No doubt, education is power

Wednesday......another visit to the hospital in Jeremie. Today however I was in my element--- I had learned that some well meaning American had delivered (dumped) a defibrillator to the Emergency room many months ago but gave no instructions to anyone as to its use. So Serge and Daniel arranged for me to give instructions to the nurses.  I had heard that it was an AED, but what they brought to me was something about as old as myself!  Not withstanding the age of this dinosaur, the power was on in the hospital and the defibrillator fired up!  What began with 3 nurses soon grew to 10 --- listening, learning, asking relevant questions. We worked through the machine and all its parts, but also I soon learned that they needed instruction as to when to use it and more importantly when NOT to use it. Simple drawings of abnormal EKG readings were copied by the nurses. They seemed to understand. We 'played' with the machine to ease fears and practiced placement of electrodes ( small detail----they only have one set----I guess I have another job to do finding more). But all in all they were SO appreciative. Asking for written materials----anything to further their knowledge.  It was great to see their enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Overall, a wonderful morning for all of us. 

In the meantime, back at the Guest House, more education was taking place. This time John and Rubin sat together with two teachers who came down from Chiraque to learn how to use their new Chromebook computer and the small projector. Patiently, Rubin walked them through all the steps to make the connections and navigate the computer. They learned quickly even though everything was new to them. Every keystroke, every dialog box offered a new challenge, but when 'Google' appeared on their screen the smiles grew large. How does one explain this satisfaction??  Perhaps soon we will know this satisfaction again when a child in Chiraque will view an elephant for the first time, or a beautiful waterfall. In a small way their world will be open.  And for Rubin-- the opportunity to share his knowledge shone brightly.   

A blessed day,

Nancy