MEDICAL/ Health education!

So this month has been amazing! I have been blessed with an amazing opportunity and I pray that I used it to the best of my ability.
I was invited to work with an organization called On-Call Africa for the month of February. On-Call's vision is to take health care to the most remote villages in the southern province of Zambia http://www.oncallafrica.org.uk.
The doctors are from Scotland. They are all really fantastic people and they are very driven and focused on their goal. I appreciate them very much.
The task that I was given while I was in southern province with them was Heath Education. It is a strange concept to people from western civilization to understand, but from the time that we are small we have a basic understanding about how our bodies function and about how to take care of them. However, growing up in a remote village in deepest Africa you might not necessarily understand that if you carry 20 liters of water on your head it will cause you to have a headache or that brushing your teeth will keep them from going rotten. So I was given a very straight forward curriculum to teach. We used examples like shaking hands with flour on the hands to show how infection spreads, telling the creation story to promote a balanced lifestyle of work and rest, asking how many of them had clean hands and then having those who raised their hands wash their hands in a bucket of clean water to show them how dirty it is afterwards. We also did quite a bit of teaching in the schools that were in the villages that we brought the clinic to. With the younger kids we taught them how to wash their hands, how to eat a balanced diet and how to brush their teeth. We took the kids who were above age sixteen and split them into boys and girls and had talks with them about male and female specific health issues. I really enjoyed this part of the teaching. I think that time in a person's life is very vital because that is the time in which you are forming your own opinions, ideas and personality. The general idea is if we can change a few of their attitudes while they are young they can influence those around them for the better.
I think that I have a better understanding now of the culture in which Jesus was living in. I now understand why he used the miracle of healing to show his power. I want you to think for a minute about how you would feel if you had lived your whole life without any form of health care( I know that this will touch a nerve with some of you because health care is such an explosive political issue at the moment). Imagine if you had never been told to brush your teeth? What if you had been promised over and over again by "wise men" and "healers" and "witch doctors" that they would heal you to no avail? What if you had tried every remedy in your grandmothers book to heal yourself? Can you imagine how you would feel towards someone who not only healed you and your family but also promised to bring your soul peace and healing? He is after all the "Great Physician".
I am truly thankful for this experience! I am especially thankful because through this experience God has opened up a pathway for the rest of my life. When I left MSU two years ago I had no idea what I wanted to do or even the path that I needed to take when I finished AIM. It is now becoming abundantly evident that I need to be a nurse/midwife. I have a clear and focused goal and I know that God will and has guided me every step of the way.


Lesson: #1 never take education for granted. even the basic of basics.
#2 there is a Divine thread through out every decision that we make. He will make it evident to you when the time is right.

Passion: Live every moment for the lessons that you will learn. believe me they are there :D


Cally Jane