Kafue Lodge oh how we will miss the food, the wildlife and the near death experience that we felt the day we were mock charged by one of your elephants. Rachel, Susie, and Natalie were the only ones after a night of dancing who got up at 430 to go on the game drive at 530. There was many beautiful animals out that morning, but none as memorable as the HUGE elephant that we saw wandering on the safari road. As we drove past it we looked back to see it turning and looking at us and starting to trumpet and move towards us with trunk up and ears out. It looked like it was going to veer off into the other side of the trees when it decided to turn around and charge us. We all thought our lives were nearing their end... And only Natalie had the steadyness to take a picture of it actually happening. Our guide remained calm the entire time and later explained that this was in fact a "mock" charge. If the elephants trunk had been down and ears back we would have had to run for our lives. Glad we can laugh about it now.
This week we are mutoya outreach, where they run the Zambia project. Which is a project that helps malnourished children, a school and orphanage and a feeding program. It runs smoothly with many loving volunteers. We felt out of our comfort zones a bit when we were thrown into diagnosing and treating and prescribing drugs, to the many children that came in. It was a very overwhelming experience but we learned a lot and were thankful that we got to do something that pushed our knowledge and skills to a different level. The last few days we have been teaching a health worker training course, it has been really fun getting to know the local people and learning about their culture. There is so much that we take for granted in Canada.
This week there was a new little girl admitted into the feeding program that has stolen our hearts. She has the most beautiful eyes, despite being born blind, our hearts break knowing that she was abandoned by her parents. We have all gotten on a schedule that we have to feed her every three hours throughout the night. So sleep this last few days will be limited but we are determined to help her eat and hopeful that she will get better.
We are looking forward to a boat cruise this weekend to meet with more nurses and Doctors from Zambia and Canada.
Rachel and Susie
YAY GIRLS! Sounds amazing! So proud of you all!
ReplyDeleteHello Rachel, Susie,
ReplyDeleteI think it is good to know that you can see when you are out of your comfort zone - and good to question when you are at the limits of your abilities, whether at home or in Zambia. One thing I have learned from my own international experiences, and have heard so many colleagues discuss as well, is the importance of realizing that we have limits as practitioners wherever we go, and the critical issue is to respect that, do our best, and keep questioning when it is time to back off, and when it is time to try harder. Never easy to get right.... so I hope you keep questioning, and take care,
Patricia Marck, Director
Nothing Like 4 Tons Of Pachyderm To Remind You Ladies What Adrenalin Is For Hey?? Lol...Good To Hear The Jumbo Did Not Smoosh My Friend Susie You Either Rachel ;) I Wish I Could See The Little Ones Face Im Sure She Is An Example Of What Cute Really Is ;) Keep Up The Blogging I Look Forward To Hearing From You Ladies Xoxo Rachel Take Care Of My Susie Hey Be Safe And May You Get Some Rest Soon You Are My Hero's XOXO
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