April 18, 2016

We had a meeting with the PVA (Polio Victims' Association) at our apartment today. It went very well. There were 8 members of the political committee. They all wanted paper and pens to take notes with and I gave them all a pen to use and a piece of paper. When they left, I went to the table to get a pen to write with and they were all gone. WHAT? Don said, "I knew what would happen when you handed out those pens." When an African has something in their hand, they consider it theirs. Unfortunately, I gave them my good pens that were suppose to last us until the end of our mission. Oops! From here we went down to the Leprosy camp - which consisted of 2 homes that 42 people live in. The homes are made of mud bricks. These are made from mud mixed with straw/hay/grass. When a home is made of these kinds of bricks, it is customary to put a thin layer of cement over the mud bricks and then plaster over that. These two home were made of mud bricks. 3 years ago but was never finished. With 6 to 8 months of rain a year, a lot of the bricks have been washed many times weakening the foundation and dissolving the bricks. In order to repair the damage, the foundation will need to be re-established/strengthened and what is left of the mud bricks will need to be cemented and then plastered. The people are not so much concerned about the structure of their homes as they are with getting a well. Don looked at the proposed well site and it will go on our list for the well-man and the hydrogeologist to take a look at. There is a man with no legs below his knees and no hands that I see every day begging at a bridge. I learned today that he is a leper and comes from the two homes mentioned above. He wheels himself 1 1/2 miles to get to the bridge and sits there all day long. I see him at 8:00 in the morning and he is still there at 6:00 at night.