Today was a very productive day for the team and I. We started the day bright and early at 8:00 with an immunization clinic at St Gerards hospital. When we arrived there were over 100 women and their babies ready to be vaccinated for polio. For those of you who don't know, polio still exists in Africa.
When I walked into that hospital room this morning I don't think I could have ever imagined how the people from Nigeria could touch my heart. They have the most beautiful babies and some of them only days old. They were so gracious for the help to keep their babies strong and healthy. I'm not going to lie, I wanted to take them all home with me---so adorable. I spent most of the morning visiting with mothers and holding babies after we immunized.
After we were finished we went out to a remote village in Kaduna...I can't remember the name. A rotary club from the US has partnered with them to drill a borehole (its like a well) so the village has drinking water. This was one of those moments I wanted to immediately start crying when I saw the living conditions! This project started a few years back and we were going to see the progress they have made. It all started when a member of rotary asked if we could come into the village and do a polio clinic for them---he refused! When they sat down to ask why his response was, "why would I do a polio clinic for these children when over 40 percent die before the age of 5!!!! The reason is bc they have no clean drinking water, they were drinking the same water the cows and goats went to the bathroom in! Can you even imagine! So...that is when Rotary stepped in and raised money for the well project! It was so awesome to see how happy these people are! They are thriving with clean drinking water and we are now working on getting them a better school house! So awesome!
After we left the village we had lunch (of course rice and chicken--that is all we eat here--breakfast lunch and dinner!) :) then had the rest of the evening off.
I can't describe how hot it is here--probably close to 90 degrees everyday in the shade. All I do is sweat and drink water!
I'm going to hit the sack now. Its been a very long but productive day. Will post more tomorrow! Thank you for all the prayers and encouraging words. They seem to always come at the right time--God knows what he's doing!
Kelli
I don't think I ate rice for a year after I got back! haha! It is amazing what something so simple as a well can do for a village! Costs $10 billion dollars to bring clean water to everyone in the world, yet we spend $450 billion on Christmas in the US alone. Crazy numbers when you have seen the effect a well can have first hand. Praying as always!
ReplyDeleteKelli,
ReplyDeleteI looked forward to reading about your immunization day. Thanks for sharing your experience! I would want to take the babies home with me too. After the Haiti earthquake earlier this year I was ready to adopt a baby! Keep up the good work you are doing :).
Many prayers,
Tammy
I can tell by reading your blogs that this trip is impacting your life already. You are a caring person and you want to help all you can. Remember that you are there for a short time and you can only do so much. Do what you can everyday to make a difference, pace yourself, drink lots of clean water, and live by the Rotary Four-Way test. You are doing and seeing things not many Americans could ever imagine. You ARE making a difference!!! Be safe, stay healthy, and take each day one day at a time. You will make it!
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