Changin It Up!

So, This is my first blog post in quite some time!  Since changing meds, things have become much more clear to me, and I have been feeling more motivated about doing stuff here.  I have also found myself going out into the community more.  The Demo garden in town is almost ready for digging in, all im waiting for is the well to get finished.  In December some guys dug out the well, but after a few weeks it dried up.  I am just waiting on them to come back and finish the job, which should happen on Saturday.  My radio shows are getting great reviews.  Lundi Science is a real hit, maybe one day ill take over for Science Friday!

So, when I’m playing guitar in town, it is usually at one of the fine drinking establishments here in Velingara.  I just like to play guitar (poorly), and have a beer. 

So, Today I decided to change things up a little.  Instead of drinking with the nuns, I decided to go out and see the hospital they keep telling me to go and see.  I packed up my guitar, found my clown nose and headed out.  It was a great bike ride only 3 km.  When I arrived there I realized that I had forgotten my music at home.  That didn’t really matter much, as I was very interested in touring the hospital and people were very happy to see a new smiling face.  I introduced myself to many children and their mothers trying to get a laugh out of as many people as I could.  At this point I need to point out that I am a city volunteer and so I don’t see much malnutrition, or undernourished children.  This was the first time in my service that I saw babies like the babies you see on the really sad Africa fund commercials.  When the nuns showed me some of the babies in a special room of the hospital she used the phrase “this is where we take the children that have no more body” There were only two babies there, but they looked like skeletons.  They had an IV attached to them and I can only assume that they were better today than they were yesterday.  It was a really weird moment for me.  The skin on those babies was just falling off of their bones.  There really was nothing there. I greeted everyone and told them to stay strong. 

So, Then the nuns showed me the rest of their amazing hospital Le Centre de Recuperation Education Nutritionelle (CREN).  48 beds, they admit children up to the age of 5, and they have solar panels a deep well pump, a water tower, a hotel, a conference room, wifi, and they have a huge agricultural space.  There were pigs, and goats, and sheep, guinea fowl, turkeys, ducks, chickens, bananas, mangos, Moringa, lemons, citronella, and they were only just starting it.  They told me that all the profits they rake in from selling the animals, and fruit, and renting out the hotel rooms and conference room go straight into the hospital.  They also use some of the animals and fruit to help feed the children that stay there.  They also provide healthy meals, which is not normal for an African hospital. Usually, someone in your family has to bring you food from home, or you wont get any food at all.  The prisons are also like that from what I hear.  Anyways it was an awesome experience.  I plan on going back on Monday with my guitar and music and clown nose to entertain all the little kids and their mothers.  Try to get their minds off of being at a hospital.  I might even bring candy and bubbles!!! The nuns also told me that they would buy me a beer afterwards.

So, I plan on writing some very basic songs for next week.  One of them is “I like to eat oranges” it goes to the tune of “if your happy and you know it”.  I need some ideas though, so if anyone is reading this and has an Idea I’d love to have it.

Go Cavs

-Mike