Tuesday March 2, 2010

contributed by Shirley for Rod

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, ordinary folks can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead, contributed by Rose

Another humid day. Had usual breakfast – Laurel and Shirley went to the clinic – Rod, Meg, Lauren and Rose went to school to teach. The clinic was very, very busy today – both general patients and prenatal students. Midwifes and public health nurses were anxious to put their skills to work. The midwife students need to be observed in performing their functions, and they will soon be graduating. Laurel accompanied the public health nursing students to home visits with the mission to see if homes had mosquito nets and also to check on the man with cerebrospinal meningitis. He was found to have gone to the clinic yesterday, but had no health insurance, so was given aspirin. Prenatal clinic saw at least 20 pregnant women, and two new mothers with 1 week old babies. Babies were given physical exams, and mothers were instructed on breastfeeding techniques.

Back to the guest house at noon for lunch of peanut soup with chicken legs floating in it along with okra and eggplant. It is eaten with sticky rice balls using fingers and dipping rice into the soup. Everyone tried the soup but ended up eating rice, bananas, and papaya. There was lots of soup left over.

The dressmaker came with lots of pictures with styles of dresses. Shirley chose 2 materials and purchased and picked styles of dresses. Rod chose material to take home for his table. Shirley and Rose went to the Cedi Bead Factory with Moses, while the others went to tutoring under the tree. When we arrived, we were greeted by a very nice man who demonstrated the bead making process to us. It was amazing. There were several things that made it so unusual, as all the workers have come from generations of families who have been there for years. They live on the grounds and often begin work at 3 to 4 am. Their families are with them, and it takes at least three years to learn the bead making process. This entire operation is an example of recycling at its best. Broken beads are recycled, bottles of all colors are recycled and termite mounds are used for the firing oven. We visited the gift shop and met Mrs. Cedi, as Mr. Cedi was away for the day. On the way back, we went through a village where a large crowd of people were gathered. A fight was occurring without guns or knives, but fists were being used.

Back to the guest house for dinner – rice, beef, and vegetables with papaya, and spicy eggs with tomato sauce and onions. Much to our surprise, we now have CNN on our TVs. We were sad to see that Edward is leaving us to return to Accra, where he is from. An older woman who has worked here for 18 years is returning and is very familiar with the guest house.