Normal vs acceptable

We are now conducting a health check for 700 kids at a community primary school. Amanda and I will be part of the follow up for some of the kids so we went to the meeting where the nurses were going through the health check questionaire form. Checking childrens wellbeing is one thing in Norway, and something completely different in Tanzania. If this was Norway, many of the children's health and living conditions would have been of great concern to the child wefare agencies. Setting a new standard for "normal" is difficult but necessary. Among the questions to ask are: do you live with your parents? Are you getting enough food? Many children have lost their parents because of AIDS and many children are seriously malnutritioned. Checking if limbs are in proportion could give an indication of whether or not there's been long term malnutrition. The nurses will also have to check for infected wounds, ring worms, scabies, and be able to recognise signs of malaria. The translators are a very important part of the health checks because they will also have to ask difficult questions like: are you being hit at home or in school? It's also important to ask how far they have to walk to school and if they have shoes.

Health check form

How do you set a standard for what is "normal" "acceptable" and "unacceptable"? Child neglect seems to be normal, beating seems to be normal, but serious abuse is unacceptable. A child with deep infected wounds caused by intentional abuse is unacceptable. Malnutrition and serious - but not life threatning - health issues mainly caused by poverty seems to be close to "normal". Easily curable illnesses like scabies will be addressed at an "under the tree meeting" where Mama Ruti - the director of TICC- will talk about treatment and prevention of scabies. Cause, prevention and treatment is better sanitary conditions and hygiene, and washing with soap - or just washing at all, bodies and clothes. But soap costs money. Water is somtimes too valuable to use for washing. There's hardly enough water to drink. How improve your health if you can't afford the necessary changes?

The health check is a good way to find effective ways to help people. Having more information and documentation is important to show local authorities the health condition of children. Since children can't be responsible for their own health and social conditions, they are in many ways the symptom bearer of the society. After the health check is finished we will know more about which problems we need to prioritise, and it will give us a better idea about the conditions people are living under. Last year's helath check resulted in TICC sponsoring the children with a banana each for lunch every day. It's not a lot, but if no food is the alternative, a banana could really mean a lot. The health checks also result in informationa campaigns in the villages about the most crucial problems and how to discover, prevent and treat them.

Natural medicine
We were talking today about possible solutions. I suggested giving all the children a piece of soap to take home with them. Maybe they could get the oportunity to wash themselves at school? There are also many non expensive ways of improving hygiene and health such as using plants and natural medicines. There are natural antibacterials such as honey and lemon, aloe vera can be used on wounds and burns, salt sea water can be used to clean wounds and infections, there is a tree twig here you can chew which works as a toothbrush. There are herbalist doctors in the villages who have medicines for lots of illnesses (some even show very good results for HIV/AIDS and cancer patients!) The local traditional medicine man came to sell herbal medicine at the centre. Most of the medicine is bark and leaves from trees and you mix one teaspoon in a cup of tea. Most illnesses can be treated with this and there are no bad side effects! I bought 7 different kinds, and I will get probably get more next time. Three types are already available in the cafe. One improves your immune defense, and the two other kill bacterias, infections and fungus. All three together is the cocktail they use for HIV/AIDS patients with good results.

traditional herbal medicine

stocking up on herbs

instructions for berbal medicine

Amanda picking out from the traditional pharmacy