I am really starting to get the hang of all of this. Monday I started working in the health post at the request of one of the nurses. Technically I should have been doing more of this a long time ago, but I have been hesitant. First, because my Spanish wasn’t that great and I was nervous for that reason. Secondly, because I really don’t like the doctor, he gives me the creeps. Even my regional director told me to stay away from him and work with others in the health post.
Let me explain the healthcare situation here in the valley a little bit. All towns have a health post, which at the very least usually has a nurse and a technician, and sometimes a pharmacy tech. Since my town is the biggest in the valley, we also have a doctor and an obstetrician. However, and fortunately for me the doctor is a resident and he is on rotation and is leaving in April. Each health post is connected with a Heath Center, usually in the district capital. Which for us, is Las Lomas. The health center is just a much larger place with more doctors and more resources. All of these places are funded by the Ministry of Health, so they are equivalent to our health departments in the United States. They also offer free healthcare to children 4 years and under. This means all of their monthly checkups and vaccinations. All of that is done through the nurse, if they have to see a doctor for any additional illnesses or problems they have to pay. But the expenses are extremely minimal. But can be costly for the poorer population.
So Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, the nurse administers monthly check ups and vaccinations. So Monday I went and I weighed and did the heights of the children. I also marked off this information in the growth charts the Moms carry with them. These charts let them know if they are within normal range or not. Unfortunately most children border between malnutrition and normal, not a good line to be on. Then the nurse asks about what they are eating, and she checks for developmental indicators depending on their age. For example, do they know their name, can they point to their nose, can they stay seated erect using their hands….etc. Then depending on how well or not well they are doing they usually get a lecture from the nurse. I think this is a very nerve racking experience for the Moms.
Well the nurse asked me if I would come back on Tuesday and break out of our Monday, Wednesday, Friday arrangement to help her with the books. For all you Healthsouth readers, you might end up really mad at my next sentence. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the nurse does not see patients, those are her days to catch up on paperwork. So I helped her with this. We pinpointed what children were missing what vaccinations, and the next time I go to the clinic we are going to go to the homes of those children and make sure they have what they need. This isn’t going to be my regular job here, but it’s introducing me to the system, which is great! We also talked about some sessions she would like me to put together to educate mother’s on early childhood stimulation. As well as health projects with adolescents, and she liked to do some stuff with the elderly, who never get any form of health education. And since I love my old people I was happy to oblige.
So it felt great to be at the health post and feel like the work is falling into my hands. They really have a desire to use me which makes me really happy!
As for the other highlights of the week. I did some more survey’s Saturday and it went so well. Mom’s were calling me into their houses, which I was thrilled, and they were pointing out other mom’s who would be happy to sit and chat with me. So that couldn’t have gone better and left me in a great mood. Then, Sunday BJ came by and we went to the internet café and decided afterwards to join in the Sunday festivities.
Sundays are pretty much the only day of the week where people don’t work, and pretty much the only time it feels like a weekend. I usually don’t leave the house on Sunday’s and just do chores because there are nothing but drinking circles of men lining the streets who tend to yell all kinds of things at me or try and get me to drink with them. So this past Sunday, BJ and I decided to have a beer. We went to the little town in between our towns because I didn’t really want to drink in my town and be seen it would make invitations to drinking circles much harder to turn down if they see me partaking. So we found a happy medium. We sat in one of the dirt floor bars with all the other Peruvians and ended up having 3 beers (they are the size of a forty in the US) and we shared them. When we were finished we tried figuring what the cost would be. Since we live in such a poor place and people are constantly drinking, we figured they were really cheap, no more then 3 soles a bottle. We were both SHOCKED to find out they were 5 soles. 3 of those beers was nothing in comparison to the amount that the people of our valley do in a day when they drink to black out! So it was shocking that they pay 5 soles a bottle. In fact it pissed me off to know that all these children here have nutrition problems but the Dad’s always seem to find money to drink on Sundays until they can’t stand anymore. I would be so pissed to know that my husband was out spending all the money we made that week on getting blasted. Definitely brought a new problem to light for me.
Later that night, I was called to dinner and my host Dad was sitting at the table. He had gone to a meeting during the day, so I knew he was coming home plastered. This night was more than usual, and he was talking my ear off about how poor people are here, and how poor he is, and then a bunch of other stuff I didn’t really catch. Instead I just whispers from my host mom and sisters in the kitchen letting me know, in case I wasn’t’ sure, that he was inebriated. I ate my dinner quick, it was an awkward situation, and then I went back to my room.
So I am heading into Piura on Thursday because Friday is the big 50th anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps. It is kind of cool to be here for such a milestone of this organization. So although I am not thrilled that we are throwing the party for Peruvians, when I believe it should be more of a celebration for the volunteers and staff, I will silently appreciate as always that I am one of the lucky ones to be here.
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