Training Day 3

The last day of training (and getting caught up on entries, the text part at least!)

Today was the last day of training, and rather than the primarily didactic form of the last couple days, today was our first day to enroll new patients under the supervision of Paul and Winnie.

We started off in the MCH clinic at Bwafwano, Wednesday being our usual malnourishment day. However, unlike previous days in the malnourishment clinic, today the kids actually got something for treatment! In all, we enrolled 4 kids to receive RUTF this first morning, most of whom were patients who had been coming every week even when there wasn't food. There were also several others who were borderline for the criteria, who we will be following closely to see if they dip into the danger zone. All 4 of the new enrollees got a week's supply of RUTF, and they all looked like they enjoyed it (how could they not? It's basically sugary peanut butter). Success! Or at least, preliminary success. We'll see how they follow along over the next 8 weeks (the minimum enrollment time for the program), but I'm optimistic that we will have good results. One negative for the day is that Anna, the girl we admitted to UTH on my second day here, was supposed to come to the clinic today. UTH was going to wean her to RUTF and discharge her with enough to last to today, and we were going to pick up after that. I'm hoping there was just some miscommunication, because it would be awful for her to slip through the cracks.

I have a couple of pictures of the kids eating the RUTF in clinic. They all need to do a feeding trial before they go home with it, and all of them succeeded.

The second half of the day was a little fractured. Becca, the Valid people, and both Loveness and Naommy went to one of the outpost sites, while Ethel and I finished off the MCH clinic. Becca isn't back yet at the time of my writing, but should be soon. She's having a bunch of our friends over to the place we're staying to celebrate her last day in Zambia, and it would be a little awkward if she didn't make it back in time for her own send-off!

A couple other notes. Humi helped me navigate the minibus system here, and I managed to make it back to Kabulonga in one piece. Also, before I left, some other mzungus came by and dropped off a couple soccer balls for the OVCs who were there. The boys, predicatbly, played soccer, but the girls played some game that was kind of entertaining-- they were in pairs, with one girl on the back of another. They passed the ball around, singing, until they dropped it, at which point they all exploded into cheering and laughter. It's kind of hard to explain, so I'll try posting THAT one, too.

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