Well, maybe it was Malaria
So in my last post, I told you all that I had a brief scare about getting Malaria. The symptoms kept coming and going, so I got a test…450 gourdes and a day later I found out I was positive for the parasites! I went to the clinic in Jubilee with my test results and got the necessary Chloroquine Phosphate and proceeded to rest. The main symptoms that were flu like finished quickly, but the fatigue stuck around for a week. I could get up and make some breakfast, but then I was too tired to do anything else and I slept until class time. I managed to go to class, but I usually had Valmy take over in the middle of the second class.
Today I went with my friend Frantz to another remote village. This time it was La Branle…North and East of Gonaives up in the mountains. We crossed some rivers, the road turned into a path, then it turned into a trail…we parked the motorcycles and walked to the spring where the community gets its drinking water. Frantz has quite an interesting job. We taught some of the people how to mix up some chlorine solution to sanitize their buckets and left them with a bag of granulated chlorine.
Our trip to and from involved crossing some rivers. This is a journey that is not possible during a good rain. The rivers are too full and several dry river beds that we cross become impassible for a brief time. It was a challenge to get there, but well worth the trip.
Later this week, Frantz and I are going to Bassin, another community away from it all with similar issues. I hope to go back to Bayonnais soon too…it was there that I first started feeling the effects of the Malaria and I did not feel like hiking around and exploring…I am up for it now.
The most pressing need in these communities is for sanitation. I might find myself building some public restrooms in strategic areas of the villages. Frantz is pushing the community leaders to require that each homeowner builds an outhouse, but it won’t happen overnight. I am going to start doing some research on biodigesters and some outhouse designs. It would be great to incorporate clean water distribution and a small solar array into the same facility. All of these areas that I have been traveling to are “off the grid” so to speak.
Thanks for your prayers, I know that my bout with Malaria was brief because of the grace of God. He continues to show me so many opportunities here and now that I am up and around again, I am excited for the next challenge that He has for me.
Scott