Update: Rancho Santa Fe

Time continues to fly by, and I get closer and closer to finishing my year of service here. Even so, each day still holds adventure and new opportunities to learn and grow. I have been incredibly grateful for the past few weeks, both in the clinic and in Casa Suyapa. I have just been genuinely enjoying my time here and my relationships with the kids. I would love to update by blog more often and share all that is happening down here but I can hardly remember all of the things that happen on a daily basis, much less everything that has happened in the last few weeks. Here are a few highlights that have stuck with me.

Casa Suyapa: Every night I spend in Casa Suyapa is just hilarious. The kids are always saying and doing ridiculous things and each day I get more attached to them. I love them so much! I cannot imagine what it will be like when they are not a part of my daily life any more. Most recently, the children have taken to calling me by by full name. Usually its just Ana Blauw, with an excentuaded auwww at the the end of Blauw. That noise does not really exist in Spanish words so they think it is really fun to say! Sometimes they even go for the Ana Ruth Blauw. It continuously cracks me up. At any time I may here my name being called from all corners of the Ranch. They other day I was walking by the office and out of the window I heard a little voice yelling Ana Blauw, Ana Blauw, Ana Ruth Blauw. It was a Dulce Milagros, a very vocal two year old from Casa Suyapa.

Clinica: One of the best parts of my job in the clinic is that when new children come to the ranch they first spend a week in the clinic. They do this so that they can be checked out medically, but also so they can ease into life at the Ranch slowly. Through out their week in the clinic they slowly integrate into the home they will be living in, and then on Friday night they move to their permanent house. Recently we had a little two year old girl named Evelyn come to the Ranch. She actually stayed in the clinic for two weeks because it was suspected that she had Tuberculosis. Luckily this did not turn out to be true, and she was negative for TB, but she still remained in the clinic until she was healthy enough to move to Casa Suyapa. It is so amazing to see the transformation of kids when they come to the Ranch! Some are incredibly malnourished or sick, and within a few months you can begin to see a real change in them. Some have been terribly abused or abandoned and are incredibly timid or angry. The change in this children is also evident as they spend more time in a loving and supportive environment. Evelyn, the most recent addition to our large family, came to the Ranch because her mother is in the end sages of AIDS and will most likely pass away soon. Evelyn herself is also HIV positive, but is very healthy and taking a full load of antiretroviral medications. Her story is quite sad because not only was her mother very sick, but she also suffered from a variety of mental illnesses as well. As a result Evelyn was abused by her mother, and even left in the bottom of a latrine. When she first came to the clinic, she was incredibly shy and did not speak a word for an entire week! In here three short weeks at the Ranch she has changed immensly and is such a beautiful, loving little girl. She still does not speak often but smiles all the time.

NPH Honduras sponsers four children who do not live at the Ranch, but who live in the village nearby and attend the local public primary school. Recently our national director went to visit the school and noticed that so many of the children appear to be malnourished and suffering from a variety of health problems. He asked our doctor, Merlin, and a few nurse to visit the school and screen the kids. Yesterday we walked to the school and screend 40 of the 84 children there. We are planning to go back next Thursday to see the rest. This experience was quite possibley one of my favorite that I have had so far in Honduras. It was incredibly interesting to see how different life is just outside of the Ranch. Our neighbors are suffering, and the kids are not getting enough to eat. Many walk miles and miles to school eachday without shoes and without eating anything for breakfast. This lifestyle is typical in most parts of Honduras. Children and families are in need of health care, better nutrition, and health education. Merlin, another nurse, and I weighed and measured all the children, gave out mulitvitamins and anti-parasite medication. We talked about basic things life safe drinking water, hand washing, and the importance of brushing your teeth. We identified quite a few kids who need further treatment and they will be coming to our clinic at the Ranch on a regular basis to recieve further care and medications for free. It was a wonderful experience, and I am looking forward to doing more health teaching at this little public school.

I wish I could add more pictures to my blog, but alas, without my own computer its a struggle to upload photos. I will try to add photos soon!

Peace,
Anna