Manya Esther

As the ETCHE bag drops are getting underway, we continue to work hard to develop materials for both drops and training sessions that are informative and relevant to community needs. In order to ensure that the information we deliver meets that criteria, we work closely with community members and leaders, such as Manye Esther. She has great perspectives and many new ideas to share, such as the one that came out of a recent visit while we were discussing the Diarrhea section. In talking about the modes of transmission in this area, she identified the handling of currency, particularly among market women and individuals who collect the fees at the public latrines. This brought about the question of what could be done to raise awareness both in the communities, but also in the markets where individuals from both urban and rural areas gather.

Keep the ideas coming, Manye!

Maybe next time.........

Due to technical challenges with drop material preparation coupled with crew fatigue, todays drops have been delayed. We hope to drop on May 2nd with some beautiful posters that we will soon be posting.
Michaela is working hard to ensure that each and every drop is as effective as possible.

Well done Michaela!

Back home again

Submitted by Rachelle Milam

When I stepped off of the plane in Accra, several things hit me at once. First, it was hot! Second, the smells of the city of the city were so familiar that for a brief moment, I couldn't take a breath. Third, and possibly the most surreal thought, I was finally in Ghana again! I grew up here in the Brong Ahafo region, about 10 hours by car (or 2 hours by plane) north of Kpong, and though I have 13 years of experience in this country, there's something very unreal about being back again. This time I'm not here because my mother and father have work to do...this time I'm here to work.

Today was my first full day on the field, and it certainly wasn't boring! The day started earlier than my jet-lagged body would have liked, but once I was out of bed, it didn't feel like the day really ended until after dark. I sat in on my first "team meeting", and Ben gave me a tour of the workings of the field. I got to see the planes and where I'll be working with the AvTech girls (who, for the moment, remain somewhat cautious of me). Then, I got a real welcome to the field by helping to push a truck out of the mud. I've never been so pleased to have dirty shoes! The rest of the day was spent helping Ben and Michaela prepare for tomorrow's drop by typing up lists, editing, and printing other materials. I had never really grasped how much work goes into preparing for one of the ETCHE drops, but I'm so glad I got to be a part of it!

Next week is when the real fun begins. On Tuesday, I go to my first meeting with the Fulani, and I have to admit a certain amount of nervousness. As any person, I'm apprehensive of what I do not know, and right now, I simply do not know what will happen. I'm excited, I'm thrilled for this opportunity, and I cannot wait to see how this experience helps me grow, but I really can't wait for that initial meeting to already be over and done with!

Besides my work with the AvTech girls and the people in the Fulani camp, I'm going to be wearing a lot of different hats (everybody at this field is)! I look forward to more African food, my first time in a small plane, and all the things I'm sure I'm going to learn in the next four months!

Until next time!

Hand washing, such a simple solution

The AvTech girls and I had a fun photo shoot in order to develop educational material for the ETCHE drops! With our next few drops being targeted towards water and sanitation issues, the girls modeled a hand-washing demo as well as several applicable scenarios. Lydia did a lovely job showing us how to properly wash the top and bottom of our hands, while Juliet's demonstration is intended to remind observers to wash in-between their fingers and Emmanuella displayed money as a reminder to wash hands after handling currency. None of them wanted to get close to the potty for the after-toilet reminder and held their noses in protest! =) All in all, we had a lot of fun thinking up different scenarios and I can't wait to see how the posters turn out!

It's a Sister act for MoM

Each and every volunteer who comes to MoM brings with them unique talents or perspectives that help us grow in different ways and we appreciate them all. We picked up a new volunteer last night who is special to me for much more personal reasons. I am proud to let you know that my sister Rachelle arrived safely and will be spending the next four months working with MoM to support our efforts in a number of areas. Born in Accra, Rachelle spent much of her childhood here in Ghana, first in the Upper West Region and then in the Brong Ahafo Region until 2005 when my family relocated permanently back to the US. Although her primary focus during her stay will be one-on-one support to the AvTech girls in their grammar and math development, Rachelle is also looking forward to using her background in education to help reorganize sessions in the Fulani camp! 

Working together to make it all happen

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

A few days ago, the girls gave a motivational talk about AvTech and aviation to a Girls' Camp in Accra. The group was so inspired by what they heard, that they then asked if they could make a visit from Accra to the airfield to see the girls in action. As you can see, they were in high spirits when they arrived onsite and Juliet did a fantastic job leading them to a Safety in Aviation demonstration. Each of the girls worked together to instruct the group about checks when flying, F.O.D, and the different types of aircraft. Patricia led the group in a F.O.D. walk so the kids could practice identifying items that do not belong on the runway. The girls also helped Ben give a health talk on Schistosomiasis and taught the hand-washing song to encourage healthy practices.

Experiences like these remind us of how important each piece of this organization is...WAASPS provided the planes that the kids enjoy learning about, AvTech provided motivation to others through the encouragement of their own training, and the AvTech girls are given a health-based perspective through training from MoM that is then able to be passed on to others. We all work together to achieve mutual goals and each day, we have the opportunity to make an impact.

Health education ... it'll take a village.

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

Ben and I had the opportunity to observe a local community pull in their fishing nets from the sea. About mid-morning, we noticed individuals start pulling on the lines that led into the sea, but didn't think much of it as they were rather far off. Over the course of the morning, we found that there were in fact two groups (one on either side of us) and as they continued pulling the lines in, were getting closer and closer to where we were sitting. By the time they had pulled in the lines to within a quarter of a mile from the shore, it was almost noon. They would take short breaks, but continued to work together at what obviously hard work.

It wasn't until this point that we began to fully understand and appreciate what we were witnessing. People seemed to come from everywhere to help. The young, the old, everyone in between...those who couldn't physically pull helped by directing where to put the ropes and nets after they were out of the water. As more people appeared to help, we noticed that they were singing a song to help them keep rhythm, thus keeping from stepping on each others toes (no easy feat when there are more than 50 people on each rope!) . We were fascinated by the way the entire community comes together to achieve this task, everyone pitching in for a common goal that they will all benefit from.

How much then, will they be able to achieve when they are pitching in for the benefit of everyone's health? If only it were that simple...

Community involvment is critical

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

Things are never as simple as you might think... One of our goals within our efforts is to continually support the existing health infrastructure, and one of the ways we are doing this is by collaborating with as many local resources as possible. Since helping the young lady we mentioned some time ago, Ben and I have developed a good relationship with nurses at a local hospital. When the nurses became aware of our efforts on the lake, they helped us arrange a meeting with the head doctor to discuss potential collaboration. We had hoped to meet with him last week, but it was right around the Easter holiday and ended up needing to be moved to this week, but we managed to liase with the nurses about a good time to catch him in between rounds! Upon finally sitting down with him amidst all the people around clamoring for his attention, we shared with him our work on the airfield and in the communities and introduced the idea of including in our health packets posters from the hospital. Ideally, we would like to support the work of GHS by including their posters so that the messages and graphics are familiar to those in the communities. Although the doctor was very kind, we learned that before he can authorize the provision of any materials, we have another meeting to attend at the district level. So from here, Ben and I will try to schedule the necessary additional meetings and continue working for local support of the communities. Until then, I for one, really like the posters the AvTech girls made!

Working to resume classes in the Fulani school

Submitted my Michaela Sholes


Audrey and I had a lovely time at the Fulani camp this morning, where we met with the community for a much more informal session than we've had as of late. Many sessions recently have targeted a specific group in order to gather their feedback as we determined the best way to move forward with the education classes, but today was open to anyone and we had a great group show up!

We began the session with our announcement to them that we would be resuming classes in the community the first week of May, so it will coincide nicely with the start of the new term with public school as well. By that point, my sister Rachelle will also have arrived and will be focused on getting the sessions started again as she spends the next four months with us! The community got a big kick out of the fact that she and I have both lived here as long as we have and our Twi is still "kakra kakra" (small small). It gave me an added incentive for me to improve my language skills!

Following our announcement about the classes starting again, Audrey and I did a short health education session on washing hands. I gave them a brief talk about the role proper hand washing can play in preventing disease in the camp and pulled from my days as a Preschool teacher with a song many of my former students are familiar. Sung to the tune of "Frere Jaques", we modeled washing the top and bottom of the hands as well as in between the fingers. Francis Norman, who had joined us for our session, played his violin with our song as we called on various people, both young and old, to model the song for the group. It was great fun for all and we shared lots of laughter!

The group also enjoyed a short talk and hands-on demonstration from Francis regarding his violin and the different sounds it makes. He took many volunteers to touch the violin and to try to play the instrument and it was cheering to see their faces light up as they realized they were helping to make that lovely noi...I mean, sound! Francis and his friend from Germany also brought with them some balloons which made for lots of cheer, despite one or two unfortunate little balloons that got too close to the spiky grass!

We will continue to be in touch with the community as we determine what days of the week work best for the different sessions, as we will now be holding the women's group separate from the children's group, in addition to starting the men's group with Ben.

Gearing up for the first training session

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

As MoM gears up for our first training session for the community health representatives (coming up April 16th), we have been preparing materials for the event. The goal of the session is to introduce the coming bag drop topics to the health reps and to also go into a bit more detail regarding the potential long and short term effects of specific illnesses and disease. Our first 3-drop cycle will target Malaria, Diarrhea, and Schistosomiasis, so the training session will focus on water and sanitation issues.

MoM received some wonderful work from the AvTech girls as they helped design graphics and health messages during their placement this week! Juliet drew stories involving characters who were participating in either healthy or unhealthy behaviors and she came up with some really creative perspectives! Thank you girls for all your hard work!

There's no such thing as a simple wound

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

Last week, while we were having a follow-up meeting at the Fulani camp, we met Osmanu, the young son of one of the ladies who has been attending the education classes. We could hear the poor little fellow crying from a ways off, as he made his way over to where we were gathered. His little foot was caked in fresh blood and we learned from his mother that he had had a boil on the side of his pinkie toe. Apparently, the boil had just been pricked by something sharp on the ground, causing it to burst...and resulting in the mess and his tears. Before leaving that day, we cleaned his foot and advised them to take him to the clinic in order to get it dressed properly. I confess, I was more than a little worried about having another Asamau-type of experience with this little boy.

Today, after our meeting at the school, we stopped by the camp in order to follow up with the little boy and see how his foot was faring. Although his wound is definitely still healing and looks painful, Alai has confirmed that Osmanu was taken to the clinic and that they have been cleaning his foot and putting GV on the wound (GV, although technically ill-advised as long term use can cause blood poisoning, is commonly used here in Ghana to dry up wounds and is still a far better solution than cow dung!). He is walking though, albeit tenderly, and we were glad to see that he was wearing shoes as opposed to the bare feet from the week before. We will continue to monitor his wound and check in on the little fellow as he is one of the 4 new students to be starting school in May!

Eliasu

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

During our visit to the school, Audrey and I took the opportunity to see how Eliasu is doing! His teachers speak highly of him and the administration often use him as a role model to encourage other children. We learned last week that he has been made Class Prefect, which is an admirable achievement (comparable to Class President)! He has been working hard during exams and we look forward to celebrating his anticipated good grades when the term is completed!

Our next challenge is working with Eliasu and his family to get his younger brother registered as well. Although his brother has been given a bicycle to attend school, his father states financial difficulties as the barrier to his registration. We are still working with them to see what can be done, but in the meantime, Eliasu remains an encouragement to his brother and the other children in the camp.

Fulani school registration

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

Time is a funny thing out here...  I find that no matter how long I live here, this particular concept is one that I must constantly remind myself of (especially when I am tempted to get panicky over it).  Those who haven't been here might think it funny that each appointment made must have the specification as to whether it will be "Ghana time" or "clock time", but in fact it is essential to distinguish in order to avoid losing half your day and potentially much of your sanity. 

Audrey and I met at the Fulani camp early in the morning to accompany some of the parents to Iliasu's school in order to help them register 4 additional children for the upcoming school term.  We arrived a little early to pick them up as we had set up a 7:30am appointment with the school, only  to discover that everyone was still off bathing and getting ready.  Finally setting off around 9:30 with the parents and children in tow, we arrived at the school with our prepared apologies...only to find that the administration weren't bothered about it in the least (apparently the only ones not working on Ghana time are Audrey and I!).

The meeting with the headmistress didn't go quite as we had planned, although that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  She and the administration coordinator (Madame Felicia) explained that registration typically occurs at the beginning of a term or at a time when the child is ready to go right into classes.  Since their school is currently writing their end of term exams, she advised that we return at the start of the next term (May 2) to officially register the kids.  That is really just a formality though, as they have already taken down the information from each of the children and have verbally accepted them into the school.  Understandably, the headmistress expressed some concerns regarding the likelihood of the children's future attendance, referring to the children from the camp who had been registered before and stopped coming to school.  Audrey explained to her the challenges identified by the Fulanis concerning transportation and the costs of uniforms and assured her that the parents have addressed each challenge and are working towards sustainable solutions.

The headmistress and her administration were very encouraging as they spoke with the parents about ways to plan for the next term and took the time to lay out what needed to be done between now and May 2. It has actually worked out well for there to be a few weeks before the new term as it gives the parents additional time to save up for uniforms, book fees, and other school related costs. We will continue to work with the families to address challenges as they occur and encourage them to explore feasible options.

Our new Office

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

Regular followers of the blog may have noticed last week, that when James from Battorkope came for a visit, our office was looking a bit bare. Granted, the walls, screens, and doors were up, there was some seating available, and we were thrilled to finally have our own space...but there was still much to be done! However, following the completion of two snappy new desks (lovingly crafted by our own Mr. Solo), Ben and I have taken the opportunity to officially move ourselves in! As you can see, we are still organizing and are in the process of having a bookshelf and some hanging shelves created. Today, Mr. Solo supervised the planning of the next step in getting the office and mini clinic ready.....sidewalks! We are so thrilled to kick off the beginning of the ETCHE program in such a lovely office, made by such talented people, in order to welcome such dedicated visitors as the volunteer health representatives!

The First ETCHE drop

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

If we are learning anything this week from all the calls we’re getting, it is that the communities are as varied in personality as they are enthusiastic about the drops this last week and the start of ETCHE! 

With our response rate about 65%, we’ve heard from communities as large as 1500 and some as small as 350.  Although each community targeted has in common that they are located on the lake’s edge, they have so far each been unique in relation to factors such as distance to the nearest clinic, existence of a school and/or latrines, and community water source.  In talking with community members, it continues to be eye-opening when they share some of their challenges with us via crackly phone lines.  For example, ETCHE bag #A019 which landed in Akotoe, was received by a local school teacher who, in describing his community, told us that his people are forced to get their water from the lake because the water from the two boreholes nearby have become salty and undrinkable.

It has been interesting to hear from the communities how they received their ETCHE bags.  For example, a representative from Dzogba called me yesterday to apologize for not calling sooner but that their school children had only just found the bag in the wooded part of their community that day.  He informed me that the community has called a meeting for tomorrow and will call me again once they have read the letter from MoM and had a chance to discuss it with the people. 

My favorite part by far though has been the initial and continued interaction with community members.  The excitement in their voice is unmistakable.  When you answer an unknown number on your phone and the chipper voice on the other end immediately says happily, “Good Afternoon Madam!  We are pleased to have received the bag from your airplane and we wanted to let you be aware that we want to participate!”

Many of the phone calls from the communities have come with a representative on the direct line and you can hear the entire community in the background as they all wait for this initial contact.  In many cases, the community’s chief  (or Dademantse, as he is called here) or a teacher is usually the one to make initial contact, but that has provided a perfect venue within which to answer questions and explain to them our vision for a community-identified health volunteer.

We will do one more round of pinging drops in the coming week or two in order to gather information about the communities, but we hope to have our kickoff and initial training in the weeks following.

Update on Fulani Camp

Submitted by Audrey Binney

As planned, Michaela and I set off early to the Fulani camp to meet the women who were going to accompany us to the school (Natriku R C School) which was supposedly of closer proximity to their camp than the one we have been focussing on (where Elias attends, Holy Family RC school). It became very clear after 15 minutes of driving that there was no way any child could walk to that school. Nonetheless we carried on and went ahead to meet the Head as planned to explore the structure, facilities and costs involved. We visited their facilities including all the classrooms with a very warm reception from each. We were satisfied with what we saw and concluded it was no different to Holy Family RC school. Of course the issue which brought us here in the first place was they would rather have their children in a school within walking distance.

We came back to the camp and held a follow up meeting with the men and women.

The mothers agreed this school did not fit that criteria and jointly with the men decided they would rather send their children to Holy Family RC.  They have come to the decision they will fund the transportation to send the kids to school and have made an arrangement with a local driver who they trust. This is a good result if they stick to it! They have agreed to send back to school the 8 children who registered and stopped attending last year. They have 5 weeks to sew the uniforms for the children which became a stumbling block last year and contributed to them dropping out.  2 or possibly 3 new children will register next week. Michaela and I then went to the school to let the headmistress know our intentions, that the 8 will be returning and a further 3 registering next week. She assured us the uniform situation will not be an issue if they begin without it. We took the opportunity to check up on Elias. The teachers are very happy with his progress and they tell us he is now Class prefect! We are so proud of him and his achievements….he is certainly a good example for the other children to follow.  We are still working hard to get his brother to start attending next term.

So next week Michaela and I will be meeting the parents of the children who will be registering, at the school where we will assist with their registration.

The key challenge here is whether they will spend/can afford  to sew the uniforms, pay the registration fee (for the new ones) and afford the cost of their books and daily lunch allowance. We’ll keep monitoring their progress.

Thank you for calling Medicine on the Move, please hold....

The calls began around 12:30pm as I was driving home from the Fulani camp. I saw a strange number pop up on my phone...and then another one..and still more until around 7:30 this evening! Over crackly phone lines and iffy reception, we have made contact with nearly 10 communities already. It's the first day and that's nearly 50% response rate! I'm thrilled to see what tomorrow brings! I admit, it made me smile mid-phone call as I felt like those busy secretaries in movies who move so rapidly from conversation to conversation "Thank you for calling Medicine on the Move, please hold; Thank you for calling Medicine on the Move"

Getting to "meet" each of the community representatives via the phone, answering their various questions about the ETCHE program, and learn a little bit about each of their individual areas has been the absolute highlight of the week so far for me!


An added bonus to an already exciting day was a visit from James, the health volunteer from Battorkope! Our meeting was the first official visit to take place in our new MoM office in B3 as we asked for his feedback on some of the health messages we plan to include in the ETCHE bags! His insight was much appreciated and we look forward to implementing some of his ideas.



Each drop costs approximatley $50. If you would like to sponsor a healthcare drop please make a donation to MoM Via the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

First Responder training

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

Melissa and I thoroughly enjoyed working with the girls and Patricia on our Rural Community Health Education First Responder (RCHEFR) course this past week! Modeled after the WMI/NOLS course, the girls received intensive training in the Patient Assessment System, Wound Management, Splinting, and a number of other Illness/Injury identification issues. Many thanks to Melissa for helping write up the curriculum to include practical and written quizzes, as well as develop detailed handouts. We had a great time running scenarios (and scaring poor Patricia with our well-acted illness/injuries) and having group discussions. The girls seem to be enjoying their newfound skill sets as they have been religiously checking each visitor’s BP, heart and respiratory rate! I am so excited for them to be able to begin using these new skills when they go into rural communities along the lake!

Fulani camp update

Submittted by Michaela Sholes

Audrey and I had our second session in the Fulani camp, this time to speak with the women. We had a great turn-out to the meeting with 11 women, many of whom had been attending the educational facility and so had personal experiences upon which to provide feedback! We discussed a variety of topics with them and received some interesting thoughts. When Audrey asked the women what their understanding of Medicine on the Move does as an organization, none of them had much of a clear idea, which enabled us the opportunity to emphasize our vision of support through encouragement and training, rather than through physical resources. They seemed very open to this concept and agreed that it should be that way. In addition, it was encouraging to hear the women express that they have seen visible improvements in their families’ health after applying information they’ve learned from our sessions regarding washing hands, basic wound management, etc… One of the interesting things that we learned from the ladies group is that Mondays (which have typically been our “Fulani Camp Day”) are actually the least convenient for them to attend meetings. Based on the same information coming from the men’s side as well, Audrey and I have decided that our meeting day will have to change to either Tuesdays or Thursdays. We will assess which will work best for MoM and do our best to meet their needs. Finally, our discussion led to the issue of the school-aged children attending school and the logistics involved. The ladies have suggested a school that is closer in distance to the camp and wouldn’t require the children to walk along the busy Akuse road. Audrey and I, as follow up with the ladies, have arranged to meet them at this school on Tuesday to meet with the administrators and assess whether or not it is a viable option.

The need for health education becomes apparent on our Dawakpersebi trip

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

The MoM team shared an encouraging experience having been invited to visit Dawakpersebi, one of the future recipients of the ETCHE bag-drop program! Noah, our local contact, introduced us to the community and their leaders and helped us facilitate group discussions to identify relevant health challenges and needs. During the discussion, we had an impromptu health education lesson after learning that Schistosomiasis and its related symptoms are highly prevalent in the community.

There were a number of health challenges discussed during our group meeting, ranging from typical issues (like asthma, allergies, and helminth infections) to more severe challenges like the situation experienced by this little girl. She was left scarred around her eyes following an infection in her face. Although she has been to the local clinic to address the infection which has somewhat subsided, she is still experiencing pain. We hope to collaborate with health professionals to help provide the best information possible regarding recommendations for clinic follow-up and prevention as much as possible.

Our host Moses and his family opened their home to us and were an absolute delight! Moses is the community youth leader and has been working with them for the last 5 years. He was very active in the group discussions and we appreciated his perspectives. His wife, Ayeki, is an amazing cook and made the most delicious palava sauce and boiled yam for dinner!

Rex, Melissa, Ben and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit (despite the crazy roads to get there!) and I cannot express how much I am looking forward to continued work with this community and others like them. This on-the-ground, community-led collaboration is what MoM is all about and we are thrilled to play an active role!