Anne Marie: Journal Entry #1

We arrived in Manila, spent the night there, and were picked up by Vicki (director of Mercy in Action) to take us to Olongapo Bay. We will spend the next week there in a hotel, taking classes. The rooms are even air-conditioned (LOVELY) and there is a dining room that opens to the beach. The sunsets are beyond amazing!

The weather is hot and humid, and there are green plants everywhere! Vicki gave us each a welcome present -- small bottles of hand sanitizer and mosquito repellent! I'm sure they will be much-used.

We attend classes in a small classroom down the road. The classes were about the leading causes of infant and maternal death in developing countries, and how to address these causes. Some are so simple, it's unbearable that children are dying -- for example when kids get severe diarrhea they need fluid and electrolyte replacement. A pinch of salt and a teaspoon of sugar in a bottle of water can give the right balance. Some cultures think restricting water is best, so the kids don't continue having diarrhea. Sanitation and health education can go such a long way.

We went out to one of the urban slum areas to teach health education and give away vitamins. There is an empty lot with portable canopies that the landlord let us use. We checked Hemoglobin levels for the pregnant women, and gave out vitamins. We also checked blood pressures and did little puppet skits teaching about sanitation, disease prevention, and nutrition.

The kids wanted to play with our stethoscopes and gloves!

There are little restaurants all around the hotel. We try a different one every day. There's an open-air market down the street, and we go there in the mornings for fresh fruit and breads. We never know what kind the breads and muffins are, so we just try some of each! The bananas and mangos are beyond delicious!!! I wish we had a way to cook at the hotel. These vegetables look sooo delicious! The piles of meat hanging out on the tables, not so much....