Update

First picture is Request on Wednesday. Request passed away this morning. Second picture is little Christine at the Haven.

Here at Namiwanga we have begun classes and are starting to get involved with some of the school activities. Several of us are in the choir and participate in the soccer games. Here soccer is football and there are no shin guards or cleats. The players here are incredibly fast and make me look very sluggish.
We have begun doing clinical rotations, exposing me more to the sick children here in Kalomo. It is very sad to spend one day with a child, knowing they may not make it to the end of the week. Wednesday I spent much of my time with a child named Request. Request came to the orphanage with several problems and most likely had AIDS. Some thought that Request had measles; plus he was dehydrated. So we were able to hook an IV to his head and soon he looked much better. Although he did not have measles it was obviously a virus of some kind with visible bumps all over his body. This morning we found out that Request passed away and will no longer be with us here on Earth.

During Quintyn’s rotation at the Haven last week, twins were born. Neither of the babies had names so Quintyn was able to name them. Now two children at the orphanage go by the names Quintyn and Tanner. I hope to witness a child being born so that another Kelsey can be running around. Hopefully if I do get to name a child Kelsey it will be a girl, so a boy doesn’t have to worry about having a girl’s name. However, if the child is a boy and is named Kelsey this will make him very patient with the ignorance of others and will be a very humbling name for him during his teenage years. He will look back and be glad that he was given this name and will be proud.

Yesterday George Benson had their 16th graduation ceremony. This was a very interesting experience. The graduation was suppose to start at 1 p.m. but did not start until 3 p.m. Time is something that Zambians do not consider. To them the event is important, NOT the time. This is very frustrating to me because I do not understand, plus I feel as if I am wasting time. If a meeting is scheduled for 10 it may not start until 11:30. Throughout the ceremony different African music played, which I enjoyed very much. Although the ceremony seemed less organized I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. The students danced their way in to receive their diplomas and had a very light hearted approach.

Many of the ladies in our group have become sick. Something is going around; however, none of the guys have gotten it yet. I hope to avoid this illness, simply because it seems quite miserable. One can tell who his sick that day because they will be missing in action for 48 hours.
Today Dr. Frank asked me if I would like to join him at the clinic, which I immediately accepted. Since today is Saturday, there is no clinical rotation and I was the only student to go. This was a great opportunity to talk with Ba Janice and Ba Frank and learn some general physical assessments. I was able to give my first shot to a child named Memory. Memory has some type of conjunctivitis that caused her eyes to be swollen shut. Hopefully this will not pass to the other children at the Haven.

I must mention how beautiful the stars are here. There are no lights to hinder ones view of the sky and night and I am able to see stars from one side to the other. Last night, several of us climbed on top of some storage containers and watched the stars. The sky was completely full of stars, leaving me in awe of God’s power.