Show-Down at the Village

It’s time for a Show-Down

If you think I’m referring to the political arena of my homeland, the United States, and my host country, Mozambique; you’re wrong but that is a good guess (At home this week there is a show down debate on gun control, and here the two political party leaders are getting a bit steamy calling out to international mediators to calm civil unrest). No the showdown I am writing on is between the time I have left here and completing my projects. I am almost at my half way mark here and there is still much left to do.

Let me quickly set a scenario; pretend that you are a mountain climber. You are invited to climb a beautiful rural mountain with no paths and just basic gear. You get dropped off and can see the mountain is a distance away and you can’t get there alone. You realize that the local peasants need to come with you for guidance and to assist building a pathway so that they can receive the resources of the fertile land. So now you’re gathering a needed posse team since you can’t hike alone. It takes a bit of time to be able to communicate with the people, and it is difficult to convince them that the trek will meet their needed resources as well - water and food.

The villagers are not on your time frame, they are busy just meeting the daily needs, they need to process the information and get an overall consensus – plus it’s a long walk.

Often you look around you and see that less are following you. So you, the mountain climber, slows down until you are walking with the group, momentum is slow and it’s difficult to see if you’re any closure to starting the climb.

Tired, with holes in your boots you finally realize that you have arrived at the base of the mountain and are looking up. Up. It seems very far. Your happiness is now overcome with mental fatigue, you labored so hard to just get to the base that climbing up is intimidating. Time is limited. You are finding that the posse is looking at you for direction, the next step, a bit closer to the peak - and you are tempted to just sit and toast hot dogs.

Show down time, move up or sit by the campfire. That’s where I am; hot dog in one hand and hiking stick in another.

Briefing on some of my projects.

Color Coded Pediatric Appointment schedule. All infants under two years of age have an assigned color which determines the time that they visit the hospital for monthly check ups. Before , all mothers appeared at 7:30 am and waited (a study done showed that a sick child would take over 5 hours to be able to compete visit – 80% of time is spent waiting to be seen). It was also communicated that sick children are attended first and that the mother needs to alert staff upon arrival. This has significantly reduced waiting time.

Organization of pharmacy. A funnel effect was apparent at the pharmacy and this was resolved by dividing services and assigning staff to the two pharmacy windows. We also communicated to patients peak wait periods advised early in the morning or late afternoon for refills. Staff can now complete work at hospital closing time.

Youth Groups- Planting the seed to succeed into these young minds is imperative for the future of this country. I have a young girls group on Saturday’s that attend a “Choose your Future” class, a Tuesday ESL group of fifth graders who are building self-esteem sprinkled with English words; and a group of older girls who just started a new group generating income and learning about good health.

Family Park Proposal: A team and I are working on rebuilding a community park that has gone into disarray since the Portuguese left 41 years ago. Originally it was set up as a playground but now will include stations for all family members and serve as an educational center. I am hoping that this will strengthen the family unit, now a day’s men go to bars and mothers collect at homes with other women if there is any free time. Still working with a sketch but hopefully the grant will be written and the work will start and finish by April.

Other activities include a ESL group for hospital staff, a permanent garden project with a teacher at the agronomy school, and I coordinate an English Theater contest in September with 10 contestants in my province.