Misdiagnoses!

Sarah and Mariama during the hygiene course they tought last Friday. Mariama is holding a picture of parasites (trying to scare the kids with creepy pictures of germs)
Jamilla and I before our nightly run.
Tayiba coloring her "Scary Germ"


Good news! Sarah has rediagnosed Margitu and she has . . .TYPHUS, not typhoid fever. And why is that good news, you may ask? Because Typhoid is highly contagious and we have two other infants in the compound that share clean diapers with her (bowels are highly contagious and even after washing and sanitizing diapers typhoid can still be spread). We are pretty sure she got typhus from rat fleas. . .yes we have giant mutant rats in the house that sneak through the rafters every night and their fleas do jump everywhere, no matter how clean we may think we are. She is improving very well thanks to accurately diagnosed medication and some TLC from Steff and myself.
This week has been busy organizing the youth group and creating sanitation and hygiene lessons to teach the women who work at the house. We seem to be having problems with them picking snot off the babies faces and then flinging it at the wall and not washing their hands, filling bottles with additional formula without washing them (I found mold in one), shutting off the hot water to conserve the bill and hence NOT washing dishes, themselves or bottles in hot soapy water, not drying dishes, etc. The list seems to go on and I've had it. The kids keep getting sick here and I'm trying to be culturally sensitive to the traditional practices that the women here practice. But once kids keep getting sick the farenji ideas take presidence and my "Western ideals" will take over!! haha





Also, I have discovered that the oil that the cooks are using at the house is Olean. What is Olean? Well Olean is an oil (saturated fat) taken off the market by the FDA in America because it makes people have oily discharge, incontrollable bowels, etc. We have all had cramping, bloating and even diarrhea. So we are going to buy some olive or vegetable oil and perhaps we will start being regular and maybe start losing some weight. Afterall, we have been working out and eating a limited diet of potatoes, injera and wot.





I am leaving for Addis Ababa tomorrow, possibly, with Sarah and Nicki. They are going up with their NGO for a weekend to see a soccer game. If we can cram the three girls and then three guys (the other interns) into their jeep then I will go. If not, then I will stay. And yes, we are concerned about seat belts and safety. . .kind of. There are not seat belts in cars here and the minibuses that we ride into town should only fit 12 but I've been in some where there are 26+ people crammed in. It will be nice to get into Addis and visit friends from last year and visit the branch again.

Cheers,

Jenelle