Happy Bday Julie!!!

teenage pregnancy and home made tortillas

Here in Sandino, 78% of the girls will be pregnant by 15 years old, at which time they usually drop out of school. Many times the father of the baby is married but will send the girl monthly support. So, most of the mother's here are really young and once they have 1 baby they don't seem to stop. They are wonderful Moms and do the best they can. Some go back to school once all their kids are in school, but most have to go back to work to support their family. Many continue to live with their parents in crowded shanties on the outskirts of town as squatters. So, we are brainstorming about ways to help these moms......
Yesterday on our visit with the child who had the dog bite and chicken pox, his mom and grandma were busy making tortillas, which they sell outside their gate on a little tin and wood stand. Many of the shanties we walked by had little homemade signs declaring what they had to sell. Apparently if you can sell enough to buy a small freezer you are doing great because now you can sell small bags of ice and ice cream. There are women who make large pots of beans, rice and soup and sell it by the pitcher to other families. Because these mothers have to work it is easier for them to stop by and pick up some beans at the end of a long work day. Kinda like McDonald's in the US.
Today we are off to a local pharmacy to see what would be available if we opened a local clinic (LifeLink, International) and then off to the coast with some shopping in Leon. What a great way to spend my 52nd birthday!
I will try again to upload some pictures but most likely I will have to do it once I get back.

meetings

Today we had a lot of meetings. We met with the new school nurse Susan and we went on a home visit to see a little boy who was bit in the leg by a dog. The school nurse gave him amoxicillin and now the Mom was concerned because he had a fever and now he was broken out with a nasty looking rash. Turned out to be chicken pox- I have great pictures but can't seem to upload them to the blog.
Later in the afternoon we met with the Mayor of Sandino to establish what type of medical work we would be allowed to do.
As you can see by the pictures below we had fun with the school children at lunch.  I hope to try and post some pictures tonight.

Visiting school children at lunch...

Eddie...

Here is a picture of Eddie his whole house was washed away from flooding. This is all he has left. Shortly after this picture was taken they gave him a pacifier and this is where he fell asleep. The team we are with built the family a temporary shelter out of wood and tarp so that they could be protected from the elements.

canopy ziplining, volcanos and shopping!

There is a group here from Alabama leaving tomorrow after working down here for a week, so Charissa and I joined them on their "fun day". We went ziplining through the awesome jungle canopy right beside the monkeys. It was a great experience. After that we headed to Tip Top Chicken for southern fried chicken and fries. Then we headed for the Masay volcano which was quite Smokey- with the understanding that if the Rangers blew their whistles it was time to run! The volcano erupted last year burning everything around it. It was a very large deep smoldering crater that my husband Lance (a geologist) would of enjoyed. By now we are so sticky and sweaty and ready for the steamy indoor market. The vendors are polite and we bought some awesome stuff for the November 2nd Comedy Sportz Fun(d)raiser (Mark your calendars).
Tonight we have an "adios" dinner for the team from Alabama and tomorrow will be a networking and assessment day for Charissa and I.
Well.....off to the showers!!!!!

Flooding

Just got to Hotel Ticomo in Managua. We are filthy!  The drainage pipes were filled with debris causing them to back up and flood the homes. We cleaned away the debris and unfortunately there was some hidden barbed wire and I got cut twice- I think it is also sewer water so I need to scrub out the puncture sites. We got out to look at the damage caused by recent flooding and the group I am with is helping repair the shanties, though several were swept away. We crossed a small stream and got stuck in a down pour that caused the trickle to become a river quickly. Not only were we soaked but full of mud. It actually felt good and helped drop the sweltering heat to be tolerable. The children at the school are adorable. They have 275 students enrolled in th his school. The children are well behaved.
We enjoyed fried bananas, rice, beans, peanut butter and bread and an Oreo wafer for lunch. Looking forward to dinner which should be ready in about 30 minutes.

We toured the surrounding slums to see how healthcare could be delivered here as they only have access to the government hospitals that are poorly run. 3 children died recently from preventable diseases. Mike and Debra (who run Lifelink Intl) have a real love for the people here, especially the underserved. We hope to meet with the Mayor on Friday to see what medical work we'd be allowed to do here in the future.

We are going to the Volcano tomorrow as well as the market and we hope to also go ziplining.

Charissa says "Hi" and wanted charity to know we had Fritos and an egg sandwich on the plane :)