Last days in Namwianga

Our last two days in Namwianga were filled with different emotions.  We had gotten back from Livingston on Saturday and were back to therapy.  We had a good day back and were waiting to hear about how Andrew had done while we were gone.  On Monday night, we got the news that he had died due to complications of his illnesses.  He had tested positive for HIV and was on treatments,  his body was not accepting the nutrition from the food he ate, he had stopped eating, his veins collapsed with the IV, he tested positive for Hep B, and he had pneumonia.  Andrew was a sweet 3 year old boy who had struggled for life when he was a baby.  I was looking through my pictures, and I did not have a lot of Andrew but I had about 10 pictures from one Saturday that I took while holding Andrew for about 2 1/2 hours.  He went to the hospital later that day. 

Tuesday was full of sadness.  We did our last group therapies that morning and came back for lunch.  I was with the feeding group and was able to see a lot of improvement with the HIV and TB babies from the beginning until now.  After lunch, we left to go back to attend Andrew's funeral.  He looked very peaceful during the viewing which was done behind Haven 2 on a table from the Haven.  We walked down to the plot where he was buried which was down a hill behind Haven 2.  This place was full of names of children who had been lost.  The funeral was sad but Andrew is in a much better place now.  As I walked away, I looked and saw a gravestone where Quintyn's twin brother Tanner had been buried.

After the funeral, we were given that last 45 minutes to do whatever we wanted at the Haven, so I went and got Quintyn and we just talked.  I did not make him do tummy time or practice holding his head up.  I just held him and then it was time to go.  I walked back into the room where he sleeps and said good-bye to every child in the room, then kissed Quintyn good-bye and walked out.  I walked back with Dr. Tullos the super short way and just thought about my time at Namwianga.

If I could do it all over again, would I? ABSOLUTELY!!!!  Without at doubt. 

Thank you again for all the support that I was given.
Much Love,
Shanna

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Much Love,
Shanna

Sunset

I’m not sure this week actually happened… I should be pinched to make sure. We got to spend time with the wonderful children on Monday and Tuesday and got to experience an amazing time here in Livingston. Today I woke up and hung out with some other people. Then we came back to the hotel and went to Victoria Falls where I got soaked. I also slipped on a step and fell on my bottom which was dry because of the poncho before falling but not so much afterwards. We crossed a bridge with hand rails while being splashed by the falls and falling off would mean certain death. I walked quickly and did not stop. Other people stopped, took pictures, and observed; however, I have a frontal lobe and amygdala that like to work in situations like that so I did not. I also saw a rainbow over the falls which was neat as well. Afterwards, I went out to the market where I think I may have overpaid for a couple of things I’m sure. It was overwhelming and I am horrible at bargaining. After that, we came back to the hotel to put our stuff up and change clothes, if needed, and we then headed back to the lodge that we went to yesterday for our sunset cruise. It was great. It was on the Zambezi River and was beautiful. They served us finger foods and desert on the cruise. We saw some more hippos and a crocodile as well. And now, I am back at the hotel room. We go back to Namwianga tomorrow to see our beautiful children at the Havens.

It has been so much fun in Africa. This is a great vacation spot for anyone who is looking for a wonderful place to go.
Much love,
Shanna

Arrival...how did I forget....

We got here to Livingston on Wednesday in 2 shuttles.  I was assinged the first shuttle so we left Namwianga around 9 and headed to Livingston.  We got here and got our hotel rooms and then went and ate at Olga's (an Italian restaurant).  It tasted amazing then we came back about the time the second shuttle made it here.  We got together and went to the Royal Livingston which is located on top of Victoria Falls for high tea.  It was beautiful and fancy and I felt like royalty in a T-shirt and jeans.  We then went Victoria Falls to see the moon bow.  It is where the moon creates a rainbow at night over Victoria Falls.  Breathtaking is the only word that comes to mind.  It can only be seen in a few locations in the entire world and we got to see it. It is God's beauty on earth.  We walked over the bridge in the dark and got soaked.  It was so cool. 

Well we are about to head back to Victoria Falls to get ready for our sunset cruise, so I will post tonight, so until then...

Much love,
Shanna

I sat in the middle of 4 countries

Thursday we got to go on a safari (both land and river) which was amazing. We saw giraffes, hippos, elephants, crocodiles, codoos, African fish eagles, appalas, monkeys, lizards, lots of birds, and I’m sure I missed some, but some were so close that you could see their eyes. It was pretty awesome.

We got picked up at the hotel and taken to Botswana so we had to get our passports out and stamped to enter in. We then got on a little boat that took us across the river and we got to sit between 4 African countires. Amazing! We got to the other side of the river and loaded on safari trucks and headed to the lodge. After we got to the lodge, we loaded on a booat to start our water part of the safari. The boat had 2 decks which several of us took advantage of. We got to see elephants, hippos, birds, crocodiles, some kind of huge lizard, and some other land animals. After the water safari, we headed back to the lodge for lunch. They served goat along with chicken and fish for meat and several different side dishes and desert. The deserts weren't great and the sauce for the goat was gross but the worse part was that I got stung inside of my mouth by a bee and Reagan dug to get the stinger out of my cheeck.  After lunch, we loaded the safari trucks and off we went. We entered into the land reserve in 3 different trucks and began our journey. Each truck had a guide that told everyone about the animals we saw. We saw elephants, giraffes, monkeys, appalas, codoos, birds of all sorts, hippos, carcasses of dead animals, and I’m sure I left some out. After the safari we headed back the same way and made it to the hotel. Some people separated for dinner and activates for the night.  I ate at Olga's Italin Cousine that took a long time but it tasted great. 

Today I am going shopping and then back to Victoria Falls for a sunset cruise this afternoon.

Until next time...
Much Love,
Shanna

Lunch and Dancing

We went to the Kasebe church today for church and a celebration lunch with Lenard. It was amazing. After church, we went to lunch where there was a band and dancing. I danced with a 3 year old boy who was better than me.

Also, today Anna learned sometimes white people scare African children.

Much love,
Shanna

It's been a while...

Hey Everyone! Well it is Thursday morning and I am up and dressed an hour early which isn’t abnormal. Well I am trying to think about what all has happened since the last time I bloged. The pharmacy students that were with us left yesterday for Livingston and will be back on Sunday to finish packing and will then be headed home. Reagan (Dr. Weaver’s daughter who is an OT), Ashley (OT grad student), Tammy (Dr. Weaver’s friend), the film crew, and some Harding professors (Stockstills & Hoppers) all got here on Tuesday, so it’s been a packed house which is fun.

The Havens have been great. There has been a lot of improvement with the kids both with language and with feeding exercises. It has been fun working with my group of Tessa, Ben and Jill. This week we are doing language stimulation therapy all day.

It rained on Tuesday a little which was the second time it has done so since we have been here and here lately it has been really cloudy. Dr. Tullos has been taking pictures of it because he said that he hasn’t seen weather like this any of the times he has been here. This is suppose to be their dry season and is suppose to be cool. It’s still hot in my opinion. Other people say it must be in the 70’s and 60’s which I do not believe. I think it’s more like mid to high 80’s during the hot part of day and high 70’s to low 80’s when the sun is down which I know is cooler than Arkansas, so I am not complaining J Yesterday, some people in our group saw a snake and said it was a Cobra, but Ian corrected them and it was a large green garden snake. I don’t really care for poisonous snakes and until now I haven’t really thought about it too much. You have to get the anti-venum for a Cobra bite quickly and there is no anti-venom for the Maumba bite.
Today is Ian’s birthday and he is 14. We get to have a party tonight for him.

Anyways, I am going to head out…
Much Love,
Shanna

Sunday

Yesterday was Saturday and we went into town. I was walking with Dr. Tullos for most of the market and he lead us through an indoor market that was selling a lot of dried fish and I could barely stand the smell. Their market is so different and they sell such a variety of things. The first time we went to the market, I was not expecting to see Miley Cyrus bags and US Presidential memorabilia. After we got back, we played soccer the fun way which is only half field and one team plays offence and one team plays defense for 5 minutes and then you switch. I scored another goal which was a lot of fun.
Today we went to church and I went to children’s church and lead “In the Beginning” which apparently they like a lot. On Sundays we cook for ourselves so breakfast is usually ceral or instant oatmeal and we are divided into 2 groups for lunch and dinner. One group cooks and the other cleans and vice versa for other meal.

I can’t believe it’s half way over. Zambia is such a cool place to be. That is about all I can think of right now, so until next time…
Much Love,
Shanna

Great day for Quityn

Quityn rolled over today!!!! He rolled from tummy to back and then sat in the bumbo seat and was able to keep his head up. I didn’t have to give him any extra support. I am so proud of him. I walked him around after he rolled over like he was a champion.

GOAL!!!

Today therapy was great.  Quityn was turned completely on his side and had his leg propped over the bed next to him.  Leo crawled all the way across the floor and that was his first time crawling.  It

So Liz and I scored a soccer goal against Zambian's yesterday.  It was pretty awesome!

Limited internet, so that is all for now...
Much Love,
Shanna

New Week

This week, I am on BWeave’s team and we are working on pediatric swallowing. I have only been doing this for 2 days so far but I have seen improvements already. We have an extremely floppy 8 month old named Heath who was reaching for objects today with both hands. Lincoln, an 8 month old, rolled over today for the first time, and Joel, I can’t remember his age at the moment, almost rolled over. After lunch, I worked in Nichole who is a precious little 1 ½ month old. She worked really hard and fell asleep sucking the pacifier. We are using the tools that we got when Caroline came to speak to us. We start by singing to the kids and using their arms and legs for the motions and we rub their arms, legs, back, and stomach to stimulates the muscles, and then put them on their stomach for tummy time to increase head control and muscle tone. We use the Nuk brush and the Z-Vibe on their cheeks and lips and then follow with Buccal stretches, upper lip stretches, lower lip stretches, and C-stretches inside their mouths. We also try to get the kids to suck on a pacifier to work on sucking.

We have a class blog at http://csdinzambia.blogspot.com/ so check it out if you get a chance.  I wrote today's blog :)

Much Love,
Shanna

New group

Before I talk about therapy today. I forgot to write about something that happened last week. Last week I was on Triple D’s team and we had an hour that we worked with special needs children at the Haven. There is a man that walks around who used to be a preacher but has had a stroke and now has a fluent aphasia and is always preaching (doesn’t make sense sine it is a fluent aphasia) and is always loud. One day last week, I think Wednesday, Tessa, Jill, and I sat out on the porch of Haven 2 (toddlers) and worked with our special needs client. The man stood there for at least 45 minutes and never said a word. He just watched us interact with kids. After we were done and took the children back inside he spoke to us as we walked by in Tongan and Dr. Tullos said I feel like he just gave us a blessing. Even if we spoke Tongan we still probably would not have know what he said but that was a really neat experience.

Today, I started on BWeave’s team with pediatric swallowing. It was a new experience. We got to use the stuff in our dysphasia bags we got when Caroline came and spoke to us. I had 2 children who were both developmentally behind. One is 8 months and can’t even grip my finger with any type of firmness. After I was with the 2 swallowing clients in Haven 3 (sick house), I went over to Haven 1 (infants) and worked with a little 2 month old who was holding her head up and almost completely over. Of course, I checked on Quityn who was rolled a little on his side while sleeping which is the first time I have seen him not laying completely on his back while sleeping. After lunch, we did another swallowing group and I had Virginia who loved the Z-Vibe. She could have sat there all day with the Z-Vibe on her face. After the last swallowing group, we have language enrichment and I played with Memory today for the first time. I have seen others play with her but today was the first for me. She is about 15 months or so and she was imitating some sounds. Now, I am sitting here at the table before supper and just relaxing, and because of that, I am done with my blog today.

Until tomorrow or the next…
Much Love,
Shanna

Rest Day

Today, Jack, who was scared to death of white people, played soccer with us and then came and taught Ashley how to play speed after supper and played a round of speed with me as well. To me, that was the most exciting part of the day. I was so proud of him for taking that step and letting go of some of that fear. Dr. Tullos sat by him in the jeep earlier this week when we gave him a ride from the Havens to the houses, and said he literally shook the whole way. I am so glad that I got to be part of that. J

I also went to Haven 1 today and got to see my boy Quityn which made me happy.

And I also got to wash spaghetti dishes 2 times in a row, but this time I did it by flashlight with really hot water.  A new experience.

Anyways until tomorrow…
Much Love,
Shanna

Saturday...

Today was a fun Saturday! We went into town to the market and the museum at Choma. The museum at Choma had a really neat souvenir section along with some really neat pictures and some really neat facts. I bought a coke and some chocolate at the store which was great as well. J Since I got car sick on the way there (I did not throw up though), I got to ride in the front seat of the pharmacy truck. I liked it a lot. After we got back, we got to attend a wedding here at Namwianga which was so cool. They dance down the isle, then dance down back the isle after the ceremony, then they dance 2 more times. Of course, we left at 5 for dinner (we got there around 2:30) and it was still going. I have some great footage that I would not put into a church slideshow exactly, but it was great!!! After dinner, we played ultimate Frisbee and taught a few Zambian girls how to play.
That is about all that happened today that was interesting.
Much Love,
Shanna

Friday

Well it is Friday, and we have just finished our first week of therapy which was a blast.  I have been on Triple D's team this week and I really liked it.  His team has a special needs time that we work with 3 of the children there with special needs, and I work with Jonathon.  Dr. Tullos is pretty sure he is on the spectrum.  Jonathan has a lot of energy and gets so excited which is great for me to get to see pure joy.  Yesterday, he and I were singing about apples and banana's while I showed him the cards and afterwards, I asked him which one was the apple and he looked real close to the banana and then the apple and started to clap under the apple.  We did the song again and this time I switched the apple and banana cards, and he was able to do it again.  I told his aunties about how good of a job he did, and they praised him and you could see how much joy that brought to them.  These kids are like their own kids, and they take their job seriously.  Another kid I work with is Quityn.  He is 9 months old and is developmentally behind and so small for his age.  We have a deal, I will talk to him and hold him everytime I am at the Haven, and he will hold his head up for a longer period of time and hold his bottle.  So far, he has been working hard, and today he held his bottle by himself for the first time!!!  I put his hands in the right spot, but he kept them there.  Oh, I was like a proud auntie myself then.

As for the other stuff...it's been fun.  Lenard cooks great meals.  We get to meet and interact with the college students and the people that live in the Namwianga Misson area.  Today, as we were passing by the college, a student was standing there and was meeting everyone, but we had met him before at chapel earlier this week, and he remembered meeting me.  It was pretty cool.  We are going shopping tomorrow and going to a museum, which will be fun.

I'm going to head for now...Hope you are all having a great summer so far!
Much Love,
Shanna

Therapy Day!

We have now been here since Friday evening and it is going by so fast. On Monday and Tuesday we did language and swallowing diagnostics to determine which children needed to be included in therapy. Today, we started therapy. We have been divided into 2 groups of 4 and 1 group of 3. I am in a group with Tessa and Jill and we are on Team Triple D this week (aka Dr. Tullos). We did some language enrichment groups of toddlers, a language group of around 9-12 months olds, an individual time, and a special needs time. I love special needs time. I wish I could be in that group every week. We are rotating so next week I will either be doing language therapy with older toddlers and tin he sick house or I will be doing swallowing. There are a couple of kids who are so behind developmentally that I really want to see improve. I hope that working with them one on one will help. Tonight we were told the story about how the Haven was started, which was a heart breaker for sure. How it used to be, if the mother died during child birth, the live baby was buried with her in the grave because it was better for the baby to suffocate quickly then to die of starvation over a long period of time. One day while a burial was happening, an aunt of the child jumped into the grave and pulled out the baby and walked for 3 days to the Merritt’s. She fed the child sugar water from a rag to keep the child alive. That is how the Haven began. The children are either an orphan (1 parent died) or a double orphan (both parents died). We are getting to see the fruits of that endeavor by seeing these children’s beautiful faces and humbled spirit.
After therapy is a blast as well. We have had the opportunity to play soccer with Africans, see baptisms in a wash tub (or horse trough), hear the Holy Spirit through song (they are powerful singers), see the southern hemisphere stars, play different games with the others here, lead singing at children’s church, and learn some native words. It has been a experience for sure. I have seen an oxen pulling a cart pass by an automobile. I have seen hut looking structures holding corn. We have driven down dirt roads. We have taken short cuts down paths that have been worn down from previous walkers. Today, Ian was playing with another boy who lives next door to the Mann House where we stay, so we gave him a ride back from the Haven and afterwards, Ian said that the boy was scared because he had never been in a car with white people before. He was nervous the whole way.

Anyways, it’s late so I am going to go…

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3-10

Much love,
Shanna

Day 1 1/2

We got into Namwianga yesterday around 4 and moved into our houses. I am in the Mann house sleeping on a bottom bunk with 3 other girls. We had a welcome supper and continued to move in and get ourselves situated for the rest of the night. Since it rained and apparently hailed last night we have to sleep under our nets which is kind of cool. It makes me feel like a queen.

Today we went to The Haven orphanage to meet some of the kids we will be working with over the next weeks. I walked into the infant house and picked the child who was already smiling to pick up and play with whose name is Peace. She was precious. I also got to meet Hamilton who they were able to save from possibly dieing last summer. The toddler house was eating lunch when we made our way over there so we were only able to wave and smile. Then Kara, Naiveen, Jill, and I were led by Alan, Max, and Ian down a short cut back to the houses which included walking down narrow paths with tall grass on each side and going through a bob wired fence. We made it back without seeing a snake which I was happy about. We then had lunch and went into town where I bought a chitanga and got to see an African market. We then came back to town where I took a pretty cool shower with a spider in which I have taken a colder shower than that with a larger spider at camp so that prepared me for this :) We then ate dinner and started playing games when the electricity went out. We continued in the dark which was fun. We did go outside and look at the stars from the southern hemisphere which was beautiful! God knew what He was doing when he spoke those into existence. We finished the day up with another card game, the electricity came back on, and we made our way to bed.

Well, this was day 1 1/2 here at Namwianga. I will continue to keep you posted about what is going on here at Namwianga. We will begin therapy on Monday morning so I'm sure there will be great stories to tell, but until then...
Much love,
Shanna

We're in Zambia!

Well, we made it to Zambia in one piece and with all of our luggage.  From Washington DC, it was a long, long flight that started with me not having a working TV screen for 12 hours and ending with me using the throw up bags twice on the last part of the flight. We met lots of people that were coming to Africa as well from all over the United States and we got to exchange our what our missions were.  

We are in Lusaka right now and tomorrow we travel 6 hours south to Namwianga to our place where we will be staying for next 6 weeks.

We have limited internet right now, so I am going to go for now.
Much Love,
Shanna

About 43 hours

Wow! I can't believe that I started this blog over 40 days ago and now I am down to less than 2 full days. Thank you again for all the support that I have received for my trip. Please keep us in your prayers.

I will post as often as I am able to do so this summer and hope that you will continue to check out my blog.

Have a bleesed day.
Much love,
Shanna

One week...

We got our information today and we will be leaving on Tuesday May 17th headed to Zambia which is 6 1/4 days away or about 149 hours, whichever way you want to look at it :)

I am so excited to be leaving and want to again thank all of those who helped me by supporting me.  Have a woderful rest of week, and I will post again before I leave!

Much Love,
Shanna

Down to the wire...

I am down to one treatment presentation, a meeting with the chair and supervisors, 2 written finals, 1 oral final, and few days....whoot whoot!

ZAMBIA...we will be together soon!
Much love,
Shanna

21 or 12 whichever way you look at it...

21 days and counting...
I have officially marked off several of the previous mentioned assignments which brings happiness to my heart.

We offically roll out of Searcy on May 16th which is in 21 days, however using an old peer's logic that number is much smaller...

Today doesn't count because it's almost over, and the weekends don't count because they fly by so fast and the last couple of days are spent packing and making sure you have everything so they don't really count either, so it's really only like 12 days away...

I like that number much more :)
Much Love,
Shanna

Less than a month!

May 16th is the day we are leaving which is 28 days away!  But for now, I am taking one day of school work at a time. I have 2 diagnositc reports, 2 diagnostic assessment reports, 1 voice diagnostic, an oral history essay, a treatment presentation, 2 written final exams,1 oral final exam, and a long plane ride between me and Zambia!

Closer...

Today is 39 days until Zambia!

Thank you for all of your support!  Have a blessed day!

Love much,
Shanna

The time is coming...

We leave for Zambia in 45 days...

Wow!  I can't believe it and I can't wait.  We talk about all the time at school and we are all starting to get stuff ready for the trip.  We will be spending time do language enrichment sessions with toddlers, swallowing therapy with infants, and whatever else is needed.

Thank you for your support!  I will be posting periodically until my trip and hope to blog a lot while I am there. God Bless.

Much love,

Shanna