The Jiggas came back!

Yes, yes... we have had a few weeks without giggas (or as they are properly spelt, jiggas), but alas, they have returned and with a vengeance! I was happily sleeping under my net a few nights ago when I awoke to a bright light being flashed in my eyes. This was Sarah's tactful way of waking me up, followed by, "Kels - I think I have a jigga." After being convinced that it could not and should not wait until the morning, Sarah and I pulled out the jigga removal kit we've constructed (yes an entire kit dedicated to the removal of these nasty bugs) and proceeded to the "porch" where we could find the brightest source of light. A closer inspection revealed that in deed she did have a massive jigga in her foot and to top it off, the egg sac was massive so it must have been in there for a few days! We proceeded to pull the two toes apart (yes it was in between the baby and second-from-the-end toe) and extract the little critter. To spare you all the gory details, it was successfully removed and now Sarah is nursing the newly formed crater in her foot.

This week was a huge success for clinic! As the days went on, more and more people showed up! On Thursday, a Cross Cultural Solutions employee from the New York office was visiting and stopped by the clinic to see how it was run. He was quite impressed and took some photos for the new website so that's kind of neat. As well, the feedback from the community is so strong that the Country Director is giving me a new volunteer or two from the pack that arrives on Sunday so that they can continue the clinic when I leave. One of my biggest worries was to start a project that could benefit the community but see it collapse after I'd left but that doesn't seem to be the case. With support from some of the Public Health staff, the clinic will make big steps for the weeks after I'm gone, running full days and potentially weekends. If all goes according to schedule, I will have made my way through the entire village of Woe so the focus of the clinic will change from blood pressure to "Healthy Children" where mothers can obtain advice, support and counseling on avoiding infections, malnutrition and malaria (the top three afflictions). In addition to the clinic, my last two weeks here will be devoted to data entry and the construction of a presentation that will be given to the Director of Public Health in a week's time. There, I will turn over my stats and data so that as a group, they can decide what prevention programs to begin or what services to provide. Fingers crossed that it will all wrap up successfully!

Other than that, Sarah and I are in Accra just for the day to finish some last minute chores. It'll be the last time we get a chance to purchase some small things for home as well as hit up the high speed internet. Unfortunately I do not have any photos at this time but I will be home soon enough and will start an online library then! Until then, take care and enjoy the rest of the playoffs! GO OILERS!