It's the little things

Hello everyone! Since my last blog I have continued to explore Mongu, have become a better cook, stopped screaming at the sight of spiders, but have unfortunately found a new fear for lizards! Over the past couple of weeks I have adjusted well to Mongu and am enjoying my time here.  It's hard to believe our trip is half over!

This week I was placed in the Sefula clinic with Erin. Sefula is about a 35 minute drive from the compound we are staying at. Although this may not seem like a far drive many of the locals walk up to 40km to get here. Walking this distance in the heat might sound hard, but on top of that many of the locals that come to this clinic are very sick or have to carry babies on their back to get here. I had the pleasure of working with a lovely nurse named Precious. She was very experienced, caring, and passionate about her work. I was able to work along side her in the outpatient department (similar to an emergency department back home), do malaria testing, and participate in a family planning clinic where we gave depo shots. I learned that many women hide these shots from their partners as birth control is frowned upon in many places in Zambia. However, I was happy to hear that birth control is free throughout Zambia.

One thing that stuck out to me the most this week was how grateful everyone was over what seemed to be small things to me. Last week some of the other girls and I played soccer with some of the children on our street. They were so welcoming and eager to play and take pictures with us! Many of them posed and were laughing as we showed them their pictures. We take photos so often with our smart phones or cameras that we don't realize how fortunate we are to be able to do this. Many of us have photo albums or cameras that we are able to flip through and see the hundreds of photos of ourselves or loved ones. Many people here in Africa are unable to do this. Another eye opening moment I've been having is when we go to restaurants. Whenever we eat out we usually leave a small tip and the servers often looked shocked when we do this and say we paid them too much. It's refreshing seeing their smiles when we let them know the extra money is a tip for them because they did a good job. Having worked in the restaurant industry for the last four years I know I have expected tips before, but it's been a nice change seeing how grateful people are here. I think this is something we can all take home with us. Africa continues to blow my mind and most importantly reminds me how to appreciate the little things!

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone is doing well back home!
Kristal

A day at the market

World TB Day at The Sefula Clinic