A re-focus on work

Things are back to 'normal' now with our many visitors gone and Otto is back in school. I have been very busy at work. We just had our first (very successful) Embassy Health Fair.  These are a pretty common event at posts - but having never done one it was a lot of work. since i cannot provide health care services to our local staff, this is my way to offer them something health related. We focused on cardiovascular health - had some booths that measured height and weight for BMI calculation and did blood pressure checks. We had a local doctor (cardiologist) come by and give an excellent lecture on hypertension, which is a huge health problem here. The mission staff loved it and i feel really good about raising awareness for our employees. unfortunately i don't have photos - I was too busy working!!

I am getting ready to start training people in CPR. I got my instructor certification back in September, but it has taken this long to get all the supplies to teach. Lots of people want to take the class. I figure i will be very busy for the next 6 months teaching. One of my nurses was previously an instructor, so i will work with her and then she can teach as well.

Although i really miss being busy seeing patients (i am still only seeing 3-4 a day if i am lucky), I do see the value of health education and at least that way i am able to interact with lots of people.  I miss having colleagues around.  My staff in the Health Unit has been great with jumping right in and being willing to teach as well.

Otto and I will be going out to our 'adoptive village' next week for the first time. The Ambassador has a program that provides funding for small village self help projects. The Americans at post are then able to adopt a village and be the face of the Embassy to the villagers.  We will go out and talk to the leaders of the village to learn more about the project and make sure things are coming along to get it started (our village is getting a borehole/well). Then we will go back a couple more times to check on the progress and when it is completed we will be there to celebrate with the villagers. I am really excited about this and it will be good for Otto to get out to the countryside and interact with a different set of people. I will definitely get photos of our visits.

Here are some random photos to keep your eyes and senses happy.

Anomabo beach in Ghana. i miss the ocean!

Another interesting (depressing) bit of slave history. The stones used in this castle are from 3 different countries - 2 of them European. this is because the ships coming over had to be loaded with an equivalent weight for the trip back...so they loaded them with stones for building castles when they made the trip from Europe to Africa. It was all cargo to them...

The kids are always interested in us (well so are the adults, it is just the kids have less inhibitions).