Feed The Children....#1 And Medical Care For The Poor

[Bruce]

:whistling: Lee,Thanks for the posting. Hopefully it will provoke a positive response from others to do 'something' for those in need in the Philippines.... Every little bit counts and can make a difference in the day or the life of someone who needs a positve change in their lives.

[Jollygoodfellow]

:welcome: Lee,Thanks for the posting. Hopefully it will provoke a positive response from others to do 'something' for those in need in the Philippines.... Every little bit counts and can make a difference in the day or the life of someone who needs a positve change in their lives.

The kids in the photos do not look malnourished to me,they are clean and in nice clothes. How is it determined who really needs a feed or are just there for a day out?Don't shoot me for this but thinking hard about it all,the kids get one ,meal a month and survive quite well for the rest of the month by looking at them.I am wondering if theres always free meal's available then it would just become part of life where nothing changes and no need to because someone else is providing all that is needed for life. Will you end up seeing generation after generation lining up.Would it be an idea to perhaps start some sort of community market garden where the people who help out in the garden including children get the vegtables or a share in some chickens raised by the community group.If there was some surplus crops then maybe they could be sold and proceeds put back into the garden or shared with those who work.This should encourage children to work for a living when they get older.Now don't get me wrong,its good to be able to help some one in need and my thoughts above are just giving everyone here some more to think about.Anyone else have thoughts the subject of charity and what is best for the long term interest of the people? :541:

[Bruce]

:welcome: Lee,Thanks for the posting. Hopefully it will provoke a positive response from others to do 'something' for those in need in the Philippines.... Every little bit counts and can make a difference in the day or the life of someone who needs a positve change in their lives.

The kids in the photos do not look malnourished to me,they are clean and in nice clothes. How is it determined who really needs a feed or are just there for a day out?Don't shoot me for this but thinking hard about it all,the kids get one ,meal a month and survive quite well for the rest of the month by looking at them.I am wondering if theres always free meal's available then it would just become part of life where nothing changes and no need to because someone else is providing all that is needed for life. Will you end up seeing generation after generation lining up.Would it be an idea to perhaps start some sort of community market garden where the people who help out in the garden including children get the vegtables or a share in some chickens raised by the community group.If there was some surplus crops then maybe they could be sold and proceeds put back into the garden or shared with those who work.This should encourage children to work for a living when they get older.Now don't get me wrong,its good to be able to help some one in need and my thoughts above are just giving everyone here some more to think about.Anyone else have thoughts the subject of charity and what is best for the long term interest of the people? :541:

The term 'malnourished children' is a Pinoy term used by the health department to describe children who meet certain criteria. Most of these kids eat rice every day and little or no meat. The feedings which are done every 7-14 days are a source of meat protein for those poor kids and it may be the only meat protein they get. However Tom...... when we ADD in your contribution..... well, that will help quite a bit! More meat protein on a more regular basis..... and that is a good thing. Your idea of farming is based on your level of thinking.... as an adult, as well as your own background (farming). Makes sense, as an adult, but not for the 6 yr old and younger crowd. Kids are just that. Kids. While they can repeat what you say and copy what you do (farming skills) by watching you, they really don't understand. As for farming, there are many land issues. Not just suitable flat land, but ownership rights, and of course, the stronger often take from the weaker, so there are issues of who will get what. As I said in my past posts, I have found very few BAD ATTITUDES or the I AM ENTITLED attitudes. Which makes me willing to provide some help. In my doing so, I had to set aside my own expectations and become 'less jugemental'. As a Kano, my thinking processes seem to be faster, more complex and problem solving in nature than the average Pinoy I have met. Expecting them to do as / act like me, is just not realistic. With the medical care I saw, it was very frustrating for me to see a doctor see a 'few' patients, while his counterpart in the US would have seen 15++ an hour, made decisions and started treatment or a treatment plan on each. It is just a very different teaching model in medical school / residency programs between the US and the Philippines. In the US it is a FAST model of repeated EVALUATE, DECISION and START a treatment plan, then follow up RE-EVALUATE and continue on from there. So I had to 'adjust' my thinking.... which ain't the easiest thing for me to do. I am simply helping to provide things to the poor people and not so much trying to 'fix' everything like I would in the US. Long term..... I have renovated an old small building into a bar / cafe'. You can see it in the photos in the background. A portion of those profits are being used to fund feedings and medical supplies for the poor. This should continue long after I am gone. But I guess the most important aspect of what I am doing is that I am DOING something. Maybe not the best thing, maybe on a small scale, but I am doing something. Maybe not what you would do, or what other readers would do, but I am DOING SOMETHING. If we ALL do SOMETHING, it all helps. If those who think alike do something collective, then great. Make it bigger and better. But whether you provide feedings, or money to pay for feedings... or farming... or fishing....... the most important thing is that YOU have started to do SOMETHING. Make your decision and then DO IT. Whatever you do, it will help someone. And that is the bottom line here. To provide some help.

[Mr Lee]

During our many travels into the provinces of the Philippines, I have seen many children and rarely do any look malnourished compared to what we may see on TV happening in places like Africa, yet they still may not be getting much nutrition as Bruce alludes to......... I do see many of the children eating corn grains, rice and sometimes fruits and those foods seem to put weight on them but we all know that there may be little nutrition in most of the staples of life that they eat, so meats and fish (protein) even once a week or once a month would be beneficial in my opinion.......... I know my wife used to eat 3 meals a day plus snacks while she was working in Cagayan de Oro, but she was not healthy when she arrived in the US and it took us a while to get her healthy........... I guess there has to be some balance and Bruce is correct IMO and just doing something is important and if we all do our little bit of something, then slowly but surely maybe the Philippines will get healthier........ I know that I do my part with our very large family and while that is not the same as feeding strangers, I feel I am doing my part, yet I would still like to do more. Anyone have any great ideas how we all can help out.

[Jollygoodfellow]

:AddEmoticons04230: Lee,Thanks for the posting. Hopefully it will provoke a positive response from others to do 'something' for those in need in the Philippines.... Every little bit counts and can make a difference in the day or the life of someone who needs a positve change in their lives.

The kids in the photos do not look malnourished to me,they are clean and in nice clothes. How is it determined who really needs a feed or are just there for a day out?Don't shoot me for this but thinking hard about it all,the kids get one ,meal a month and survive quite well for the rest of the month by looking at them.I am wondering if theres always free meal's available then it would just become part of life where nothing changes and no need to because someone else is providing all that is needed for life. Will you end up seeing generation after generation lining up.Would it be an idea to perhaps start some sort of community market garden where the people who help out in the garden including children get the vegtables or a share in some chickens raised by the community group.If there was some surplus crops then maybe they could be sold and proceeds put back into the garden or shared with those who work.This should encourage children to work for a living when they get older.Now don't get me wrong,its good to be able to help some one in need and my thoughts above are just giving everyone here some more to think about.Anyone else have thoughts the subject of charity and what is best for the long term interest of the people? :tiphat:

The term 'malnourished children' is a Pinoy term used by the health department to describe children who meet certain criteria. Most of these kids eat rice every day and little or no meat. The feedings which are done every 7-14 days are a source of meat protein for those poor kids and it may be the only meat protein they get. However Tom...... when we ADD in your contribution..... well, that will help quite a bit! More meat protein on a more regular basis..... and that is a good thing. Your idea of farming is based on your level of thinking.... as an adult, as well as your own background (farming). Makes sense, as an adult, but not for the 6 yr old and younger crowd. Kids are just that. Kids. While they can repeat what you say and copy what you do (farming skills) by watching you, they really don't understand.As for farming, there are many land issues. Not just suitable flat land, but ownership rights, and of course, the stronger often take from the weaker, so there are issues of who will get what. As I said in my past posts, I have found very few BAD ATTITUDES or the I AM ENTITLED attitudes. Which makes me willing to provide some help. In my doing so, I had to set aside my own expectations and become 'less jugemental'. As a Kano, my thinking processes seem to be faster, more complex and problem solving in nature than the average Pinoy I have met. Expecting them to do as / act like me, is just not realistic. With the medical care I saw, it was very frustrating for me to see a doctor see a 'few' patients, while his counterpart in the US would have seen 15++ an hour, made decisions and started treatment or a treatment plan on each. It is just a very different teaching model in medical school / residency programs between the US and the Philippines. In the US it is a FAST model of repeated EVALUATE, DECISION and START a treatment plan, then follow up RE-EVALUATE and continue on from there. So I had to 'adjust' my thinking.... which ain't the easiest thing for me to do. I am simply helping to provide things to the poor people and not so much trying to 'fix' everything like I would in the US. Long term..... I have renovated an old small building into a bar / cafe'. You can see it in the photos in the background. A portion of those profits are being used to fund feedings and medical supplies for the poor. This should continue long after I am gone. But I guess the most important aspect of what I am doing is that I am DOING something. Maybe not the best thing, maybe on a small scale, but I am doing something. Maybe not what you would do, or what other readers would do, but I am DOING SOMETHING. If we ALL do SOMETHING, it all helps. If those who think alike do something collective, then great. Make it bigger and better. But whether you provide feedings, or money to pay for feedings... or farming... or fishing....... the most important thing is that YOU have started to do SOMETHING. Make your decision and then DO IT. Whatever you do, it will help someone. And that is the bottom line here. To provide some help.

The term 'malnourished children' is a Pinoy term used by the health department to describe children who meet certain criteria. Most of these kids eat rice every day and little or no meat. The feedings which are done every 7-14 days are a source of meat protein for those poor kids and it may be the only meat protein they get. However Tom...... when we ADD in your contribution..... well, that will help quite a bit! More meat protein on a more regular basis..... and that is a good thing.

Out of curiosity,are these street kids or do they have a family,if they have a family what are the adults eating?Is that a request for a donation I see?

Your idea of farming is based on your level of thinking.... as an adult, as well as your own background (farming). Makes sense, as an adult, but not for the 6 yr old and younger crowd. Kids are just that. Kids. While they can repeat what you say and copy what you do (farming skills) by watching you, they really don't understand.

My back ground is certainly not farming and I guess you have never had kids, kids love to help out with things like that. Are all the kids you feed only 6 years old?My suggestion wasn't meant to be child labor but a community type thing where the kids become involved as well to what ever age capacity or level they can.At the moment the parents can not provide food for them so in most cases those parents wont be working,perhaps they can benefit by my suggestion by working in the market garden to provide food and probably raise their own self esteem at the same time.If kids don't understand then why is it those who come from a never work in my life social security type family usually end up with the kids being the same as their parents when they are older? its called learning and they come to understand by the example shown to them.The idea I am throwing around for comment is for kids to be involved in something that could be made to be fun while also grooming them into a way of life where work or self sufficiency will be better for them in later years rather than lining up for a hand out.Keep up the good work Bruce,you are doing something :thumbsup:

[Mr Lee]

I agree with Boss Man, Bruce is doing something and he should keep up what he is doing and maybe expand it to incorporate some others ideas. We all have different ways of doing things, I think what is important is that we just try to do something as Bruce has already said and is doing, but IMO it is much better to teach a person to fish than to just give them fish. Maybe doing both would be a good idea.

[Bruce]

Well Tom......There is a dividing line 'somewhere' between debate and taking action. I have gone beyond the debate stage, past the planning stage, past the financing state and well into the implamentation stage. I am doing 'something'. As for the status of the kids, I can't micro manage everyting. At some time, other people must be responsible for certain aspects of the situation. The kids chosen for feeding are done by the local health department workers and barangy captain. Some kids are more rural than others, some are living in homes made shacks of tree parts. I shall ask Pam to forward to Lee some of those photos. They are either very poor, or the children of bicycle cab drivers and washer women class of people. As for farming, it takes land, effort and MUCH time. Perhaps as a long term plan, it may come into play. But as for now, feeding kids meat based food provides proper protein for kids at whatever devepolment state they are in.Now, here is a point I want you to think about. In your past replys to the original post.... you are thinking and replying like these kids are being poor intentionally and that they have some choice and that they will end up as their parents (most likely true). "All they have to do is farm..." Is a viable answer from the debate aspect of the situation. But from the practical aspect, it does not feed anyone TODAY. If, and I do stress IF, I was there full time (or you were there full time) we would be in a better position to make some changes. But we are not. So, I have decided to do what I can with what I have and hope for the best. I am returing for several weeks in November. At that time not only will I be seeing patients and providing medicines, but I shall also be able to revise the feeding aspects. As for the farming...... Catbalogan is a costal community. I shall substitute your word 'farming' with the word 'fishing' and see what I can do in providing a method for fishing....... (insert Jesus fable here)....... Which will provide more protein in their diets. But, the most important thing here is that I have actually done something and have made arraingements to continue doing something. I am meeting with the local PUBLIC high school and the dean of the Samar State University about establishing a scholarship for a position in the nursing program. And now, perhaps other forum members will get past the debate stage and actually 'do something'. Donate money, donate food / medicines in what ever area of Pinoyland you travel in. But do something.... Just sitting in front of the monitor debating on what other people should do does not help those who need it. Refusing to donate / help because you expect there to be abuse of your generosity (most likely true) also does not help those who need it. You don't have to be rich or donate thousands of dollars..... every little bit helps. Pick an area of the Philippines and start to make a difference in someone's life. :AddEmoticons04230:

[Mr Lee]

Free doctors yet poor people are dyingI thought some of you might be interested in what Bruce has been up to lately. He just returned from a medical mission to Samar and helped some people in the Catbalogan area. I received lots of emails about some of the things he was doing during his 3 week visit and he has shared some of his thoughts and photos if people would like to look at some. It seems the floods have caused a very bad situation over there with all the mosquito's and a lot of people have skin infections and many other issues. Bruce's thoughts on the subject after his visit is that if you are poor and you get sick then you are going to die because while some doctors and ER's will look at patients, if the patient does not have the money for the necessary medicines or tests then they will just let them die. Maybe there is a way that some of us can figure out to help the really poor but supplying medicines in our own families areas? I really do not know what can be done and Bruce has done this on his own and this is not about asking for money, but instead asking each and everyone of you to try to think of ways to help the poor on your own.Warning: Some of the pictures can be quite graphic and some even upset me and I have seen it all in my lifetime. Link to photos from member Bruce's medical mission and travels around Samar etc

Edited December 6, 2009 by Mr. Lee
update link

[tropicalwaste]

Hi Lee, Its a difficult scenario as a lot of the time there is so much needed you struggle to find where to start. I noticed with the infections on Bruces photos look more like blisters is it a parasite under the skin or general infection? I think getting it identified and how its caused is the first thing to get the education across on how to avoid it. Then dealing with it.. If its something that is localised then there is probably a cure from some sort of plant that can be researched to find its solution. I wasnt a strong believer in herbal remedies but it makes sense especially if budgets are impossible to find to grow and use rather than trying to find money for medication that people are likely to die before having enough money.Helping the poor is also a choice thing I think its important for people to decide what they want to do then the ones that DO want to do things share ideas and pool knowledge. Those who dont want to help thats a choice and everyone has a reason so all I would ask is to keep negativity out of the mix. I know personally im anti donation with mainstream charities because most cant be trusted with money but im all for projects that are sustainable and progressive and more importantly hands on. As this also educates people at the same time.One thing I am in the process of organising is a trip out of the UK. People raise funds for a project e.g. refurbishing a community building or constructing a house. Then they come here for 7 - 10 days and work on the project carrying out the work and at the same time visit other projects. People then go away satisfied they have made at least a contribution to change but also educated on things that can be done which can develop into an annual trip and regular fund raising. Now this could easily be expanded to doing regular trips for multiple groups over a year and could soon make serious changes to communities needing the help.Twinning schools, towns and hospitals - This is something I am also working on currently I have twinned one school which will be the pilot scheme. But eventually I am hoping to develop the twinning throughout Minglanilla (because its my local town). The reason im doing it in one town only is because it can be time consuming and also delicate at times as the school twinning hit an iceberg straight away when requests were asked for multi media equipment yet they hadnt even discussed what the project was about in the first place yet. So getting in between the two to stop things before they go wrong is important. But no doubt your schools in your home countries have 3 - 5 yrs computer upgrades so the old equipment could be shipped as well as classroom furniture. BUT its important to make it a two way street so then involves finding local businesses that can supply goods to the school in the UK for example that can be sold under fair trade and generate funds for things such as shipping as well as developing the bonds for the two communities at complete opposites of the financial spectrum. Hospitals can supply loan staff and old equipment as well as exchanges of staff for training. There is a lot of scope of opportunities in twinning but the main thing is keeping things motivated so that the benefits shine through before people give up.

[Mr Lee]

Free doctors yet poor people are dyingI thought some of you might be interested in what Bruce has been up to lately. He just returned from a medical mission to Samar and helped some people in the Catbalogan area. I received lots of emails about some of the things he was doing during his 3 week visit and he has shared some of his thoughts and photos if people would like to look at some. It seems the floods have caused a very bad situation over there with all the mosquito's and a lot of people have skin infections and many other issues. Bruce's thoughts on the subject after his visit is that if you are poor and you get sick then you are going to die because while some doctors and ER's will look at patients, if the patient does not have the money for the necessary medicines or tests then they will just let them die. Maybe there is a way that some of us can figure out to help the really poor but supplying medicines in our own families areas? I really do not know what can be done and Bruce has done this on his own and this is not about asking for money, but instead asking each and everyone of you to try to think of ways to help the poor on your own.Warning: Some of the pictures can be quite graphic and some even upset me and I have seen it all in my lifetime. Link to photos from member Bruce's medical mission and travels around Samar etc

Below are highlights from emails from Bruce during his 21 day stay in mostly Catbalogan Samar. I am continuing on this post so the above picture may make more sense. Sent: Fri, Nov 13, 2009 6:57 pmSubject: BruceHad a busy day. In the morning I went shopping for school supplies for an elementary school that lost everything in a flood a few months ago. Then I spent a couple of hours with the president of the local university and his director of the nursing program. 300 nursing students and equipment from the 1950's in the class rooms.Then I spent a couple of hours in a prenatal clinic TRYING to teach the staff what to do and how to conduct a prenatal exam. It seems that every pregnant patient gets the same thing. 1 vitamin, instructions to return on another date and a very short note about the baby's position and if heart tones are heard or not. It is what we call malpractice in the US....Blood glucose and urine testing are beyond their understanding. I had already given them a fetal heart doppler and urine stick and blood glucose tester. And I found them sitting in the drawer at the clinic. Oh yes, the exam table is a wooden table behind a partial wall AND has a stack of books for a pillow....At lunch, I bought a meal for 15 homeless kids, 12 boys and 3 girls and the oldest is 10. They sleep on cardboard outside a local drug store. They are not allowed inside the fast food place called Jollibees which is a local McDonalds clone. But since they were with 'me', they were allowed in to eat. The regular customers were either laughing at their antics or scowling at the dirty street kids. Then in the afternoon, I delivered the school supplies and caused a riot. I was mobbed by 200+ elementary kids and I ended up throwing lollipops as far as I could to draw them away from me. 1 director and 14 teachers. I gave each the equivilant of $10 which is several days pay for them. They were so happy I thought they were going to cry. Sent: Sat, Nov 14, 2009 9:44 pmIt is Saturday night and I am here watching the kids play some form of dodge ball with flip flops used as they have no ball.I have been invited to CHURCH tomorrow and I had to do some quick thinking in my explanation as to why I shan't be attending as to not offend any of the fine god fearing village people....Note to self... buy some damn soccer balls....... :lol:Sent: Sun, Nov 15, 2009 11:41 amSubject: ChurchI managed not to attend church. So my record stands. However, it was announced at church that I am here and have diabetes testing equipment and am available for free to those who have no money and diabetic issues.No diabetics have shown up yet, but there is no shortage of mothers with babies / kids with health issues showing up!Christ! I hate kids and now I am expected to be a pediatrician! And not once has anyone asked me about my qualifications.......Sent: Mon, Nov 16, 2009 12:45 pmSubject: Bruce lunch / dinnerYesterday I spent time at the hospital and donated some medical supplies. While there I saw and took pictures of multiple cat roaming the halls and eating out of the trash piled in the halls. I also went up on the hillside and saw 20 or so kids with skin infections that I took care of as best as I could with what I had.I had lunch at the fast food place with the 11 yr old street boy. Thru a translator, I asked questions and he answered. Seems that the kid, while dirty and living in the street, is honest.He is 1 of 5 kids. 4 older are gone to other cities to live. Mom is dead. Dad is a pedi cab driver with no place to live but in the pedicab. The boy is expected to fend for himself and beg for money to support the father. He went to school up to the 3rd grade. I asked if he wanted to go back. He said yes. No problem for me. School costs $20 a year! But then the kid (honest) said that he would need 10 pesos a day to eat (20 cents) and had no clothes nor any place to store clothes, no dry place for the school books and in reality, he knew that there were far too many issues than simply me paying for his schooling. He was a street kid and accepted it.For dinner, at the same place, I repeated it with a 12 yr old girl named Venus. 1 of 5 kids, mom 'gone' father also a pedicab driver. and she had a younger sister who was still a baby. School was very part time as she has to watch the baby if her father was working. She too was expected to beg with her 2 brothers for money to support the father. I think there is a good deal of rum in the father's diet....I took a few photos. But it is again, another problem that can't be solved by simply paying for the school. Well, today I am headed back to the university and then have asked for a meeting with the 11 yr old boy's father at 12 noon. I gave the kid 20 pesos to 'hire' his father to drive the pedicab to meet me. We will see what happens. Sent: Mon, Nov 16, 2009 9:37 pmSubject: AntibioticsI went back up to a hillside village again to give out more flipflops and rice / canned fish as well as medicines. I was greeted by a man who did not speak much English so he simply turned around and dropped his pants and showed me his ass. Now, in Florida, I might have simply shot him. :lol: But I am not in Florida. I just hope that this is not a common Philippine greeting.... But as it turned out, he had a skin infection as well as his wife. I gave them some ointment and iodine wash with instructions via the translator. I was seeing mostly the same infected mosquito bites or a variation of impetigo. Then a woman came up and asked if I had any antibiotic. Sure I do, said the translator. Well, she wanted some. I, for some strange reason felt compelled to ask why she wanted antibiotics and what was her problem. She wanted them for her son. I had to ask more and more questions as to why she wanted antibiotics. She was rather vague. I insisted on seeing the son. She said he was sleeping. So I said WAKE HIM. So we walked up the hill to her bamboo shack and sure enough there he was...sleeping just like she said. With a BROKEN WRIST.Under more exact questioning, he fell this morning,so it was a fresh break with some moderate swelling and limited movement. She was unable to explain to me as to why she thought antibiotics would help. I gave him some ibuprofen and told her to take him to the hospital. She refused saying she had no money. So I was faced with a decision as to treat or send her to the hospital. I gave her some money and told her to take him to the hospital as they were better equipped to cast him.I was at the hospital 4 hours later and he had not shown up yet. I will be back up on the hill tomorrow and follow up. I finished up the afternoon seeing multiple kids with skin issues and an old man who wanted me to cure his cataracts ( I am not that good).For dinner stopped at a 'new' restaurant in town. They had crab soup on the menu. Being from Maryland I thought I knew what crab soup was. Evidently I was mistaken. I was served a large bowl of egg drop soup with some shredded carrots and crab added in. Now when I say crab, I mean all the crab including the lungs which are very strong and objectionable in taste, or at least to those of us who have been raised eating properly made crab soup.....As for my scheduled meeting with the street boy and his father, well dad never showed. The boy and his friends did. So I simply bought him and his friends lunch again and got the girl Venus's hair cut for her ($0.90). Pretty much a lost cause.I also met with the university administration again and started the process to sponsor 5 poor kids into the nursing program. My daughter Helen is getting a standard set of braces instead of the invisible ones. The savings between the standard and the invisible ones will pay for the 1st year of the nursing program for 5 kids..... Thanks Helen!Sent: Tue, Nov 17, 2009 3:57 pmSubject: Broken wristI dragged myself up the hill again to see the kid with the broken wrist. His mother said they went to the hospital. I said that I had also went to the hospital, last night and today and I spoke with the ER doc who said that no boy with a broken wrist had come in.Mom then said that the boy's father had taken him to a free standing clinic and he was x rayed and the results would be back tomorrow at 4pm.The kid is now about 28 hrs post break, wrist swollen much more than when I saw him yesterday, no splint or support and nothing for pain other than the ibuprofen I had given him.Or should I say...business as usual in rural Philippines.Went to the hospital today and saw a few different patients including TB patients with dirty drinking water (I have pictures!) and babies close to a bad case of dead with intestinal issues. More pictures to come.....Saw the woman with the infected breast today. She says she is better but there is a golf ball sized mass / lymph gland in her arm pit. Then saw 3 more kids with skin infections. I had bought sheer curtains and a pillow for the local clinic and stopped by there to drop them off. The clinic was open, staffed by a teen aged girl who was busy reading a magazine. No trained (HA!) staff there......So far this trip, I have not seen any other white faces in this rural area. Last time I remember seeing at least one or two....Sent: Tue, Nov 17, 2009 8:38 pmSubject: a catheter!I had bought some basket balls / flip flops for kids and restocked my medical bag and went up to the trail to visit the people on the hillside again.There was a small crowd of kids and several mothers with babies waiting for me before I even started. I addressed their needs / questions, thru the translator one by one. Then up came an older man who simply pulled out his shorts to show me that 1. he was male and that, 2. he had a catheter!. I really did not know what to say, and I could not very well shoot him as I had left my Glock with my kids to play with and there were too many witnesses anyway. :lol:So I had the translator ask WHY was this man showing me his crank? Well after a series of questions and answers, it seems that he has had a catheter for 3 years and gets a new one every 30 days and takes antibiotics to prevent any infection. Seems he had no antibiotics or money to buy them and wanted to know if I had any antibiotics. I did! So I fixed him up with some and then started up the hill.I treated more skin infections until I ran out of antibiotics and ointment. I came back down to the local little clinic building where I store my supplies and treated the group that had walked down with me. Too bad these people have no money. A dermatologist would get rich fast here....Sent: Wed, Nov 18, 2009 7:56 pmSubject: BruceI did my morning shopping for medications and then I bought a basic desk top computer for the elementary school which has no phone, no computer, no books, just hundreds of kids.I hired 2 motorcycle cabs one for the equipment and the other for me and the clinic staff and we went up to the school where I was greeted by several hundred kids all looking for more candy. Which of course I did have another case of lollipops ready for just such an occasion.The school was not expecting me, but they had already come up with a certificate for my earlier contributions. Even spelled my name right! So now the school has a computer and printer and 2 reams of paper! And of course many pictures were taken as everyone wanted their picture taken with me.As we left, I decided to walk back to the clinic which is about 1-2 miles. Much to the dismay of the clinic staff that feel obligated to do as I do. Too bad. While walking back, I came across more kids with open / infected bites and their mothers with similar skin issues. One was a heavy set woman with 3 kids from 3 to 10 all with skin issues. She was standing there talking to me via the translator in a black thread bare shirt with actual holes worn thru with her nipples sticking out. She 2 of her kids and another mother with 1 kid followed us back to the clinic. Seems that since they live in another neighborhood, they were not permitted to come to the clinic that I was working at. But since I have always lived by the creed that rules apply to other people and not me, I treated them anyway. I also got her a shirt out of the donation supply which made both of us very happy. Then a father came in with a sick kid who had heard that there was free medicine and as soon as I had addressed his son's fever, he starts on about his other 2 kids so I gave him enough medicine for all three and the translator gave him instructions in gibberish that he seem to understand.More soon