We have finished our last week of “work”! And what a good week it has been. Monday we visited Kasafro, an HIV/AIDS community organization for people who have been discriminated against or cast out based on their HIV status. It’s amazing to me that in a place where AIDS is so prevalent there is such misunderstanding about the disease. (That’s why we included it in our teachings!) I know that spending time at Kasafro helped me gain a better understanding about what it’s like to live with HIV/AIDS. That’s something I hope to carry with me into my nursing practice.
Let me tell you a little bit more about what it’s like to live in the village. From the highway, just past Souza there’s a turn off onto a red dirt road. This dirt road wanders and wiggles through the bush, dotted by villages. There are two forks in the road: stay to the left for each. You will cross a railroad track very slowly, for fear of ripping off the undercarriage of your vehicle. All of the plants, signs and houses will be coated in a thick layer of dust from the road and anyone you pass will be left in a lingering cloud. You will pass through several villages, cross over the Abo River and viola! Home sweet Mangamba! The drive usually takes about a half an hour- driving in the true Cameroonian fashion: too fast, too furious. The electricity has been very off and on for the last three days (mostly off) which has really put a kink in our shower schedule. What a great reminder of what it’s like for our neighbors though! Just about every evening a group of us take a walk around to see what there is to see. It makes me feel very connected to the community and is often a highlight of my day.
Tuesday was our last day of teaching and assessments—which went really well, but it was kind of sad to do our teaching presentation for the last time. Our presentation is based on a skit that Julie would read in French while Paula plays the role of the little girl while I play the mosquito, buzzing around the room as I threatened to zip! – “bite” them—which the kids loved. (I would then change roles and magically became the doctor). We had such a great time acting out the different parts and being silly in the name of health promotion!!
Today we went around to a few of the villages we had visited early in the trip to tie up loose ends and leave first aid kits, school supplies and mosquito nets. It was such a wonderful way to end. The children greeted us by singing the hand washing song we taught them, in French, to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down. So cute. But my favorite thing in the whole world was when the kids would pretend to be mosquitoes, creeping around making buzzing sounds, just like I did in the skit we acted out about Rissa the mosquito and how they can prevent malaria by protecting themselves from mosquito bites. (Pictures to follow—so cute!!)
When we got home this evening a few of the children we’ve become friends with were waiting for us. Just like a little kid I threw my things into my room and ran outside to play! Paula, Kelsey, Jen and I took a walk with our three comrades (ages 5, 5 and 6) in which we hop, skip, jumped, piggy-backed, spun and twirled. We took lots of pictures of each other making funny faces, putting flowers in our hair and watching the most beautiful sunset. All in all, it was the perfect end to our stay in this small village that has become my home away from home.
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