Morondava, October 24th 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
I arrived in Morondava two nights ago. A small town in the western coast of Madagascar, Morondava is one of the regions targeted by the Canadian Red Cross’s malaria campaign in this East-African country.
From the beginning of the campaign on October 22nd, I have visited rural and urban distribution sites of mosquito nets in Morondava and its surrounding areas. I am very impressed to see such a mass mobilization of mothers; hundreds of them arrive in the early morning to these sites and wait patiently until their children are vaccinated against measles and provided with a mosquito net, vitamin A and deworming treatments. Breastfeeding and gossiping are the main occupation here, while waiting for their child’s name to be called out loud by the medical personnel.
An orchestra of crying children plays at each distribution site from morning to evening. Mothers leave the sites with a bright smile on their face, while their little ones shed tears and moan.
Marlyn, a mother of four children, two of them baby twins, took our team to visit her home. After a long walk under the strong Malagasy sun at midday, we arrived to her house. She put up the new mosquito net and tenderly laid her babies on the bed to sleep under it. Afterwards, she invited us to drink coconut water.
The coconut water was a relief, and so it was to see that families were attending the distribution sites. This is a sign that the campaign is a success. It also shows that the door-to-door visits carried out by the Red Cross volunteers ahead of the campaign were tremendously effective.
As the campaign continues to move forward, I keep on following Malagasy Red Cross volunteers in their daily activities. As a communications delegate, I am a privileged witness of their efforts. I see their hearts in action.
Posted for: Nathalia Guerrero
I arrived in Morondava two nights ago. A small town in the western coast of Madagascar, Morondava is one of the regions targeted by the Canadian Red Cross’s malaria campaign in this East-African country.
From the beginning of the campaign on October 22nd, I have visited rural and urban distribution sites of mosquito nets in Morondava and its surrounding areas. I am very impressed to see such a mass mobilization of mothers; hundreds of them arrive in the early morning to these sites and wait patiently until their children are vaccinated against measles and provided with a mosquito net, vitamin A and deworming treatments. Breastfeeding and gossiping are the main occupation here, while waiting for their child’s name to be called out loud by the medical personnel.
An orchestra of crying children plays at each distribution site from morning to evening. Mothers leave the sites with a bright smile on their face, while their little ones shed tears and moan.
Marlyn, a mother of four children, two of them baby twins, took our team to visit her home. After a long walk under the strong Malagasy sun at midday, we arrived to her house. She put up the new mosquito net and tenderly laid her babies on the bed to sleep under it. Afterwards, she invited us to drink coconut water.
The coconut water was a relief, and so it was to see that families were attending the distribution sites. This is a sign that the campaign is a success. It also shows that the door-to-door visits carried out by the Red Cross volunteers ahead of the campaign were tremendously effective.
As the campaign continues to move forward, I keep on following Malagasy Red Cross volunteers in their daily activities. As a communications delegate, I am a privileged witness of their efforts. I see their hearts in action.
Posted for: Nathalia Guerrero
posted by Alison Frehlich at 11:41 AM
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