You first catch a tro to Prosso and ride to Gyonkabo which is about 40 minutes. You then alight and go over to the truck stop where you climb into the back of an old pickup truck and once you have 10 people in the back you drive into the jungle for about 30 minutes alighting at a random dirt road. From there you walk 20 minutes through the jungle and end up at our village. In the literal middle of nowhere. There current problem is that the ever elusive forest elephants are eating their crops... :)
We go in about once a week (since it is a trek) to do a health talk on whatever they want. Our first was very standard and we covered the normal issues like hand washing and nutrition. We originally assumed we were patronizing everyone by covering the topics we teach in the primary schools, but instead the village was completely absorbed in what we were saying. We made it a point that children (and adults) need variety in their diets and that constant starch foods are not helping them grow. Since all anyone ever eats is fufu, kenkey, banku, and rice with some sort of stew. We tried to stress the importance of vegetables and fruits and they got the point.
We also talked about the fact that they need to drink enough water. They drink from a stream near the village and we of course told them to boil it!!!! We also told them they need the equivalent of 6-8 water sachets (500mL each) to be hydrated in the heat. This shocked them and they certainly are not drinking that much. We mentioned that when you are dehydrated you body will let you know by staying hot even in the shade and giving you a headache. With that said everyone broke into chatter. People have been feeling this way but not knowing why and were shocked at the simple answer.
After teaching one of the village youth climbed a tree and threw down some coconuts for us to eat. They were very tasty and fun to eat. The flesh is soft and creamy unlike the typical coconut you think of. The villagers also gave us a ton of bananas, which we then had to haul out of the jungle, but were greatly appreciated.
Our next lesson was on pregnancy, breastfeeding, and childhood disease/vaccination. Everyone is very removed in the middle of nowhere and it is hard to get the children vaccinated, however we tried to impress upon them the importance of the vaccines to prevent the diseases like polio, yellow fever, typhoid, hep B, and tetanus. We also stressed diet again for the pregnant mother and the child. vitamin C and calcium are some of the deficiencies that need to be corrected although it is hard to get any dairy product out in the village.
The pregnancy discussion was amusing because we told the women they need to eat well, sleep more, do less taxing work, and go see a doctor to check on the pregnancy. The women were glad to hear this but the husbands seemed disgruntled. One of the men then asked about an old village tradition. Apparently it is believed that the more sex you have during the pregnancy the stronger the child. FALSE. We looked at each other, laughed, shook our heads no and then went to explain, but the no already had people talking. Sammie manged to translate that once you can see that the women is showing, the sex should stop, since it creates pressure on the womb and baby and can cause tearing or damage to the vagina and cervix. This seemed to be upsetting to the men, but the women laughed and clapped, which seems amusing.
We are currently putting together a first aid kit for the village (an extensive one) since it can take between 2-4 hours to reach a hospital. There was a little boy bitten by a green headed snake and to get him help was challenging. Cars don't frequent the village, so one had to found, then in Gyonkabo, they could not treat him and he needed to be taken to cape. It was quite the journey for him and we still do not know if he is okay. So we plan on finding anti-venom, splints and wraps, band-aids (they call them plasters here), antiseptic, antibiotics, and all sorts of diagnostic materials. We will then teach the village of what everything is and what it is used for. But we will also train 3 women as specialists for all of the items, so that they can use them and help people correctly. We will also impose a small fee on the use of the items so that they can be replenished, and then it is seen as more useful. For example Ghana has tried free vaccination campaigns and no one showed up, thinking it could not be any good if they were handing out medicine for free. After imposing a small fee vaccination campaigns are now much more successful...
It is a beautiful village and even though we speak no Twi and they speak no English it is still wonderful to be there and communication can still happen with hand gestures, touches and smiles. It is a very relaxing place and the fact that they appreciate our efforts just to come see them is touching in itself. To think that we are helping educate and change the health of an entire village is mind boggling. The repercussions down the road are very positive and the fact that everyone wants to learn makes it wonderful!
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