Tuesday, May 29th
Hi everyone! This is Shawna.
Today is the second day in Mwanza, half of us were at Bugando Hospital and half at Fonelisco Orphanage. Reflecting on our days, the group at the orphanage were surprised on how little room the children have. There are twin bunk beds where some of the children are sleeping two in one twin bed. However, the children did not seem. bothered by this and were so energetic and precious. Together, the team members and the children sang and danced to songs. It did not take long for us to fall in love with the children!
Carol and Robert did their teaching projects today. Carol taught the children English by using flashcards, where Robert did a bible teaching and gave each child their own bible! Instantly, the children held onto their bibles tight. Knowing that this is probably the first time they have a book of their own, and how awesome to think their first book was a bible.
Each trip, Hope Ministries usually shops and buys food for the children. However, this year we saw that a different need needed to be met. The children do not have any place to eat their meals, so rain or shine they usually eat under a tree. This year, Hope Ministries are building a lunch room for the children to enjoy. The building project is going up quickly!
Courtney and I were at the hospital today for the first time and what an experience that was! Courtney was able to observe Dr. Isidor inject PRP (blood platelets) for those with chronic arthritis. She also was able to see the doctor pull out the fluid that was surrounding the knee! She was very impressed. We also saw osteosarcoma in a teenage boy; this was such a gut-retching case. The treatment is expensive over here and by the time he was able to get insurance (6 months after being diagnosed) may be too late for his treatment options. However, we were able to find a little humor during the day. We saw a girl in the clinic and they do not have walking casts but she had made it a walking cast by wearing out the whole bottom of the cast to the extent where her foot was sticking out of the bottom!!
Today was my first day with the hospital social workers and what an experience that was! It was clear how hard-working and good-hearted these social workers are! They gave me a tour of the hospital and the different types of patients they work with everyday. Having some experience as a hospital social worker back at home, it was crazy to compare our roles. These social workers go above and beyond and have much more duties than our social workers. I hope that one day I can be as half as amazing as they are.
At the end of the day, we were able to reflect on our days and enjoy some of the best pizza we have had in a long time!
What an exciting day for me (Gayle). I was able to see Mark do a teaching session with the three orthopedic residents that Hope Ministries is sponsoring. Two of these residents will graduate in October!
Hope Ministries donated a lot of badly needed medical equipment and the doctors and staff were very excited to receive it. These people are so grateful for everything and this equipment will help many people. Thanks for all your prayers.
gayle
