I am sitting in the clinic. So far we have seen 130 official patients and 60 unofficial. That means mom comes in with her sick baby but while seeing the doctor she mentions that she suffers from “a terrible cough and a pain in my back.” The women all cook over an open fire and inhale too much smoke. A teenage boy came in because he had a large oozing abrasion on his cheek. He fell yesterday while working. But while here he lifted his shirt to reveal scabies all over his body. In order to cure him, we must treat the entire family.
In addition to the clinic we have educated 250 families and supplied them with home health kits. The children bounce up and down peeking in the windows and hoping that we might gift them with a pencil. I think of home where we have pencils and pens in drawers and wonder why the worlds goods are distributed so unjustly.
Meanwhile, back at the farm, Mary, Lance and Ken build tables and paint walls to expand the capacity of the CEPANA training center which empowers village leaders to teach the poor to advocate for themselves and build a better life for their families. This morning, Norman, the director of the CEPANA farm, took an hour of his precious time to escort us on a nature walk through the countryside paths. We saw a flock of wild parrots, a sloth in a tree, a farmer milking his cow. But Norman was distracted because last night his mother was robbed. A single woman, she runs a coffee farm and the bandits stole her cow and her coffee processor (to separate the bean from the hull). Not only does the coffee processor provide her with her livelihood but it had sentimental value as it belonged to her father.
Before our walk we assisted Damaris grinding corn into masa and patting out tortillas for breakfast. Now we know why the tortillas taste better here! I must sign off now so that I can assist Stephanie in packing up the pharmacy into suitcases. We are excited because tonight will be the first night Stephanie isn’t going to makes us work til 10 p.m. packing home health kits. Since that task is complete, we have the evening free to celebrate Clayton’s birthday! Hmm, maybe we should have rice and beans!
-Carla
