The Circle of Life

I know this is a depressing topic, but yesterday a little boy not even 3 years old died unexpectedly in my community. The local health promoter said that he was running about in the streets went to the party with the Vigirn de Alta Gracia y everything. He wasn’t crying or screaming. He was healthy and happy, feeling the beat of the celebratory large drums that pound your chest, he likely had the flower water rubbed on his face by his mother- likely he said “Ay, me pica.” as my young host sister had remarked when the ritualistic water was rubbed on her face- I suspect the water has some alcohol in the holy water. The health promoter said he had a chill, he felt cold and was brought to her that night. She felt for his pulse in his chest and it was strong, slightly stronger than normal, but a normal rhythm. He did not feel hot, he did not feel cold, no fever could be felt. Perhaps it was a seizure she reflects, no one really knows for sure, but she also remarked he was up to date with his vaccinations. He just died.. The week before his great grandmother died. She died of “old age” in her 70s.

When I emerged from my stupor of my Christmas Day diarrhea blues (likely brought on by the different foods and the quantity of food typical to celebrate la Buena Noche-Christmas Eve, celebrated very similarly to Thanksgiving) I made my normal rounds around the community and came to find that every Dona in my community had detailed knowledge of the number of times and at what times my bowel movements had occurred. I also discovered that a young girl in my community had passed away Christmas Eve with diarrhea, possibly dehydration due to cholera. There have been a good amount of cases of cholera in my community and the surrounding areas. When I had first told this by other volunteers I laughed. You can’t be serious? Cholera I feel like I had read about in books. I remember reading in one of my favorite classes in College, Ghost Map. Here it detailed the history of the understanding of how cholera is transmitted. In the Europe hundred of years ago, disproving the miasma theory. Here in the Dominican Republic, I often think back to this book. The miasma theory that disease is spread by bad air and smells and was widely accepted transmission of illness by the leading scientists in the field for many years and for many was a hard theory to let go. I have been told in the DR that chicungunya is caused by bad air(chicungunya is actually transmitted through mosquitos). People do not understand how water can transmit disease and how to make water drinkable. For example, I was asking how you can kill the germs, microbes, or parasites in the water or make it clean (the majority of the people in my community are familiar with these words germs, microbes and parasites, but do not really know what they mean in itself).

Anyways for example, my Dona thinks that these “microbes” can be killed by chloro, sure , but also by lemon juice or cold water. It scares me to think of all of the people satisphied with putting a few drops of lemon juice into a gallon of water to make it “drinkable”, me being aware that this has no affect on purifying the water, unaware that the water they are going for their children could cause grave diseases.

There have been a lot of cases of diarrhea especially in the month of December in my community. Because of this, the government sent a team to put chloro into the wells to purify them. But what else can be done? Education? For the purpose of education, I am so glad that I am here. I hope primarily to plant the seed of health education in the minds of the strong, influential multi tasking, intellegent, incredible women that fill my community and in the growth of youth and teenagers that incredibly step up to the plate and take leadership roles within even asked.

With this education and sparks of inspiration I really hope to in some way prevent deaths such as this little girls for one future young girl. Whay didn’t the mother take her to the hospital? Did she recognize the diarrhea or the importance of rehydration? Did the women teacher going to prevent mortal dehydration?

As children and older adults are dying alike in my community, in increasing numbers in the end of January and February, there are also babies being born. My host sister is bursting at the seams, I have never seen anyone so pregnant. She was supposed to give birth four days ago. I am very excited to meet this new life coming into my community, and this communities future (hopefully seeing times with different resources, but the same kindness and strength in pride and history of the people of Tierra Prieta).