed many events since I have been here in Namwianga. I have seen babies get sick, some get better, and some fail to survive. I have seen a Zambian wedding celebration. We have seen joy and suffering throughout our stay here and have learned valuable lessons. We have learned that life is short and that even though one life might end there are many other lives that are important and that can benefit from the services that we can provide. As Christians we know that after life we have something more valuable waiting for us and knowing that a child is in a happy place without suffering is a comforting feeling. The little boy who did not make it was named Andrew. He was such a sweet boy that loved to be held and cuddled. He was a special boy that had a place in so many hearts. When I would read him a book he wanted to be the only one sitting with me, and would push others away. I thought this was quite adorable, because all babies deserve some undivided attention. He had a sweet smile, especially when he was tickled. The last time I was with Andrew I was trying to get him to eat some peanuts, because he had not been eating. I pretended to eat the peanuts and said they were yummy. He thought this was funny and laughed at me. He kept trying to make me eat the peanuts and I ate a few. When I tried to feed him the peanuts he looked at me with grumpy eyes, closed my hand, and pushed it away. It was funny and cute all in the same moment. I love remembering these moments. I know that Andrew is not hurting any more and that he is at peace and that makes me happy.

     Our last night in Zambia was in Lusaka. There is a little shopping center right beside the Protea Hotel that we visited. We discovered a cute little coffee shop and a movie theatre. We then found out even better news: the price to see a movie was K14,000, or just under $3.00. As you can imagine we were all pretty excited. A group of us that consisted of Liz, Kara, Tessa, Ben, Naiveen, and myself decided that we must see a movie. We just could not pass up a movie for $3.00. So, we bought popcorn, coke, and chocolate and watched the newest Pirates of the Caribbean. We were so excited that we took plenty of pictures and a video that I’m sure many of you will see in the future. We thought that our last night was a perfect ending to a perfect trip. We all have grown closer as we have experienced this amazing opportunity together. My trip was worth more than money. I hope that those of you that did not get this experience can one day visit Namwianga and the Havens. I have learned a lot about myself on this trip. I have learned as a clinician how to provide language stimulation and therapy with a limited amount of materials. I have also learned to go with the flow, and that if in the middle of feeding or language class someone has to be changed, then that is ok. I have also learned that it is ok to just hold and love on a baby. Some babies need that more than anything else. I have learned so much about feeding and swallowing. I have learned how important “tummy time” is. I have learned and seen first hand babies that have or have not met their developmental milestones and how this can affect feeding. I have seen babies make progress over the past 6 weeks. After holding so many babies I feel more comfortable working with them and have discovered that I might want to work in Pediatrics one day. From this experience I am inspired to travel and learn more about different cultures. I am still sometimes in awe of how people can be so much alike across the world. I am so grateful for my experience and for the faculty that have made this opportunity a part of the Speech Pathology program. I hope to see you all soon and hear about your experiences from your externships! I know will we have some amazing stories to share. 

Lauren

Tears on Tuesday

Last night as many of you may know by now lost one of our very dear children from the Haven. Andrew passed away last night from complications due to HIV and other causes. I worked with Andrew for a short time but in that time I learned what a sweet boy he was. It is saddening and heavy on my heart to have lost a child while we were here and so close to the end of our grand adventure. I feel though that this is a valuable lesson to learn from. Sometimes in life, we may lose someone close to us such as a family member, friend, co-worker, significant other, or even a patient or client we have been treating and caring for. I think what I have taken away from this lesson is that life is not forever and at some point in our careers we will have a patient, child, or client not make it and we have to be prepared for when that time comes. Another lesson I have taken away from this situation is just how blessed we are in America to have the technology, resources and medical care that we have. We are able to go to the emergency room and be seen by a doctor and get help, here in Zambia it is very different. Here they do not always even have the medicine available or electricity for breathing vents to work, and so sometimes there is death that could have possibly been prevented. I am saddened for the auntie’s because they knew Andrew for three years and cared for him and loved him.

Today we attended Andrew’s viewing and funeral. It was so nicely done! There was not a dry eye there. Andrew was in a beautiful wooden casket and he was wrapped in a blanket. He looked so peaceful and when I walked by him, I said a prayer and shed a tear. My wonderful friend Anna walked with me to view him and told him that she loved him, that’s when I began to shed more tears. We then as a group walked over to the grave site. The auntie’s sang and sobbed and whaled, and one of his family members said a few words and thanked everyone for taking care of Andrew and blessed us all who were mourning Andrew. One of the auntie’s named Meagan told Andrew’s story and we found out that Andrew had been a very sick baby, and had been struggling most of his life. I feel that Andrew is in a better place and the best place! They placed the casket in his grave and filled the hole. They said a few prayers and placed flowers, his favorite toy, and tomato puffs on top of the grave! Those were his favorite! What a cultural experience to have been to a funeral. I wished it hadn’t of happened at all but the reality is that it happens and Andrew was happy we were there.

The hardest part of the day comes next, when we all had to say goodbye to the rest of the kids! This was hard for me! I have become super close with Dennis a little boy in Haven 1 and we just had a special bond. I taught him to blow bubbles and blow kisses and say bye!!!! I just love him! I told him goodbye and cried, and hugged each of his auntie’s and thanked them for taking such great care of all the children. This experience has changed me forever! I feel I have learned so much on this adventure, especially the lesson of love for others!!! Love to Andrew and Dennis and all the kids at the Haven and the aunties, my classmates on this trip, my family, to you, and to all!!!!!!

Melancholy Monday

We have returned to a sadder Namwianga than we left. I don’t know if anyone has blogged about little Andrew from Haven 3, but you must know that he is very sick. He started feeling bad the week before last. He wasn’t keeping any foods down. He has been in the hospital since, and reportedly has continued to not eat. His veins keep collapsing when they try to IV him so I was told they were trying drips. There were also talks of a feeding tube, but I am not for sure it was placed or not.  We just got word that his kidneys are failing today and they fear he will not make it through the day. It only gets sadder. We also found out that Hamilton has cataracts and is slowly going blind. He is to have surgery sometime soon I think. And we are leaving in two days. Call me Debbie Downer, but that is the bigger news this side of our world at the moment.

Start praying now for Andrew, Hamilton, and every other child. Also be praying for us as we are preparing me leave for Lusaka on Wednesday and home on Thursday. Pray for the kids as they adjust to not having us as their world as they have the whole time we have been here.

We are enjoying some free time after lunch now. Cari and I got into some delicious cookies in the house while Naiveen handed out chocolate. Now Cari is giving massages. Be jealous!

Tonight is GA Olympics, so excuse me while I get my game face on.

Love to you all. Please be praying.

Anna

Enjoy the beauty and the crazy folks!!

It has been an interesting trip.  Every day has been so much greater than the day before it.  A couple of days ago we went to Victoria Falls.  We had been there before to see the lunar rainbow but this trip was during the day so we could see the beauty of the falls better.  We have so many people that for almost every day trip that we have had to have two groups go because there was not enough room in Khaki Jackie.  I happened to be in the first group that was able to go to the falls.  We entered the falls and stopped at the highest point.  We were all amazed at how beautiful the falls were.  We continued walking a little further.  Finally I rented a rain poncho.  (I had my backpack on because I had things to trade with the venders when we got finished in the falls.)  They had me keep my backpack on and then put the green poncho on over the backpack.   I looked like a turtle.  (There are pictures on someone’s camera to document this and hopefully it will be posted on Facebook when we get home.)  We continued down to the falls.  We walked over the bridge.  I experienced the most phenomenial feeling.    I was walking through a heavy mist of water and was not able to see very far across the bridge so I had no idea how much longer you will be able to walk before you run out of bridge.  It is completely undescribeable to walk over this bridge that is over the fallen water from the Zambezi River.  If you ever have the opportunity to do it you MUST!!!  When I got back to the beginning of the bridge my capris and legs were wet but the turtle poncho worked well.

I then walked out to the shopping stalls.  This is also an interesting experience.  I feel like they realize that they will overwhelm us and they think that it will confuse us so we will spend more money at their stall.  Instead all they do is make us angry.  I laughed when I heard Lauren say “If you talk to me and bother me I will go on to the next stall.  Just don’t talk!  Just shhhhhh!!”  They were quiet for about three seconds before they started to bother her again.  But I skipped a couple of stalls and then there was a guy who said, “Madame, come look here.  I will not pressure you to buy anything.  I will just let you look.”  This happened at six stalls in a row.  I did purchase some things at these stalls and traded all of the things that I brought (2 pairs of shoes, 2 rain ponchos, 2 jumbo packs of batteries, a gallon size Ziploc bag full of free pens, and 2 sheets of rubber hair bands).  Several of the guys working were very upset when they found out that I had nothing else to trade.  They wanted pens and batteries very badly.  So if you come later you need to bring SEVERAL of these!!  But just realize that the shopkeepers are so exhausting that I could only handle shopping for one hour at a time. 

I would like to say Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers in our lives.  We love you and thank you for the wonderful job that you have done.

Much love to all!  See you soon!
Naiveen

The People We Meet

Throughout this trip, I have had the opportunity to meet and interact with many different people from many different places. I have gotten to know my classmates better. I have met other Americans visiting Namwianga. I met a guy from Ethiopia who is about 22 years old on the flight from Washington, DC to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I have met Zambians, young, old, and in between. Because Livingstone is host to Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, as well as a prime location for safaris, it is a vacation spot for people from many different nations. While there, we shared a bus with two Japanese women from Tokyo and two South African couples from Johannesburg. I also met a guy from London, who is around my age, while doing the zip line in Livingstone this morning.

One thing I learned from all of this is that I should probably pay more attention to the political happenings in my own nation. The world’s eyes are on the United States, and everyone was full of questions about American healthcare, finances, education, and Obama in general. What do I think about Obama? Do I think he will be re-elected next year? Do I think Obama’s healthcare proposal will become a reality? Are all American children confident, or are there still self-esteem issues in the States like there are in other places? How has the recession affected life in the U.S.? Is there a huge gap between the rich and the poor now? These are some of the questions I have been asked on multiple occasions by the people I have met along my journey. I try to answer the best I can, but I typically do not feel adequately prepared to answer these questions. I also do not always have enough knowledge to ask about current events in their respective countries. This makes me want to spend more time updating myself on the news.

On the other hand, I also feel that my relative lack of large-scale information frees me to ask more personal questions and learn more about the individual stories of the people I meet; it allows me to appreciate the beauty of the trees instead of only seeing the forest as a whole. There would be no forest without the individual trees that make it up, after all. Just as all Americans are different, and even different parts of the country have unique cultures, other nations are made up of many different groups or tribes, and I enjoy receiving a first-hand snapshot of each culture represented by the people I meet. The thing that always strikes me the most, though, is that we are all more alike than different, despite the vast differences between our customs and cultures.

Ashley

Safari fun

Today we got to go on a safari (both land and river) which was amazing. We saw giraffes, hippos, elephants, crocodiles, codoos, African fish eagles, impalas, monkeys, lizards, lots of birds, and I’m sure I missed some, but some were so close that you could see their eyes. It was pretty awesome. We all have lots of pictures that we will show you when we get back and some maybe put on face book so check it out too.

We got picked up at the hotel and taken to Botswana so we had to get our passports out and stamped to enter in. We then got on a little boat that took us across the river where we got on safari trucks and headed for the lodge. After we got to the lodge, we loaded on a boat to start our water part of the safari. The boat had 2 decks which several of us took advantage of. We got to see elephants, hippos, birds, crocodiles, some kind of huge lizard, and some other land animals. After the water safari, we headed back to the lodge for lunch. They served goat along with chicken and fish for meat and several different side dishes and desert. It was a good lunch and then off we went for the land safari. We entered into the land reserve in 3 different trucks and began our journey. Each truck had a guide that told everyone about the animals we saw. We saw elephants, giraffes, monkeys, impalas, codoos, birds of all sorts, hippos, carcasses of dead animals, and I’m sure I left some out. After the safari we headed back to the hotel and some people separated for dinner and activates for the night.

Thank you for thinking of us and for keeping us in your prayers. Have a blessed day!

a sensory experience

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Today began our Livingstone get-away.  After breakfast, we piled in Kakhi-Jaki and drove an hour-and-a-half to Hotel Protea in Livingston, Zambia.  We dropped our luggage off and walked to Olga’s Italian Restaurant.  I was a little spectacle about an Italian restaurant in Africa but as soon as we walked through the gates, Regan and I looked at each other and just smiled.  I ate the freshest tomatoes on my bruchetta I have ever had and my lasagna came out on a wooden platter.  During our feast, BWeave told us unforgettable hilarious stories about her adventures overseas with Reagan and Ms. Shock.  After, a couple of us strolled back to the hotel with some stops along the way at craft stores.  Most of the crafts were more on the expensive side so we all decided to wait to buy anything until we saw everything in Livingstone. 

At 3:30 we shuttled to have dinner and high tea at The Royal Livingstone.  Round 2 shuttle saw three giraffes and a abnormally large baboon on our way.  Lauren, Charissa, Shanna, Mark, Tyler and I sat at this cozy room seating in the living room.  Huge stunning chandeliers, an antique piano (with a pianist playing amazing music only by memory), a spectacular view of the Zambezi River (you could see the mist from the top of Victoria Falls), dark wooden beams, beautiful bookcases and deserts you could only dream of or see in movies.  I had crème brule, a strawberry boat, a kiwi boat (my favorite), and a raspberry delight.  After we ate, we walked down to the river to watch the sun set.  On our way, we took some great photos with the baboons and the staff hired to keep the baboons away (with a slingshot- every 10 year olds dream job).  All I could think of while I was there was how my fancy, tea-drinking, British grandmother would have been so proud. 

After our fancy surreal day at The Royal Livingstone, we shuttled down to the bottom of Victoria Falls.  Ben, Ashley, Tyler, Mark and I ran across the skinny bridge and got drenched.  At one point, there were no railings and it seemed to be just Victoria Falls and me.  There was something so freeing about running across the bridge, screaming, and getting drenched.  If we were in America, the bridge would have been lit with ugly light poles.  Another moment when I have to remind myself that I have been living in Zambia, Africa. 

Today was a sensory experience.  I tasted desserts from The Royal Livingstone that my mouth has never savored.  I saw a path in front of me lit only by the moonlight.  I smelled a wood-burning oven 2,000 miles from Italy.  I felt my heartbeat over the bridge at Victoria Falls.  I heard a classical piano that took me back to colonial Livingstone.  I’m not sure how tomorrow is going to beat today but I need some sleep to get ready for it.

Day 28

Today is Tuesday. Some would say Tessa Tuesday, to others it is Take That, Malaria Tuesday. For me, it is Tyrannical Toileting Tuesday. The toddlers’ energy nearly doubled as we combined Haven 3 with Haven 2. We continued in increasing the production of vocalizations from the kids, using frequently used vocabulary during the session. Though I always enjoy working with the toddlers, I especially looked forward to spending the last few days with the group who I began this whole experience. It was absolutely exciting to compare the progress accomplished in the last 3 weeks. In the last 3 weeks, I was so surprised and overjoyed to see Kurt voluntarily sing and imitate motions to the songs sung. This was the child who defiantly whined during the entire course of the sessions when we first began. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Caleb placing his little finger over his lip to imitate “shhhh” when he began looking through his Hermie book. Even though it was not relevant to the correct book, it was still association to a generic reference. Altogether, SO REWARDING!

It was rather ironic that the behavior issues were brought up in the questions, because I had the misfortune of placing Dow in time out for hitting the other kids when he did not get his way. The kids here have been overall great to work with, but the language barrier and lack of structure in their schedules do seem to lend to great difficulties. Many of the kids here have been defiant and throw tantrums until someone picks them up, but unfortunately we are not in a place to do much other than place them in time-out at a back table and repeat “no hitting” over and over in an authoritative voice. It’s kind of frustrating to be in this position because a lot of the behavioral issues are cultural and could not be avoided because they don’t know any different. The tears are a main way to receive immediate attention from the aunties, which has subsequently corrupted the kids for us :-/

That's about all for now! Packing and hours of adrenaline-filled sleep lie ahead for me now. Livingstone,  ready or not, here we come!!

~Cari 

Malaria Monday!

Day 28 

Today was another great day in Africa. I am now in Dr. Tullos’s group for the first time. Our schedule consists of a language group in the morning with the Toddlers at Haven 3. Then we switch to Haven 1 and work with 6-9 ish month old babies; also language. During the afternoon we work with special needs children which include Crites, Jonathon, and Rita.

The language session this morning went really well at Haven 3. Last week we had some difficulty with behavior in the groups and it was hard to keep the group on task and focused. This morning however went very well. I worked with Lee. Lee is usually a very quiet child during therapy time and he was this morning, however he is always well behaved which is always appreciated. It was encouraging to see many of the children that usually cause problems perform well during the session.

Our next session took place in Haven 1 with younger babies. The session always starts with some tummy time, and language enrichment. It’s very low in structure and a lot of one on one time, which is my favorite. During this time we got to work outside for a little while so the film guys could get some outdoor shots in. During this filming I lost the fun baby I was working with, Peace, and received another baby, Ruben, who later on during the session peed on me. It was a great trade. The last part of our language session in Haven 1 usually consists of lots of singing and reading books to the babies. Today we managed to put 3 out of the 5 babies we were working with asleep during this time! Tomorrow I have a chance to lead and I hope to beat that record… we will see.

During the afternoon I had the privilege to work with Jonathan. Jonathan has mild cp, and autism. I really enjoyed working with Jonathan. He is quite a handful and loves to squirm around, but he is such a happy child. He did not cry or show discomfort, he only smiled and clapped. Today we did some turn taking activities, and we did various activities focusing on “in and out” and “up and down” then we practiced some Tonga words like run, stop, sit, stand, and jump. Jonathan loved running and stopping and falling to the ground and so did I.

After working with Jonathan I walked him back to Eric’s house where he stays and I came back to work with Sydney (my favorite). Today me and Sydney were privileged enough to get some film time. Sydney did her classic “deer in the head lights” look when the camera came out, but eventually we got some looks. Today was very exciting. Sydney needs to learn to walk and usually when I try to practice with her she stands for about 5 seconds and the fusses and stops standing, but today for the cameras she took many steps forward while holding my hands which is more than I have ever seen her do, even with the Aunties. So that was a very fun and exciting event this afternoon.

After therapy time was over we headed back to the Hamby house for dinner. The power had been out all day so we ate sandwiches. Later in the evening we had a group care and share time where we talked about a lot of our experiences here. Over all it was a great discussion. After that time was over we watched a movie out on the porch. Webster and Justin (the night watchmen)  wanted to sit next to me so they said that I must sit in the middle of them both. They are funny guys. I have really enjoyed getting to know them. They are not looking forward to me leaving, and I agree with them.

Thank you for all your prayers.

Ben

Super Sunday!

Shhh. Do not tell Harding, but today I danced in public. But I will return to that thought later.

Today was one of the best days I have experienced in Zambia as of yet. For our Sunday morning service we attended Ba Leonard’s church out in his village called the Kasibi Church of Christ. The adventure began as soon as we piled into our different vehicles and started down the road. It began as the normal dirt road we always journey on but it quickly became a dirt road that did not look like a road at all. We were all moving around and falling on top of each other as we continued down our road for about 30 minutes. I have to say, I was slightly carsick whenever we ended the journey. The village is honestly not significantly far away but not one of those people own a car. It would take a few hours to walk to any sort of help whenever someone was sick. This blows my mind. The best part of the entire time was how joyful all of the people in the village were through everything we did. The church service was at an outdoor pavilion that was added on to the little buildings so everyone could fit. The service was done in both Tonga and English with translators; it was such a wonderful experience. Dr. Hopper and Mr. Ragsdale, two of the teachers who joined us last week, were asked to give some thoughts and then Dr. Tullos did the Lord’s Supper. Afterwards we were able to hear a quartet sing some songs in Tonga; they were absolutely hilarious. I wish I would have known everything they were saying the entire time because all of the Zambian people were laughing. We were then asked to sing a few songs so we sang “I love you with the love of the Lord” and then the two Tonga songs Webster has taught us. I am so glad we learned those two songs in Tonga because we could tell that the people really appreciated us singing songs in their native language. After us singing we then shook everyone in the church’s hand in a line. All of us have learned the Zambian handshake so we were able to practice our new learned skill. Then we headed to the village for lunch and the other festivities.

My life was made today. I was able to dance with Zambian children. Our amazing lunch made by Leonard consisted of traditional food including shema, relish, and a secret sauce. Then the dancing began thanks to the wonderful people that played instruments. These instruments were so legit, made of wood and animal skin. I believe there were a banjo, bass, guitar, drum, and cymbals. As soon as the music started, the children were out to dance and I of course joined them. I was not the first, Dr. Weaver and Dr. Hopper began the party but I quickly joined. They are the most legit dancers I have ever seen in my life. The little 3 year olds put me to shame, hard to imagine, I know. I have never seen people’s hips and legs move quite like that; I wish with all my heart I could move like that. After dancing the entire time music was playing, I finally persuaded, with the help of Dr. Weaver, Ian Tullos and Ben to join the party. I seriously could have stayed there forever. I loved everything about that village; they were all so joyful. Sadly, the adventure in Kasibi had to end and we headed back to the house. Yet again it was an adventure riding back to Namwianga.

In the afternoon I headed to the Havens to work on my capstone project. Did that happen, no? Instead I played outside with the beautiful children from Haven 3, aka the sick house. I absolutely love all of those children and if I could, I would bring them home in a heartbeat. Someone might need to check my suitcase to make sure I do not have Bennett or Sydney in there. We talked inside for a while and then took them outside to play since that does not happen very often. I took Bennett and we went to swing on the swing set. He is the smartest child I have ever seen in my life; he mimics everything said to him, including songs, phrases, and facial expression. Sadly, I had to leave the Haven after two hours to head for dinner. Good news, dinner was awesome because we had pancakes and bacon. Wooo.

We went to church that evening and there ended up being 3 people baptized tonight. So everyone headed to our backyard for the baptism. The power went out on our walk over so it was an in the dark baptism. Good news, the moon is super bright right now, so we could see everything. After they were baptized, singing and rejoicing happened. Now I am sitting plotting ways to be super awkward towards the camera guys that arrived a few days ago. No worries I have already succeeded on multiple occasions. I am not worried though because secret sources have told me they think I’m funny; that means game one. In this moment, I have Mark as my desktop background. It can only get better; I just hope they join in on this fun and try to make me feel awkward too. Bring it on boys; I am ready.

Oh also, I am staying here with Ashley. See ya.

Also in response to Amy’s question. Jonathan is the boy that has mild Cerebral Palsy and Autism and maybe some Mental Retardation. My guess is all of that factor into the fact that he just recently began walking.

Meagan, I am also awful at singing random songs to random tunes. Shanna is amazing at it. Maybe one day I will be able to do it as well. I can only wish.

Saturday...

Hello to you all! I can not believe it has been 11 days since the last time that I posted. It is going by so fast. I love the kids at the Havens and am so glad to see slight improvements every day. I did language enrichment activities last week with Tessa, Ben, & Jill. The kids were CRAZY! They are renovating Haven 2 so the girls are in Haven 3 and the boys are at Eric’s House. We went and picked up the boys every morning for therapy and then took them back afterwards. I walked with Jonathan every day and I found out that he is 5 years old and wasn’t walking in January. I am so proud of how well he walks for how long he has been walking.

I also found out that Ian s the baby whisper. He can get crying kids and kids throwing a fit to calm down and start to laugh.

Jenna & Meagan you may like this next one & Abby it is dedicated to you! The other day during individual therapy, I was working with 2 girls named Dorcus and Peace who were sitting at the table and a little boy named Wesley was sitting in my lap. Peace was giggling and eventually tired out and Dorcus and Wesley were being whiney, so I was trying to entertain them. Dr. Weaver and some other people were across the room talking about sports and Arkansas was mentioned and at this point I was tapped out of songs so I sang the first song that came to my mind, “Hit that line, hit that line, keep it going, take the ball right down the field, give a cheer, rah! rah!, Arkansas will never yield…” and they stopped whining. I finished the song, and they begin to whine again and so I sang it again and again until it was pointed out that I was singing the Arkansas Fight Song to kids J

Today, some of us went to the Havens and some went to Choma. I went to the Havens to play with the kids and held Andrew who hasn’t been feeling well for a couple of days for a couple of hours. He is super sweet. Ashley got to try kampeta today and she even ate the eye balls (dry fish). She has much more bravery than I do. She then got to share sweets with another kid to get the taste out of her mouth. Apparently it doesn’t taste very good.

Much love,
Shanna

The Ultimate Trade

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others." Audrey Hepburn

We came to Africa expecting to bless those less fortunate than we were. We came expecting to give love to everyone we met. We came to demonstrate happiness and contentment to a third world country in need of both. And we came believing that we were the blessing.

So we traded our perfume and cologne for some bug spray, our heels and nice shoes for some Chacos, our stylish clothes for some oh-so-classy, shin-hitting skirts and scrubs, our wall decorations for some wall spiders, our extra blankets for some mosquito netting, and our daily vitamins for some anti-malaria medication.

And in the process, we have learned some valuable lessons. Mosquitoes bite. Ants bite harder. Black mambas exist. Cobras are fast. Pepto-Bismol is effective. MiraLAX is powerful. Sunscreen is important. Bug spray might be more. Doxycycline and Mefloquine are our friends, as is Imodium.

When spoken to in Tonga and you don’t know what to say, go with “Kapatu.” When proposed to say, “I have other plans.” When approached by a cobra, run. And when bitten by a mamba, enjoy your last 20 minutes.

But our journey has taught us invaluable lessons that we didn’t expect. In reality we’ve ended up trading our pride for some humility, our luxury for some discomfort, our plans for some uncertainty, and our put-together lives for some broken hearts

We came to be kind only to learn the meaning of true kindness. We came looking for the good only to find the best. We came to share with those in need only to receive, realizing our internal, invisible need. We have all at some point had our hair styled by the skilled hands of these children. We have never had to walk the path to the Haven alone. And in our efforts to restore, renew, revive, reclaim, and redeem, we are the ones who have received the blessing.

Our journey has caused us to question if we truly are the fortunate. We have learned the activity of real love as opposed to the emotion. We have witnessed actual happiness and contentment instead of the façade. And we have learned that we were the ones in need.

Charissa

5 days of therapy left in Zambia :(

     Today has been such a wonderful day..but not only today has been a wonderful day, but this whole experience! We really wish all of you girls could have joined us. The people here are so friendly, from the babies, to the college aged people, to the aunties and everyone else. The people here are just naturally joyful, and are always fun to be around. The singing is always wonderful to listen to during regular church service and children's church. We have also learned 2 songs in tongan from our friend the night watchman, Webster. We might even have to sing the songs we learned in church, but maybe Webster will forget and will not ask us to (fingers crossed). 

     I have been in the “feeding class” this week with Anna, Liz, and Cari. Our typical day begins in Haven 3 and ends in Haven 1. I got to spend time with Sibajene and Mary in Haven 3 and Shannon in Haven 1, which happen to be some of my favorite babies! As some of you probably already know we have been working on orally desensitizing the babies with nuk brushes and z-vibes and have been doing various stretches to strengthen their little facial muscles so they can eat better. Other babies that do not need as much oral stimulation and/or facial exercises we focus more on tummy time, trunk support, bearing weight, crawling, and pulling up. Sibajene has been able to lift his head/shoulders during tummy time and roll over, and Mary has been able to “scoot” forward and backward- no crawling just yet. Shannon tolerated all of the stretches and enjoyed the z-vibe and other vibrating toys. It is always a joy to work with the little ones because they are always so cute and funny! It is always great to see them achieving certain developmental milestones while we are here working with them! I wish you all could experience this with us.

     We ended therapy early today so that we could celebrate Ian’s birthday at Jordan’s rock! Jordan’s rock is a place that Zambians have come for centuries to celebrate different events. It is this huge rock out in the middle of the African bush, which was quite a bumpy ride away from our house. This week we have had certain visitors, such as Reagan and Ashley, Dr. and Mrs. Hopper, Dr. and Mrs. Ragsdale, Ms. Ellie Hamby, and the 2 videographers. So we currently have a pretty large group here! We had a fire on the rock and roasted hotdogs and made s’mores while the sunset! It was such a fun night! We only have 5 days of therapy left. Time here as really flown by. I’m sad to leave but I am excited to see all of your beautiful faces in a few weeks! Thank you so much for reading our blogs and commenting (even though its required ha)! I hope all of you are enjoying your offsites! I cant wait to hear about it when we get back!

Lauren

Potty time and fun in Africa!!!!!

This trip has definitely been a huge eye opening experience for me thus far! I really have enjoyed being here in Africa! Lets just say that I am thankful for the many blessings that we have in America. One of the many pleasures I get to do every morning is wake up and take a freezing cold shower. Its so cold that my scalp starts to hurt after awhile!!! I am thankful for my shower at home! Then I have a little time to read and just watch the sun come up! The colors are amazing! Red, orange, pink and yellow and blue all in the sky! This week I am in the language stimulation group working at the Haven’s and it really is a lot of fun. We dance, sing songs, play and talk with the children!

From Anna’s blog post I see there have been some questions regarding the crazy man that hangs out at the Haven. Honestly, in my own opinion I think that he has been hanging around the Haven so long, I do not believe that he is a threat to any of the babies or the staff. The Auntie’s do not seem to mind him and pretty much ignore him. It seems as though the Haven gets many visitors through out the day from family members of the children to doctors to people volunteering to help out. It seems as though anyone is welcome! Most of the people that are around are from the Namwianga mission and people know who they are. I feel sad for the crazy man because no one can understand him, and most people just ignore him.

One of the cultural things that I believe is worth mentioning is their potty training technique. There is none!!!! Most of the kids who are of toddler age are running around with no diapers on and just pee right through their clothes. In America, we stress having our children potty trained by the time they are at least three, have pamphlets on getting rid of diapers, and books and books on techniques to potty train. It is so interesting to me that it is not a huge priority here! There have been many of us in the group that have been inducted into the pee club for those of us who have been peed on!!! I believe almost all of us have been peed on once on this trip. So to sort of get rid of the pee problem during our therapy sessions we take a potty break where we bring the children to the potty to try and go so that there may not be any accidents!!! It has sort of worked so far. I think a reason that they are not so focused on potty training like we are is because the Auntie’s have so much going on all through the day. The Haven’s really have no set schedule except for meal times, and if the children are fed, the Auntie’s have to do laundry, give baths, pretty much run a household for all these children. I had to think about that the other day that the Haven’s are these children’s home. They live there day in and day out! The Auntie’s are saints and are amazing at what they do! I am glad we are here to help them out!!! I feel blessed to have had the great childhood that I grew up in. We should all be so thankful for the families we have and the people who helped raise us!!!! I think it would be helpful to have a schedule at the Haven but with so many different ages and levels that the babies are at it would be somewhat impossible. The toddlers at Haven 2 would be better to have a schedule than the other Haven’s because they are all toddlers!!!  Love to all,
Jill

Take that, Malaria! Tuesday

It’s Tuesday, so I took my weekly dose of anti-malaria medicine. Hooray! I hope you all are well J we miss you guys!

 So, you have probably heard about all of the different kinds of therapies and interactions we are experiencing here. I have done language therapy under Kara and Dr. Tullos so far. I am now doing feeding and language with B Weave, Liz, Lauren, and Cari.

Today B Weave went to pick up her daughter and several others coming to hang with us until we leave, so we were on our own for feeding group. This afternoon we had an interesting encounter of sorts with an individual I like to call “preacher man”…

Before I go on, let me give you a little background info:

This individual deemed “preacher man” is an older gentleman who reportedly had a stroke and now exhibits a fluent aphasia as well as probable cognitive issues. It has been reported that he used to be very active in the church here, but has since been “kicked out” because of his behavior. It has been said that he used to be a preacher, but I am not sure about that. Anyhow, so today was not our first encounter with preacher man. We have seen and heard him numerous times around the Havens—mostly outside. He is usually in khakis, a button down shirt, and a ragged-looking jacket. He wears a red had on his head and carries with him an umbrella and the skeleton of an iron. He is often talking into what appears to be a broken radio of some kind. He is “preaching”, so we are told. Preacher man has also been noted to gesture to the air or to you if eye contact is made. One day while on the playground with the toddlers, preacher man approached Dr. Tullos, pulled out a disposable razor, gestured toward Dr. Tullos, and then imitated shaving. At first I thought preacher man wanted help shaving, but Dr. Tullos informed me later that preacher man was offering it to him. I am sure that some of you are wondering where he might live or why he is just roaming around outside and in—yes, inside—the Havens, but a lot of us are wondering those very things as well. It is very telling of the way of life here to see him out on the streets—if you will—and not in a home or among a family to take care of him. Having worked at a Rehab Hospital and encountered patients with odd behaviors and communicative issues post-stroke, it is hard for me to wrap my mind around preacher man’s obvious lack of care. Like many things we have encountered here, it is just another reminder of the reality of being in a third-world country.

So this afternoon, Liz, Cari, Lauren, and I were in a room in Haven 1 doing feeding class by ourselves when preacher man came to the door of our room and stood there. Cari sort of noticed him, but kept doing her thing. The next thing she knew preacher man was leaning down and talking to her. He gave her somewhat of a fright, and we all sort of laughed it off and kept on with our class. Preacher man left and came back several times during class. He stood at the door speaking and gesturing as we worked with the babies. At one point he saw us laughing or smiling and he started laughing and we just all laughed together. Truth be told, we were very nervous about him just wandering around the Haven and watching us work. Not only is there an obvious cog/comm impairment, but there is also the whole language barrier issue—we don’t know if he understands English or not. Since he was in the doorway, we weren’t sure how we would get past him if he was still there when it was time to go. He ended up walking off before we left, so we didn’t worry about it. So that was that.

I thought that this would be something new and interesting to share aside from talking about the beautiful and fun kiddos we are working with every day. I am in love with them all—okay and I have my favorites I will brag on later J

Let me just say that I am so glad I am here and I have learned so much about myself and the world and our Lord since the trip began. Let us all count our abundant blessings and be Jesus to the world we find ourselves in today and always.

Much love,

Anna

Language Barriers and Other Things...

This is actually Sunday's blog, just a day late.

This weekend, a new baby named Ellen came to the Haven. We have Saturday and Sunday off, but I like to spend my weekends there anyway, so I got to meet her on Saturday. She is a month and a half old and very undernourished. The first time I saw her, she had an IV port in the side of her head because she had diarrhea and was vomiting all her food, so she was dehydrated and needed fluids via IV. She is eating well at night, but during the day she is uninterested in eating, and leaks or spits up everything she does eat. She also tends to fall asleep during feeding time. She is not doing well. We hope something can be done to save her, but she needs lots of prayers.

For my research project, I’m doing a phonetic inventory (looking at what speech sounds they can make) on children between the ages of 18 and 30 months old. In order to do so, I’m using a small recording device called a LENA. It goes in the pocket of a special vest, right at the child’s chest. Once you complete the recording, you plug it into the computer and a program will interpret the data to tell you the number of child vocalizations, conversational turns, and adult words, as well as the audio environment (meaningful speech, distant speech, TV, noise, and silence). You can listen to the recording and view the data by days, hours, or five-minute intervals. All you have to do is press record on the LENA, put it in the vest, put the vest on the child, and take it back when you’re done. That sounds simple enough.

The first day I put a LENA on a child, I returned after lunch to find the child wearing a different outfit and the LENA was nowhere in sight. When I asked the auntie in the room about the vest I put on Bennett, it took three times to get her to understand what I was saying because her English is not great. She handed me the recording device, but said the vest was in the washing machine. I still haven’t found it, so I will have to go through the closets in Haven 3 soon. Luckily we have four vests. The next day, the LENA stayed on the child all day. On the third day, I forgot to take the LENA off the child before bath time, and it turned up missing again once the child returned from his bath. Luckily, I was there, so I could ask the auntie where it was and I found it in the dirty clothes pile in the bathroom before it ended up in the wash again. The language barrier has definitely made this project much more difficult than I had anticipated.

I hope all is going well in the States. I'm not coming home this time. Love, Ashley

The beginning of a new work week...

Today was the beginning of week 3 of work at the Haven. I have worked in B. Weave’s feeding group, Kara’s toddler group and this week I am working with Dr. Tullos’s toddler and special needs group. Each group has it’s own advantages and has been very exciting. During the first few days we all did diagnostics and determined who would be in which group. The first week I was a part of the feeding class. We used different things to stimulate the babies into eating better. We sang songs, did stretches on each of the babies and just loved on them. The second week I was part of Kara’s group, which is for the older toddlers. These children enjoy running around and making you chase them! We sang more songs, read to them, and still loved on them. This week I am working with the younger toddlers and a child with cerebral palsy, Rita. During the morning we work with Kara’s group in Haven 2 and then have the younger toddlers in Haven 1. Today all the children were cranky because they had a big change this weekend--Haven 2 needs an estimated $10,000 worth of maintanence done and they had to move the children out of the house. The boys went to Eric’s house and the girls moved into Haven 3. Our groups may have started a little late today but it was because we had to chase down the kids in the different houses! After lunch our group had special group one-on-one time. Charissa had Kritz, Ashley had Jonathan, and I had Rita. Dr. Tullos stated that the last couple of weeks they have been trying to elicit any verbalization from her but they have not had any luck. I brought three toys, four books, and the knowledge of some kids songs because I knew that I was going to be bombarding her with language. During one of the books that I read, she maintained focus on the book the entire time, which Dr. Tullos said that she had not been maintaining for long periods before. So at the end of the session I read this book again and she maintained focus on it for the entire book again! It was a pretty good day.

Tonight has been a very relaxed night for all of us. We did not leave to go to the soccer football field tonight, nor did we go to the neighbor who sews for all of us, Mrs. Moono. We all stayed in the girl’s house (the Mann house) and played games. It is the last night of just this group. Tomorrow new people come, including the guys that will be making a documentary and Dr. Weaver’s daughter, Reagan, an OT. We are excited to have new people but will miss the Pharmacy group when they leave on Wednesday. We also realize that our time is winding down and in less than three weeks we will be home.

Much love to everyone,
Naiveen

a shopping extravaganza

After breakfast, BWeave and Dr. Tullos shuttled us into Kalomo for a shopping extravaganza.  Most of us were all on the prowl for chitangees and chocolate while Ben and Tessa searched for soccer cleats.  Ben was able to bargain his soccer cleats down from 200K to 65K (roughly $13).  We finally found some masculine chitangees at one of the “tents” Dr. Tullos brought us to.  When I say “tent”, I mean thousands of sticks put together to form hundreds of tents, with trash on top for shade.  The markets are what I like to call, the real Africa.  Namwianga is not luxury to most Americans but if you asked the average Zambian, I believe they would say that we are living quite nice over here. 

It’s always an interesting experience when we, makuwa, go to the market.  Makuwa is what many Zambians call “white person”.  As soon as the first “tent” spots a makuwa, they pass it on.  Before you even step foot into the market, everyone already knows you are there.  As you can imagine, the prices suddenly go up but some of us were able to bargain.

Last weekend when we went to Choma, I witnessed one of the saddest things I believe I have ever seen. Outside of the grocery store, Spar, there were probably at least 10 different children (one looked about four years old) digging through trashcans.  Their clothes were torn and all but one were not wearing shoes.  As soon as they saw Lauren and I walk out of the grocery store, they started pointing to their mouth for food.  Lauren had bought two bags of chips and when she put her hand inside the grocery bag, two of the young boys ran over and began to beg.  Without hesitation, Lauren handed them the bags.  The boys began to fight over them so Lauren gestured to them that they had to share.  I will never forget those smiles. Of course, I have heard about the poverty in a third-world country but nothing can prepare you for the markets.  Someone in our group described the markets as a “war zone.”  If you think the poverty in America is even some-what relatable to the poverty in Africa, you are seriously mistaken. 

On a happier note, we have seen a substantial amount of progress with the little ones we are working with at The Haven!  Many have began to crawl, turn over, walk, and talk.  Jonathan, the toddler who has cognitive impairments and is possibly on the spectrum, pointed to his nose on command last week.  That day was my favorite day since we have been here, I was so proud of him.  Leo is crawling, Victoria is sitting up on her own, Mary smiled, Maureen said “auntie”, Nathan is socializing… it has been a great week! 

Lastly, we miss all of you girls so much!  I hope your summers have been great so far and maybe even a little bit relaxing.  Good luck with offsite and I can’t wait to hear about ALL of them!  See y’all in a month.

<3, liz

P.S

The post from Friday is courtesy of moi, Cari. Enjoy!

Free Hugs-, Four Wheeling, Free Stylin’ Friday

Here we are. Finally Friday! The day has finally begun to display signs of the coming winter. It was a frigid 84 degrees, with the gusts approximately 10-15 miles per hour. Despite the unfortunate weather, our spirits were lifted as we ventured onward through the tall grass, around the cow patties, and weaving over and across the dirt roads to the haven. The excitement of the unknown bolsters our enthusiasm and we cannot help but smile as we are greeted by dozens of toddlers playing on the swing set under the careful supervision of the aunties.

I was in the language enrichment group for the morning portion, during which I saw significant improvement of not only vocalizations, but also non-verbal expressive language through gesturing and facial emotions. This was a HUGE improvement, even in comparison to last week, when Kurt specifically sat on the ground and screamed for reasons unknown. Today, however, he was able to detach from the aunties without tears, engaged in the lessons, and even initiated contact with us in order to fulfill a request. He was all smiles and thoroughly stole my heart, as if he hadn’t already with his cuddly nature!

In the afternoon, I worked one-on-one with Kritz, the most precious little boy you’ve ever seen. He’s decked out with dark dark skin that shines after being smothered in Vaseline to prevent dry skin, and the curliest eyelashes framing his dark brown eyes. If you can’t tell, I’m kind of a fan J  Anyways, I have spent the last week attempting to elicit any sort of vocalization, spontaneous or voluntary, and increase his expressive language skills. The sessions typically consist of singing traditional VBS songs, reading a book or two, then physically demonstrating “up” and “down” through me picking him up and placing him down, or raising an object above his head and then lowering it. All the while, he is being bombarded with the target words to establish the concept. Today we finally had a substantial break-through in which he not only imitated the words “zebra”, “lion”, and “roar”, but he voluntarily vocalized a crude interpretation of “up” while raising his arms! Likewise, I spent the first portion of our session blowing air on his face to evaluate his oral-facial abilities, and to evoke some type of response from him. After introducing him to the zebra, I let him play with it individually for a while to see what his vocalizations would be, and to gauge his interactions with the toy. To my delight, I caught him puffing up his cheeks and blowing on the zebra, just as I had done to him! Yeah, I’m a sucker for the silent types!

Reagan: PLEASE BRING REINFORCEMENTS! The puffs are not only adorable to observe as they are devoured by the children, but they are obviously preferred by the residents and aunties alike.

Amy: The children are also fed local snacks such as Eet Some More cookies (think vanilla wafers) and Tee Time cookies (another snack, though I am not sure as to the consistency).

Shayna: For a vague description of the foods available to the children, refer to the above description. The baby babies typically consume pre-made formulas from a bottle, but once the children are promoted to Haven 2, they are then introduced to the local delicacy of nshima. The majority of the children simply receive a bowl of a solid block of nshima with some sort of chicken- or meat-like broth, with a spoon to cut up their food. A few of the children have demonstrated some motoric difficulties, so their food has been cut up into smaller pieces for their benefit. The same thing is served in Haven 3 to the older children. Occasionally, the nshema is replaced with rice, served in the same manner. It truly is one of the neatest things to be able to see kids who were unable to hold a spoon, much less contain the food in their own mouths, display beginning skills of swallowing and feeding properly!

Jenna: I wish I could be of more assistance, but I will not begin working with the feeding group until next week, so I will defer your question to Ben and the others who have had first-hand experience with the feeders.

Meagan: I think I mostly answered your question through the response to Shayna’s question. Let me know if you need or want more info.

   

Thumbs Up Thursday

Today is Thumbs Up Thursday. Thumbs Up Thursday consists of having thumbs up during pictures and trying to get the babies at the Havens to also participate.

Today was another great day in Zambia. Our feeding sessions in the morning went well and today we had many of our babies roll over and sit without assistance. Today in feeding class Leo crawled across the floor for the first time. It was rewarding to see this important mile stone first hand.

After our morning therapy was over we had lunch. Lunch on Thursdays is always our African meal of the week. The traditional/ popular meal here in Zambia is Shema. Shema is made of ground corn, root, and milk. It forms a solid white mixture that is very tasteless and squishy. The best part of eating shema is the awesome dressing that you can put on top. Unfortunately for the back of the line, we ran out of this tasty dressing, so we ate plain, tasteless shema. It was still a good experience. Chicken, rice, rolls and cabbage are also served during this traditional meal. This is usually one of my favorite meals throughout the week because it is such a unique experience and it really doesn’t taste that bad.

After lunch we head back to the Heavens to finish up our last two sessions of the day. Today feeding class in Haven 1 went well. When we arrived, most of our class was very hungry so we fed them formula and then moved on to our different stretches, and vibrating tools to stimulate their facial muscles.

Once the afternoon session are over we head back and have dinner together. After dinner part of the group usually goes out to the soccer field to interact with the students here either playing soccer or Frisbee. This time is always fun as we make relationships and share our lives with each other. Another fun relationship we have made here is with Webster. Webster is a nightwatchmen who guards the houses next to our who likes to come over and teach Tonga songs and words. He has been so much fun to meet and work with. Last night he was giving us all speech therapy lessons as we tried to pronounce a ng sound.

Being here has been great. I have very much enjoyed working with the children here as well as making relationships with the Zambians here on campus. Thank you all for all your thoughts and prayers. I hope you all are enjoying your summer experiences as well.

Thank you

Ben

Questions and Answers

Dear Abby,

The Aunties do not participate in our classes but they know that they are always invited to watch or participate and learn. The Aunties usually only provide general care for the babies. Since there are so many it is not possible for them to interact with the babies on a deeper level unfortunately.

Dear Megan,

Working with the swallowing group is usually pretty relaxed. When we are working with them they are generally relaxed because most seem to enjoy the stimulation and stretches. This however has not always been true, at the beginning of therapy they were tactfully defensive. There is only one instance of chaos during feeding class on Wednesday. Afternoon feeding class was a little rough. We were in a room packed with crying babies and Dr. Weaver had to leave early for a meeting. So Shanna and I were doing C stretches with a baby on the floor while holding another one trying to calm them down. By the end of the session we were handing out our vibrating toys trying to appease the children.

Dear Jenna,

Here in Zambia we have very limited resources. The only food we have for feeding is formula. However, next week we might be feeding some of the babies rice during our sessions. 

Dear Molly, 

We have not changed in length, or become lost since arriving here in Zambia.

Thanks for your concern.

Ben