Thunderstorms and Shameless Request for Donations

So, I have two very important things to write about in this post – rainstorms and healthy moms and babies. As I think I mentioned in the last post, we are right now in rainy season. It should be “tropical monsoon/get my chacos (and feet) all muddy/flood my room” season, as rainy just doesn't really do it justice. However, it does make for some beautiful picture taking, and is awesome weather to sit in a (sheltered) hammock and read a book/drink some coffee. included are pictures from yesterday outside of my house and along the main drag of town:

And now on to something much more important: Healthy Mommies and Babies! I'm excited to report that my first project with the health clinic here has taken off. We are creating a pregnant women's circle! I'm really looking forward to this project. A little background on why this is so important: we currently have 2 doctors in our clinic that each see approximately 40 patients everyday. Thats 40 patients from 8:00 am until 11:00-12:00. So, if you do the math, that leaves approximately 6 minutes for each patient. This is only going to get worse, as one of our doctors is leaving in a week, and the Ministry of Health is sending no one to replace him. There is no time to educate patients, especially pregnant women, about how to care for themselves and their babies. This is the gap the circle will attempt to fill. We are in the midst of designing a curriculum that will include sessions on women's nutrition pre and post pregnancy, childhood illnesses, birth plans, family planning, breastfeeding, and women's health. We believe we will be able to secure funding to provide nutritious snacks for the ladies, and will also have take-home information for each session. Now, here is the MOST exciting part: YOU get to help!! We would also like to reward the women for attending all of the classes – give them a certificate and a small gift, like baby clothes, a receiving blanket, cloth diapers, etc. We do not have funding for these types of items at the moment, so I am asking for your help. We would like to get a good supply of baby clothes (can be newborn or within the 1^st year) receiving blankets, booties, cloth diapers (no disposable) and any other assorted baby products you would like to send this way. The only things that we can't use are anything bottle related (we really try to discourage bottle feeding here.) This would be a great way for you guys back home to get involved, and I know everyone here (especially me) would really appreciate it. I know shipping gets a bit expensive, but if you get a group of friends together to chip in, it's definitely doable. Please spread the word to other friends and family! For those in the Lafayette area, I may have a friend from Lafayette coming to visit in August, so if you would like to send an item or two, email me and we can make plans on how to get it down here. Packages can be sent to my new address:

Kathryn Wooten, PCV

Supermercado Coquim

Quimistan, Santa Barbara

Honduras, CA

Thanks in advance for your help – I will of course post photos of the circle when it starts (mid-July.) Also, if you do plan on sending anything down, I could also use old issues of Maxim, FHM, or anything else with scantily clad ladies. We are starting a Men's Health initiative, and I need some racy photos for the activities we have planned. (And don't worry, I'll post photos of that as well.)

Thats it for now, feel free to email/call/carrier pigeon any questions/comments about the above (or anything else you want to know about Honduras) and I'll answer promptly (or when the electricity comes back on.)

One more thing!!! Tonight I killed my very first Honduran cockroach. I didn't run and get my host parents, I didn't pretend not to see it scurry into my bathroom, and I didn't scream like a little girl (more like a frightened adolescent.) I just got my copy of Mother Jones (thanks mom and dad) and chased it around the room. Me = 1. Cockroach = Muerto. Only 5 billion more to go.