Letter to Bert & Laura 14 Jan 2006

LCupdates

Hey guys, how's it going? Hope you had a great holiday season. The call you guys gave me was the best X-mas present I could have gotten. I was so pumped for the rest of the day. How's things in Omaha? How's the military treating you? Hopefully things have been going well. Here, things are going okay. My attitude is usually directly related to my digestive tract working, so today my outlook is good.I help w/the work @ a clinic in my village & it has minimal manning. It has one lead nurse, one nurse assistant, one med-tech & a midwife. there's a cashier of the clinic and another for the pharmacy. That's it. I work 3 days a week, in the morning w/the med-tech at the maternity. It's not a job they need specifically for a volunteer, but it helps out & keeps me busy. The rest of the time is mine to schedule and to stay pre-occupied.

When I first arrived the head nurse was an ass & I wasn't too excited about working with him. However, since the holiday, a new one has arrived and he's a real amrt guy and he's really really nice. so things are looking brighter. I still have some kids who I'd like to string up by their toes, but I'm learning to ignore them bit by bit.

I think the two projects that will be my goal, will be to rebuild the buildings that house the CSPS (clinic) and set up a water pump system where the peoplehave to pay for the water from the pumps. I honestly don't think I'll be here for them to be completed, but if I can set the groundwork, it has to be up to the locals to finish/ We'll see what happens. I think the two projects together will cost about $30-$50,000, but I think I'll be lucky if I can get one of them off the ground while I'm here. Of course I'll be funding them w/the help of NGO's here, but thingsmove so slowly. I wonder sometimes if things will ever go forward w/folks here. With the new head nurse, I've got a little more reqson to hope.

Other news: My cat piseed me off today. I had just bought some meat to fix w/some soup for dinner and I put it in a lidded containeruntil I finished with work. i left and thank god I came home early. The cat had jsut broke intot he container and was pulling the meat out of the bag. Oh, I could have killed him. I almost did. Anyway, he's been keeping his distance from the house. Just a little FYI and a little bit of my day.

Oh I almost forgot. That kitchen knife you sent me is really awesome. It kicks all the rest of my stuff's ass. thanks so much. It must have been expensive, that gift just keeps on giving. The compass has also come in handy during my "getaway treks" that I take once a week to relax from village.

Hope you guys are doing well otherwise. I'll let you go, my waters boiling. Taske care.

Always,

Laura

*** Note from Bert: I called Laura in her village, it worked out well, they responded to using her name Laura because I was probably pronounceing Nasara way wrong. They told me to Also, the knife was a gift from my mom, it's a Wuthof. they are nice.