Clinic and Timtuk

After a wonderful breakfast of Mandazi's ( kind of like New Orleans beignets) juice and fresh bananas we gathered for early morning devotional. We met under a thatched roof and sat in a huge circle. I think there were about 20 or so of us. We sang in English, Arabic and Dinka. Well I say we, but you know I just have the English part down! Today Andrew shared a word of encouragement with us. After devo time we sat and talked with Sabet and Suzy to figure out our goals for the time we will be spending in Tonj and then off we went to help in the clinic. The clinic can see around 100 patients a day. We all got assigned spots and some received some quick O.J.T. I got to be a floater. I helped in changing dressings, took some temperatures, registered patients,sat in with the Kenyan and American doctors and also learned about about the role of the midwife and pre natal care. During the morning a man was brought in screaming and thrashing. He got some medicine to calm him and then was treated for malaria. It turned out he had cerebral malaria and died later in the week. Reality is harsh here and death is very much a part of life. Sorry for the oxymoron but it's just the way it is. They mostly only treat on an outpatient basis but at times, since there is no where ,they keep patients for extended periods to treat. I met 18yr old Isaac today. He is so sick with multiple problems.
After lunch Sabet drove us to the community of Timtuk. We specifically wanted to talk with the women and asked about their daily lives and struggles. I was deeply impacted when a dirty,torn green bucket was set before us. This was the drinking water for the community. It was sickening. We all watched from a distance as a mother gave the water to her toddler to drink. They get the water from an almost dry well. It is a hand dug well only about 20 feet deep. They pull water up with an old can tied to the end of a rope. It's hard not to get these images out of my head. Water is a basic in life, or it's supposed to be.
Before I forget the community bestowed on our team Dinka names. Since cows are the center of life and community in the Dinka tribe we were given cow names. At first this may seem offensive but it's actually an honor. My name is Kerrie YOM. This means a cow with grey on it's head. Wonder why I got that name???