the clinic

So on a first note, I thought I was going to have some great information to report. We have been out of water for almost 3 days and then it came back today enough for 4 people to take showers and then it left us again. So we are now basically 3.5 days without water. We can buy bottled water but no hand washing and toilet flushing or showers or anything like that. You can take a bucket of dirty water and pour it down the toilet and it will flush so that is at least good, and also at least everyone smells bad. But hopefully the water will come back soon. The problem with the water is that the city is expanding but the supply is not. What is weird though is that car washing is a major business here and they always seem to have water yet residents do not.

I was at the clinic today and words cannot explain the amount of culture shock and I cannot emphasize enough how much we really have and how great our lives really are. The clinic is the main place for women and children to be seen. It is divided up into 5 different sections. There is the HIV counseling sections, antenatal section, mother and baby section, child medication/injection section, and maternity ward. Although I semi described earlier the maternity section words cannot really tell you much. I am hoping that I will be able to bring my camera to take pictures and truly show. Women have to bring their own cotton, which is used to absorb anything and their own sutures in case they need to be fixed. There is no numbing medicine used. There are no checks for bleeding after the placenta is delivered, there is nothing. You deliver the baby, the baby is placed on a table with a light bulb over it and wrapped in clothes the mother brings. There are no checks on the baby besides the weight. I assisted in two deliveries today both of which were 3 kg, or 6.8 lbs. The baby is then left alone on the table while the placenta is pulled out. The mom is the wiped with cotton, wraps herself up and then has to get up and walk back to the main room where she is allowed to lay on the bed with the baby for 1-2 hours. While the delivery is occurring the mom has no privacy. She is taken from the main room into the delivery room were up to two women can deliver at a time, only an arms length away with no curtain. The women are laid on the table with no clothes, not anything, and sometimes the door is left open. There is no family there until after about 1 hour after the delivery one or two people may come by, other than that they are alone. To deal with the pain since there is no anesthesia most women grab on to tables, slap their thighs or butts, grab at their hair or anything to hold on to. The nurse delivers the baby and sutures the mother as well. There is no doctor in the clinic building although there is one next door. The nurse feels the baby and decides the positions, and listens to the heart through an instrument that is metal and looks like a cone with one sold flat piece and the other side hollow. You place the hollow side on the stomach and then press down with your ear on the sold side and listen. To be honest I do not think many American women would survive birth over here. Since around 1 in 10 people are HIV infected there are tons of signs on the wall with what medications to give and what to do when delivering an HIV positive mothers baby.

I have walked through the other areas but have yet to volunteer there yet. I am going to a different section each day. Although I have walked through all the sections talking about them without first really experiencing would not to it justice. All I can say is that I hope you prepare yourself to hear how clinics are in a third world country because culture shock is really an understatement and does not fully grasp the difference between here and home.

On a lighter note, I now know my way around town. And we are getting omelet and chips and chicken and chips tonight for dinner. (chips is a version of our fries but not really…they are put on top of egg…it is the best thing I have eaten besides beans on mashed potatoes) I have met the most amazing people here and I thank you all for everything!