We awoke extremely early, packed our bags and headed on a 1 hour and 45 minute drive to a town called Kitwe. FCE (read previous post to know abbreviation) is in the middle of nowhere- it's tucked back this 7 mile dirt road! I would NEVER FIND IT IN THE DARK or the daylight!
On our way to our destination we stopped and visited a women's birthing clinic. WOW! The women working there are amazing, knowledgeable and compassionate. They will be attending our class tomorrow called "Helping Babies Breathe." We ended up at an orphanage/school/boarding school today called Lifesong. We interacted and met with students and toured the facility. The facility is a free school for children in the surrounding villages, by 8th grade they can take a test and become boarding students. They focus on trying to give children better futures instead of young arranged marriages which keep children in stuck in a poverty stricken cycle. While at the school we split up, half of us served lunch to grades 0-9 and half of us ran a mobile clinic to any children who felt sick or just had some questions or who wanted to speak with us. We then headed to a Catholic Hostel, arrived around 1700. Upon arrival we learned there was no power until 2200. We ate dinner by candlelight and reviewed our Helping Babies Breathe program for tomorrow's upcoming class, which will take place at Lifesong. Our day was slightly less eventful than yesterday, but just as fulfilling- interacting and meeting children who are givennothing but smile at everything are just amazing human beings. 💜 will update everyone when We can, wifi is hard to come by at times. Jennifer
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November 3, 2015
We are at Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education. (FCE) Today was off to an early start. We were properly welcomed into Zambia by all of these tiny happy African faces who were simultaneously wanting to shake our hands with so much gratitude. We walked approximately 1/2 mile from FCE to the Community Training Center (CTC). CTC is a school that is comprised of children in grades 0 to 9 with ages varying from 5-16, who from from surrounding villages. Immediately our team of 6 is split up into 4 stations and preparing ourselves to screen/treat approximately 200 students. The first station was basically an intake where the children were given a head to toe assessment. Station 2 was to provide any treatment and care of wounds, mainly a lot of TLC. Station 3 was malaria and urine testing for a parasite called Bilharzia. Station 4 was deworming- which is a common problem, so kids are given this treatment frequently. Don't worry, we gave them some candy :) We broke for lunch around 1300 (1pm our time) - we were so hungry, did we even taste our food? We went back to the CTC at 1530 (3:30pm) and completed eye testing and blood pressure checks for the university students at FCE. After a short, but relaxing 45 min break we went to dinner @ 1800 (6pm). It was amazing! Who knew we could actually enjoy good food while being so far from home? FCE definitely feeds us well, do NOT drink the tap water- or gargle shower water (Jennifer!)-- I know you all do it! To sum up our day in just a few sentences would be impossible. The feeling of giving to people truly in need is indescribable and unbelievably humbling. Day 1 of this journey is complete and we're off to an amazing start. <3 |
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November 2018
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