The training begins!

Today was my 4th day of conducting first aid training sessions in the Adivasi villages. I've gone through 3 translators... the first one didn't speak English (they tried to convince me it would be fine... folks, i really just can't make this stuff up!); the second quit after one day, demanding a much higher salary; the third is a really sweet girl, just out of high school, who is much too shy to be a translator in front of a large audience... but we're making progress. The entire thing, actually, is pretty surreal... each day, we drive in a 4x4 into the most remote places, on impossible winding roads past bathing buffalo, herders, fishermen on ancient wooden boats, women balancing huge baskets of fruit on their heads, and massive, swaying fields of rice and corn. The training sessions take place in a variety of environments, and each day is different; i work in large fields, under palm trees, tiny mud-brick schoolhouses, and on riverbanks. I think that if i had a video crew follow me around for the day, I could easily submit the tape to National Geographic.

The training sessions are going phenomenally well, especially considering all of the obstacles and difficult conditions... an average of 40-50 women have attended each one, except for one enormous session that had 95 participants (and those were only the adults)! Each lesson lasts approximately one hour, including the practical demonstrations. The last lesson is on how to properly deal with trauma, and i have the women come up and demonstrate how they would stop bleeding, observe c-spine precautions (keep the head and neck straight), and properly carry the person. Everyone loves it and we always get a laugh and a lot of applause. One woman that really made an impression on me was this elderly lady at my first session; at the beginning, she barely even wanted to take one of the books, insisting that we was too old and illiterate and couldn't learn anything. But at the end, when we were asking them to repeat what they had learned, she was the best, answering all of the questions correctly! That really made me smile. The villagers are also really sweet to me... today, a few of the men who were watching saw that earlier i had been taking photographs of goats, so after the lesson they offered me a baby goat as a gift! Don't worry, mom, i didn't take this one home with me (besides, he was healthy!), but I did take some great photographs with the little guy.

After the sessions, there's inevitably a long queue of parents wanting to show me their sick or children... generally it's dermatological problems, mainly due to poor hygiene and sanitation... i see a lot of scabies and ringworm, though the other day i did see two cases of impetigo (a bacterial super-infection)! As a result, i started thinking... what else can I do for these people besides teach? So, I came up with the idea of giving each Anganwadi worker (the village lay health assistant) a first aid kit for the village. With Sashi's help, we've put together small kits in bright Tupperware containers with antibiotic cream, bandages, q-tips, Tylenol, anti-diarrheals, iodine, and scissors (and how i got all of this stuff, on such short notice, in my tiny town is really a miracle). Additionally, Impact's mobile clinic is going to start coming with us to conduct hearing and vision screenings after the lessons (as long as we have a captive audience, why not do another health intervention?). So, i'm really thrilled - after all of the hard work and frustrations, i'm really seeing a fantastic result.

Tomorrow is my day off, and i'm going to Mumbai to grab some iced coffee and a Hindi film with the friends I made on the LifeLine Express... in the meantime, enjoy the photographs! :)

Recognizing symptoms of illness in young children

I think we have their attention... at least, their books are turned to the right page... :)

Demonstrating c-spine precautions after trauma (and that's me in a salwaar kamis! I have five of them now)

We teach anywhere... roof? Who needs a roof??

Demonstrating how to make oral re-hydration solution (boiled water, sugar, salt) for treating children who have become dehydrated as a result of prolonged vomiting or diarrhea. I think this is the most important lesson - millions of children in developing countries die from dehydration every year, and if the villagers can remember what i taught, it can save a lot of lives.

This lady was fantastic! Volunteered for everything (this is the page for the trauma lesson)

Practical on how to properly lift an injured patient (rather than just letting them sit or walk around)... we always get a lot of laughs with this one.

That little girl in the yellow shirt is absolutely adorable...

Hanging out with the little ones... see guys, i DO like kids!

With the translator (in pink) and the Anganwadi worker (in the green sari)

Do you think they'd let me have one in New York City? ;)