Wednesday

It's been a productive day today for both of us. Kemmel spent the day getting a schedule ready for the new year. It's a daunting task that he has been spinnning in his head for a few weeks, and today he got it all organized and put in calendar format. The new year will be packed with mobile medical clinics, mobile and central dental clinics and also some visiting interns, groups and surgery weeks down at the coast. I thank God every day that he blessed Kemmel with the gift of administration and organization, because without it, our work here would not be the same! He is still plugging along as I write, making the schedule user friendly.

I had a good day in the community as well. It started off with a district meeting at the health department and a training session for new materials we have for sex education classes in the schools. It is good material and will be useful for our team as well, as the churches have begun to ask for help in this arena.

Next, I went out to Chuabaj to present a talk at on of the local churhes on signs of medical emergency and forming a family plan of emergency. They were very hospitable and appreciated the information, and invited me to come back to talk about first aid.

In this country, it is difficult to get patients and their families to go to the hospital when there is an emergency. Mostly due to fear of dying there, or fear of poor treatment. But the goal today, was to encourage families to recognize signs of illnesses that have definite and effective treatments available, like obstetrical emergencies, neumonia, neonatal sepsis, and dehydration from diarrea.

The other issue we run into here is the lack of, or perceived lack of authority to make decisions when the head of the family is not present. We often see patients or familiy members reluctant to go the hospital because they don't know what the husband or older brother would want to do and he can't be contacted at that moment. So our goal is to encourage families to develop a plan of action that is approved in the case of emergency, so that everyone can make the decisions necessary to access care in a timely manner.

Be in prayer for families here to begin to think of each other's well being and that the care they receive in the local hospitals will be a blessing for them.

Well, that's all for now folks. Have a quiet and restful evening.
God bless.