Letter of Elbert and Joy

25 Oct. 2005

Dear Joy,
MY full 1st day in village will be a memorable one. I started today @5"30 am, getting up with the donkey, dogs and pigs. The sun came shorly thereafter. I woke up cold and put water on to boil, while I did some calisthentics, just outside my door. I finished my warm up as the water boiled and enjoyed some peach tea and granola bars for breakfast. Taking my time, I studied some Moore before leaving @0700 to (salever) my neighbbors before starting work at 7:30. Upon arrival @ work, 200 ' away, I happened upon a group of men trying to open the pharmacy door that has been newly barricaded W/steel bars crisscrossing the entrance. Unfortunately, the new cement job wasn't measured correctly and the bars weren't able to come off. I offered my hammer and they proceeded to dig into the fresh cement and remove the base of the barricade, to start all over again.

As I watched, the chief nurse, my counterpart, shows up a bit late and we headed off to an adjacent village to perform vaccinations against a water transferred bacteria,. I don't remember the name, but the village was 12 kilometers away and biked my ass off to keep up with the nurses scooter. I'm not allowed to ride or drive scooters or I'll get administratively seperated. Anyhoo, we vaccinated 279 children at this village and then came back to TO in the afternoon and and went to the elementary school ad vaccinated about 560 kids there. I thought my day was done then, Nope.

Just as we were returning to tally up all the #'s and go home, a woman comes in carrying a child, about 3 or 4 years, who had fallen off a scooter while it was moving. The little boy's head had a major cut upon top of his head and was bleeding profusely. About 2- 3 inches of his skull was visible along with a good flap of skin missing. His face, shirt, and most of his body was covered in blood. Madame Sowedgo took charge and directed the infant to the suture room. The child was screaming and kicking. So much pain for the child was ahead. Knowing, I'm not supposed to hand anything bloody, I help anyway after putting on some gloves. The child being in so much pain is hard to handle, so I grab his legs to help hold him still so they can operated on his head, no painkillers. This child endures a slow kind of torture to help put him somewhat back together. It takes 3 people to hold him still while the "surgeon" works on stitching his head. A good protion of the top layer of skin is gone on his cheek and right arm. after about an hour, the power goes out and we have to use a flashlight to finish the last stitches. The child is exhausted and his father is very distraught since he was driving the scooter. Tonight the child is in the infirmary. I honestly don't know if he'll survive, I think he will, with the amount of fight he showed, but here, with the facilities as they are, I don't know.

I have to say today, is one hell of a way to start my tenure as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I hope I can live up to it. My heart goes out to that family, that child will take a while to recover. Tomorrow is near, and I'm writing by lamplight. Wish me luck for the next day and from then on.
Peace.
Love
Laura