Puppies and health...
Trip Start
Nov 02, 2003
1
33
70
Trip End
Feb 14, 2006
My site,
Madagascar
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Dear Scott,
Hi, and welcome back to the US! (I can still welcome you if I'm not there myself, right?) It's a little late to start inter-continental dialogue, but better to start now than to not do it at all, I think.
So my puppy died yesterday from worms. I won't go into details, but trying to nurse her and watch her die constituted one of the hardest experiences of my life. The thought I couldn't escape was, if we were in the U.S., this wouldn't be happening. She would have been dewormed (probably unnecessarily) at birth, I would have taken her to a veterinary hospital intsead of a local cow-and-pig vet who prescribed vitamins, and in the worst case scenario, she would have been put down instead of suffering two days of not being able to walk, eat, or control her bodily functions.
Reflecting on this today, I thought, if this is how unhappy I am about veterinary services here compared to what I know is possible, after owning my dog for only 3 weeks, how much more must parents of kids dying of worms and other completely treatable diseases suffer from this knowledge?
At least some people do know that people die here who wouldn't with U.S. medical technology. Rosila, the wonderful Malagasy woman I met at home before coming here, says she [came to] (???) the U.S. after her mother and young niece died from treatable diseases when the medicines just weren't available.
On the other hand, I have a habit of asking kids and teenagers here what they want to do when they grow up (or when they stop going to school, which usually comes first). (I'm also in the habit of asking their ages, just for the sheer, constant shock of discovering that kids I'd pegged as 7 are actually 11.) At least half the teens and many of the kids say that they want to go to France (more realistic) or, ideally, the U.S. What they know of the U.S. comes from music videos and movies, and it is common knowledge that Americans are all rich and attractive and all live "the good life." However I don't think that most of them consciously recognize that "the good life" includes not dying from basic diarrhea. Generally, I think it's hard for people, particularly those who live in "traditional" societies, to conceive of other ways of doing things--especially since reruns of "Friends" occasionally make it on TV here, but never reruns of "E.R."
So do you think that if Malagasy people actively recognized that the dismal health situation in this country is not inevitable and can be changed, they would try harder? Or do you think that people would say, well, that's great for countries with money, but we don't have any and so can't improve. (Remember, I'm talking about things like eating from more than one food group and using latrines, not CATscans in every village.)
And have you done any work on behavior modification? I feel like I can talk about food groups and healthy nutrition until I'm blue in the face, and people nod and nod and then go home to their lunches of rice topped with a little pasta. (Yes, I'm completely serious.) How do I move from getting them to agree to getting them to change?
...
Oh, and so far I've seen 3 children, ages 3 to 6, smoking cigarettes, given to them by adults. When I told my Malagasy friends (including one who wants to be a doctor), they found it hilarious that I was so upset. People give infants coffee "to make them strong" -- maybe they think cigarettes do the same thing...? My dad, who used to embarrass me to the point of pretending I didn't know him by lecturing random smoking kids on the street, would have a field day here if he could only speak the language.
3/30
Just led a discussion with mothers about liquids appropriate to give kids with malaria. Their consensus was that cold water and milk are not ok but coffee is...
And as a fun side note, the acronym for a national anti-AIDS program is PMPS.
That's it for now...do let me know about behavior modification, because I have a hunch you've a fair amount of experience in the area. And please pass on a "hi" and a "write to me" to all the Washington folks. I hope that things are going well for you and can't wait to hear from you soon!
Love,
Jess
*****
And now, some legalese:
The opinions expressed and experiences described in this travelogue are those of one individual Peace Corps Volunteer. Nothing written here should be interpreted as official or unofficial Peace Corps literature or as sanctioned by the Peace Corps. I have chosen to write about my experience online in order to update family and friends; I am earning no money whatsoever from this endeavor.
