Outreach

Today we went on outreach, which is basically follow-up for kids who have left TTL. The kids are assessed for nutritional status, and we count their pills to make sure they are taking the medications correctly.
We visited 3 kids today, each in a different village. The roads we drove along to reach the kids were pretty scary. I use the term "road" liberally...these were more like tire marks along the side of a mountain where maybe a dozen cars had driven before. We drove through a few creeks, and right near some very steep cliffs! The views were spectacular but Tiana and I were holding on for dear life. I can't believe the outreach people do this in the winter when the mountains are full of snow and ice. Needless to say, four wheel drive is a must... I'm glad I don't have to drive!
2 of the kids we visited were doing really well, growing and taking meds as directed. It was hilarious to see them examine the kids. Basically they strip them down and put them into a little harness and hang them on what looks like a fruit and vegetable scale in the grocery store. I wanted to get a picture of it but felt kind of guilty because the kids clearly dislike being weighed. One of the kids peed on the outreach worker while she weighed him, the only form of revenge he could get I suppose!
One little boy, Thletlotlo went home about 2 weeks ago from TTL and wasn't doing so well. His mom died a week after delivery and so he is living with his father and sister. The sister is 13 and is his caregiver. The family is very poor, and has been eating the food we are bringing for the little boy. To encourage the 13 year old to stay in school, TTL is paying the feed for Thletlotlo to go to a daycare (which is a one room hit with 20 kids in it), and today the teacher told us that he comes to school hungry and dirty everyday, and that the family isn't taking proper care of him. The father understandably doesn't want to give Thletlotlo up for adoption, but it is a very sad situation because clearly the family is unable to care for the baby. We will go back to see him in one week. In the meantime we left more food with the teacher.
After we returned from outreach we went to meet the district medical officer, who is basically the head honcho at the hospital. He said they'd love for us to come and help at the hospital, and we'll get to help with procedures whenever they happen. He said they mostly do C-Sections. Score! We start tomorrow at 8am.
I'm adding some picture from our journey today, and some people we met along the way. Lesotho kids don't quite know how to smile for the camera, it appears. Maybe I should work on learning how to say "smile" in Sesotho!
I also added a few pics of Mokhotlong and men riding donkeys in their Besotho blankets to yesterday's post, in case anyone is interested!