I said last time around that I would try and be better about updating but clearly that did not happen. So here is a quick update of what the last week has been filled with...
After finishing my rounds with ASRH, I moved over to working with some of the malaria projects that are funded by the NIH. Thursday April and I went to a focus group of mothers that was aimed at gauging acceptance of a rapid malaria test (RDT) that they are attempting to introduce in the community. We couldn't understand what was going on because the discussion was conducted in the local language but I was able to help women "sign" (thumb prints) their consent forms (most of the women were illiterate). It's interesting to see the way these groups work--usually there are a few women who are most outspoken and who, in addition to giving their opinions, prod the other women to speak up. There was much laughter and from what we could gauge it seemed the women were very receptive of the idea of the RDT. Friday there weren't any field visits going on so April and I had the day off. It was market day so once Ashley returned from her field visit we made our way into town to stock up on food and water for the week. We have finally figured out a route to take through the inner market to get to the plantains and oranges which is great because getting lost in there is more than overwhelming.
Friday night we didn't do much of anything which was nice. Saturday we got up and Francis drove us around to show us where the schools in the area are so we can pick one to volunteer at (something we have been talking about since arriving). After checking out the schools Francis drove us over to see the Tono Dam (about 20 minutes away) which was an amazing site. It is a gigantic lake surrounded by amazing scenery and the area was so quiet and peaceful. Once we get our bikes fixed (now there are 2 with flat tires), Ashley, April, and I plan on biking out there to have a picnic. Saturday afternoon we went over to the apartment of one of the Centre's employees to watch a movie (Ghanaians seem to LOVE watching movies). After the movie was over we headed to the local University campus to watch part of a talent show that was going on and which involved much dancing and rapping. It was a fun evening and it was nice to be out with some locals--if there is one thing people around here have stressed, it is the importance of seeing what local life is like. Sunday we didn't do too much and spent much of the evening with on again off again electricity thanks to storms (we have been having a lot of electricity outages lately and they are not all weather related...).
Yesterday I switched offices again and went out into the field with the Rotateq trial team. Rotateq is a vaccine that reduces the occurrence of diarrhea in children (esp. infants) and while it has been licensed in the US, South America, and Europe, trials are still going on in Africa and Asia. We drove to a clinic where, after picking up all the mothers and babies, the vaccine was administered (there are 3 doses given over a 2 month period). It was a day long even starting very, very early, and continuing until late afternoon. I was under the impression that administering a vaccine would be a quick and easy thing but somewhere between informed consent, the taking of vital signs, and physical check-ups (to ensure they are healthy enough to receive the vaccine) time seemed to fly by until the whole day had passed (I was told that often the days are even longer than the one I experienced). I really enjoyed having the opportunity to see a vaccine trial in progress and to learn more about the inner workings of these trials. Today I wasn't up to much of anything--we had a meeting with our supervisors to discuss what we want to do for our papers and projects while we are here. I haven't made any final decisions yet so I have a lot of thinking to do in the next few days.
This weekend we are planning on travelling to Ouagadougou to visit Aki and Emma (two other Georgetown students). Hopefully everything will work out--we have asked the girls who were here last year for advice about getting there and it doesn't seem all that difficult which is good. Other than that life here has been going smoothly and I find it hard to believe that September is almost over--I never thought that my time here would slip by so quickly. Well that's all for now and I apologize for not putting up any pictures this time around--the internet does not want to cooperate...
