Friday, December 18, 2009
tratra ny krismasy sy toana vaovao!! merry christmas and happy new year!
WWWWAAAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!What another christmas season for me in Madagasikara!!! Again, its soooooo amazing to be back in my Homeland; just in time to celebrate the holidays with my lovely family of Antetezambaro!! i sense everyone is very happy to have me back and it feels soooo good to actually be working after my 8 months of stressful; nondirectional lounge time. This past week was Tazo Moka (malaria) week and USAID donated tons of mosquito nets to pass out to all homes for free! So i!ve been very busy being in charge of distributing them to the happy recievers since it being the hot, rainy season, malaria is rampant right now. I saw the worst cast of it my second day back at site, a 7 year old boy who was unconscious, eyes rolling to the back of his head, unable to talk, eat, drink, and only yelp out when he received the shot of prophylaxix that;s needed to clean out his blood. After 2 days he started coming back around but if his family didnt make the 10Kilometer trek to our med clinic; he most likely would have died. I take a weekly prophylaxis to prevent getting it, but the side effects include hair loss and crazy vivid dreams. so im thinking of just shaving my head since clumps can fall out at a time. And the vivid dreams i dont mind too much but it does take me a while to wake up and realize its just a dream. Small price to pay to get to live and work in a luscious, green;, tropical atmosphere full of smiling faces no matter how much stuff or money they have. Its been a breath of fresh air to be back and live the exciting yet simple life of picking litches; rice farming; relaxing under a mango trees and watching the taxis go by; playing cards or frisbee or dancing with my kids; and trying to get in every health message about how to clean the water, get all the needed nutrients to develop properly; have a safe pregnancy or resources to prevent it. Our clinic is all out of depo provera birth control shots which most women use in my village, since much of the international funding has been cut because of the ongoing unresolved political crisis. I actually just picked up a big order of shots to take back to my village since sooo many women asked me if i could. YES!! i defintey wil help them prevent zaza maro misesy (a lot of kids in a row; which is fairly common here) so families can be planned out and nourished with enough food and basic needs; its back to site here so until next time...Amy menaraka! wishing u all the bestes christmas and new years and try to think about the less fortunate and be grateful for all u DO have, most importantly ur family and special people around you. Im blessed to be filled to the brim with all these things for (hopefully) the next year and half, no matter how many miles from america i may be;;;cheers!!!
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Hi-E Cheeks! So glad to hear you have settled back into your home. If your going to shave your head, you might as well slap some duck-tape(gosh thats probably a premium in Mada) down the middle and go mohawking! You can be a trendsetter in your village. We will miss you this Christmas Holiday. Molly and I have one more wahoo what a baby coming in June 2010 to be thankful for. Molly has been fighting the fatigue but in general seems to be doing well just like last time with Will (so we think that means another cummings boy?) Keep up on the blogs. Peace Corpers like yourself are prayed for every week at Holy Spirit Church on Sundays. ps. Will loves playing with his home-made Madagascaren truck. Looks like we will just have to go ahead and meet you at The Jake maybe for home opener 2011! love ya, jon, molly, and will c.
ReplyDeleteWas great to talk to you today Sweetie. Finally figured-out how to get to your Blog. Went to a nice Christmas Party tonight, where Dodson's were included, and we played many Christmas Songs with Guitar. Keep-up the good work, of spreading all your CHEER. Love You Sweetie
ReplyDeleteHi Kanto!!! This is your Aunt Michele saying Happy New Year my dear niece. So nice to read all of your news. I'm here in Florida with your Dad, Frank and son Chris having a great time. Your Dad is making his special apple pie! Do you still have a bike? Did you bring a new seat? I'll be returning to Tucson on the 31st and look forward to following your adventures. Take good care and good luck with helping so many people in need. You're in my thoughts. all love
ReplyDeleteHello Kanto!! This is your cousin Chris. I hope all is well. I'm glad you are enjoying yourself in the jungle! You are truely rugged and I don't know many girls who would want to venture into the unknown like you did. But I know it's for an excellent cause! I'm down here in Florida with your dad and my Dad,Frank. Your Dads apple pie is awesome. Everything is going great. We all miss you. We will have to paint again together sometime. TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES!! Maybe keep a journal... With love, Chris
ReplyDeleteSo great to read your posts and am glad you are doing so well. We went up north to Rochester for a whole month for Christmas/Hanukkah. It was fun and cold and snowy and we are glad to be back in Charlotte now. We miss you! Keep in touch and keep updating your blog. I love reading your updates and adventures. You are doing a great thing over there!
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