Today was my last time of slashing with the regulars, so I asked Sandy Lu to get some pictures of us together. These three men have been the most constant workers when I’ve been there, although there have been others. Matthews is the best English speaker and the spokesman of the group when David Schaffer comes along to check on things. Emanuel is about my height, but twice as strong. One swing of his blade will fell about four times as much as what I can do. Kanean is smaller and quieter, but he can still plow through the grass like a weed eater. I’m glad to be done with slashing, but I’ll miss these guys.
Die, grass!
After slashing (which was cut short due to a morning downpour) I went to the JSS to see what Deb might like me to teach this afternoon. She handed me a couple lessons on nutrition, and I set about preparing a 50-minute lesson. All in all, it went pretty well. But one thing really stuck out to me. I started the lesson by asking the girls to list some diseases (the point being to draw a distinction between diseases of infection and those of malnutrition), and here are some of the first suggestions I got: marasmus, kwashiorkor, anemia (more a symptom than a disease, but still…), goiters, cholera, and syphilis (malaria and HIV came up as well). Were I to ask the same question of some junior high girls in the U.S., I’m guessing I’d get answers such as the flu, pneumonia, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. They probably wouldn’t ever have heard of marasmus or kwashiorkor, let alone know that they were diseases. What does that tell you about the disparity of health conditions between the America and Africa? Indeed, the JSS girls’ answers were a perfect way to start a lecture on nutrition. The first four items in their list are largely caused by malnutrition, and they were familiar with them!! The only reason I knew what they were talking about (in the cases of marasmus and kwashiorkor) is because I briefly studied them in my first year of medical school. I went on with the lesson, but today was clearly a case of the teacher learning more than the students.
2 comments:
wow--I've really loved reading about your trip, dear brother. I saw the video of you on youtube. And I can't wait to see you and hear more about everything! The children sound amazing--and the men who cut the grass--and the women.
Love you lots!
Thanks, Kath! I'll be home soon and look forward to sharing it all with you.
Also, congrats on being the first commenter on my blog!
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