Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Preparations

Preparation is in full swing. The last major wave of personnel arrived Monday and activity is picking up. Star Ferguson has secured a room at the college to use as a place to sort and pack medications, and several team members spend the entire day getting medicine ready. One of the reasons we are able to see such large numbers of patients is that much of the most common medications are pre-sorted in advance into small bags and labeled. By doing this in advance, we are able to keep up with the patient flow.

Lyle Britt and a crew of helpers used a borrowed tractor to lift an exceptionally heavy generator onto a set of wheels that he had constructed in the US and sent over on a container. Once on wheels the generator was pulled behind a Land Rover about a mile to the radio station compound. Once in place the generator will allow the radio tower lights, etc. to operate even with the local electrical power is out. It was tricky moving it into place, but with enough people and a lot of patience they got it done.

The team is scheduled to arrive Saturday with a few of the nurses scheduled to arrive in Lusaka on Thursday. New nurses must undergo an interview by the government before being able to practice, so they have to come early to be ready to go out with the team

More to come

KB