Njala, Kwarma, and Taiama:
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| Mothers lined up at the Taima "hospital" (aka run-down store) waiting to get their babies screened |
Today we went to the clinics "upline" or "upcountry", aka, in the rural areas of Sierra Leone. It was so much fun being able to see the fruit of our labor (plumpy nut made at our factory) being put into use! Some would say it was heaven for me because when we got to the clinic, there were rows of mothers seated with their babies on their lap. The little ones were just absolutely adorable! Some of them cried, but others sat quietly and looked confused.
The Plan:
At the clinics we screen children for malnutrition by comparing their weight/height to a chart and looking for edema. We then give the malnourished babies (age range 6mo - 5 yrs) a certain # of bottles of plumpy nut (therapeutic food), and have them check up with us after 2 weeks.
Reality:
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| This kid didn't want his length measured. |
Crying, screaming, and disposing all sorts of bodily fluids everywhere. Yup, it was a medley of tears, slobber, pee, and poo (no vomit luckily). Every little one would burst into tears whenever we straightened them down on the height tape, and every time it made me cry a little bit on the inside and distracted me from measuring/recording.
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| Getting weighed! |
But kids had different reactions to sitting on the scale. Most would cry with their little hands reaching out to their mom desperately, yet a few just sat there staring off into space. There was one who wouldn't sit and kept on leaving backwards; so we had to lie him down. And finally there were those who were so shocked that they literally **** (2 options) their pants (well, they were butt naked).
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| This kid didn't put up a fight!...he was sleeping. |
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| This poor little girl had severe marasmus and oral thrush |
Every so often, I'd see one who had a bloated stomach, tiny arms and legs, and an emaciated chest and face. They looked like old people. Holding them was like lifting a sack of skin and bones. Poor little things!
Records show some kids reaching their target weight - which is awesome! We call them "graduates"!
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| This kid is happily eating his Plumpy Nut! Look at him smack those lips! They might be crying a lot, but once they get a taste of that Plumpy Nut, they just shut up and happily eat it. So cute! |
Glad to see you're doing life changing work!
ReplyDeleteIt's so wonderful you directly see the changes you've made with your innovation! You seem to enjoy working at the clinics :D Dr. Wang! hehe
ReplyDeleteAre all the babies naked all the time?
Could you explain your company a bit? I'm a little confused as to how far you guys have developed it (you already have a factory making your product??)
What a great experience!
it is fun to see those babies! it seems that you are fine now
ReplyDeletelove you
Dad
Wonderful and meaningful work! I am proud of you and missed you. I will keep prey for you. May God bless you and your work there.
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Mom
Yes! We do have a factory. The two people I'm working with (MB an CB), have been in Sierra Leone for 2 years, and they've constructed a factory with a mixer and packaging machine. So we've been making bottles of plumpy nut Mondays and Tuesdays, and then going to clinics Wed-Fri or just Wed. Oh, and it's not MY innovation - I didn't innovate anything, I'm just helping out (managing clinics, helping produce, going to meetings, seeing if things can improve, talking to other NGO's, etc.)
ReplyDeleteNo, babies are not all naked all the time - just to get screened (gotta get the right weight!).
in response to this blog title, the first thing i thought of was big heads big heads big heads free food free food... ? was that what your fb status said? :P
ReplyDeletei'm glad you're having fun! it looks like you're doing amazing work :) be safe! don't crash during your driving lessons...