Tragedy in Bartica

I've been rather slow in my posting, but this one is long overdue.

Last Sunday evening, there was another shooting in Guyana - this time in Bartica, a mining town on the Essequibo River (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7251141.stm). The town's police station was attacked, killing three police officers and nine other individuals found inbetween the docks and the station.

Being the second attack in a matter of weeks, tensions remain in the country, but I feel like there was less of a march in protest after this latest shooting. I didn't have access to the local cable channels last week so I am thankful that I didn't see any of the images and I made a choice not to read the newspapers. I feel the pain and fear without having the images in my mind.

This attack especially shook me because during the Christmas holidays, my family and I took a side trip to Bartica on our way to Parrot Island. We walked on that dock. We walked on that first street parallel to the river. We walked by the police station and even spoke with a police officer.

One of my supervisors made a comment that I would probably want to end my time in the country sooner because of recent events, but as much as the violence shakes me to my core, I'll stay. It will be harder to leave the people that I have grown to love in this beautiful country with the recent events and I will stay with them as long as I can. And I will come back. I'll have to start reading the newspapers after I leave to keep up to date on events in the country - thankfully I will have had the experience of people explaining the news to me and know how to read inbetween the lines...

Taxi Drivers

A major part of my experience has been transportation. Driving in itself has been an adventure - new stories for that, but I'll keep that for me. Now that Wallis has returned, I am second on the list of drivers. We are keeping different schedules too so I can rely on her less to pick me up and drop me off at work... Thank goodness for my taxi drivers.

It is very handy that the project has an account with one of the taxi companies, meaning that I can charge for work related trips. I'm usually taking a taxi ride atleast twice a day so most of the cars and the dispatcher know me on a first name basis, they know where I live (after my first attempts at describing) and they know my usual drop offs. They wave at me when they see me on the street. I lost my favourite driver, but I am hoping that he is following his dream to go back to school.

My understanding for how it works is that if you own your own car, then you pay the company $1000/day ($5 CDN) to get trips from the dispatcher and use the company name on the car. A drop can be anywhere from $260-300 ($300=$1.50CDN) for a flat rate. I know they work long hours to make a living, but from discussions that I have had, they also have great pride that they are making an honest living compared to other options available.

They have provided me with interesting persectives on the tragedy up the coast, coming from different backgrounds then the usual people I talk with and different races (and in turn different political parties because the parties are divided by race). They had related stories to share and safety tips.

They share their experiences with me and give advice on where to buy certain spices, how to store them and make sure that I have tried the variety of foods that Guyana has to offer. A little bit of concern for my social life at times which I think is sweet.

I am thankful to have a good relationship with the company and the drivers. They have forgotten me on occasion, but now that I am a bit more of a regular customer, they care a bit more when I call the dispatcher.

People, Part Two

I realized that I have done a part one with the first people that I met in Guyana, but there are quite a few people since then that have had a big imact on me and influenced my day to day life.

I can't imagine living anywhere but where I live with Mrs Boodie as my landlady. She adopted me as part of her family and has taken great interest in sharing Guyanese history, stories, culture and places with me. I'll never forget my first blackout when she called me, no formal salutation, just "Are you afraid of the dark?" - which I do happen to be afraid of and this probably ranks among one of the great lines in scary movie history (my assumption since I am not a scary movie watcher) - but the line said with such genuine concern and in a sweet old lady voice (she's really not old and would kill me if she read that, but you get the idea) that I couldn't help but smile and reassure her, that no I was fine. Since then we have had various shopping adventures together, meals together, walks together and conversations about my health, her life in Guyana and England, history in Guyana and reassuring support about my future whatever direction I choose. She has also introduced me to new beverages like a lovely chocolate cream liquer and the equivalent of homemade egg nog (obviously containing Guyanese rum)!

The next set of people that have made my life more complete here are the people who work in the CIDA Program Support Unit at the building where I work. Kala of course (from Part one) as well as her staff. Where to start... I believe I mentioned OJ before who works at the reception area and always greets me with a "pleasant good morning" and a smile, with maybe some teasing about my frequent arrivals and departures. Marcy cleans the building and is the woman kind enough to stay with me during my random shopping experience on Regent St and getting my vehicle trapped. Rani and Anu are the office assistant and part time accountant respectively. I think. Kurt, Navin and Prem are drivers and general support guys (computers, workshops). Those are the job titles I will give them, though when I go visit, I'm usually distracting them from whatever they should be doing. They kept me company when I was all alone in my office. Wallis likes to tease me that I'm a shared intern between CSIH and PSU. I love our conversations and random visits, occasional lunch dates and I will endure a certain amount of teasing from them because I know they mean well. I don't know what I'd do without them. Definitely a special place in my heart for each of them. I'm getting a little teary thinking about leaving and who and what I will miss. It's people like at PSU, Wallis, and Maria that will make it hardest for me to leave. And the fruit. :)

I am also a shared intern with the Ministry of Health, officially with the Management Information Services Unit (MISU), but also now partly with the Health Sector Development Unit (HSDU) because the MISU director there has tasks for me to do where as MISU itself doesn't really know what to do with an intern. Roland is the MISU director at HSDU and we have been working on a project together and I also keep updating him on what I am up to. At first when Wallis was leaving, he was concerned about me working by myself, but discovered quickly that I am a very good independent worker so he stopped checking up on me. He is very impressed by my quick replies and comments on documents we have been working on. Ish is the director of MISU and officially signed my contract, but I don't think he knows or cares how I spend my time. Paul is responsible for the software department under MISU so we have a bit of communication about updates and the status of things. I feel for him because everybody thinks that their requests are number one priority and he is only one person and the unit itself can only do so much at one time. Ozell is the programmer, Naajiyah the Clinical Coordinator and Maria has been hired as her assistant. I am thankful that I am still based out of the CSIH office because I often have difficulty at MISU because the GHIS is my priority but there is a lot of demand on the unit about other sotware applications. There are also some differences that exist between work ethics with me and some staff so the setup is probably for the best.

Work in the New Year

[Unrelated update: things in the country have settled - obviously tensions still exist and there is demand for safety and security policies, but immediate ' threats' are less]

With the new year, comes new things to do at work! I am no longer working on manuals for the system, but with a meeting to review them, I officially handed them over to MISU and washed my hands of them. Had some difficulties completing parts of them because I do not know the procedures within the unit and was not getting the answers I needed so I felt I needed something new to work on. We completed the pilot project of the paper forms before Christmas as well which was an experience. Part of me wishes that I had been hands on at the clinic, but I enjoyed the discussions that my 'assistants' started after their experiences and am happy with the completed product. I have my doubts that they will ever be used because there are so many paper forms that exist already, but they were promised and we delivered them.

January started out a bit slow - it takes a little while I guess for people to get back to work after the holidays which I found a little frustrating because of my limited time here.

I am now working with Roland on module development within the system. The reasons behind this development and getting my head around the theory of the system was an adventure unto itself, but essentially they would like to have modules for different services offered because not all clinics offer all services and they would like to minimize staff training and information captured. For example, some clinics just do VCT (voluntary counseling and testing) so they do require all the features of the system like a clinic that does ART (anti-retroviral therapy). This project was started after a meeting with someone working at the National AIDS Program. Valid points are made, but part of me feels like the system is finally getting the input needed four years ago when it was in the development stages. I am pretty heavily involved in the planning and proud that the documents I have produced first for general module planning and now specifically for the first module, VCT, are the proposal documents being distributed for review and comments. This also concerns me because I wonder about the sustainability of the planning for these modules and what will happen to the drive behind the project when I leave. I'll do as much as I can before I go and share as much as my brain as possible, but there is only so much that can be done in six months and I have to come to terms with that. This part of the project has and will continue to introduce me to directors of clinics and individuals responsible for various aspects of the health care system. I have appreciated this opportunity to hear their different opinions and perspectives.

I am also working mornings at the TB Chest Clinic in Georgetown. The director feels passionate about the GHIS and frustrated with his staff for the lack of use of the system. There are data entry clerks that enter most of the data, but it is not in real time which essentially the system is designed for. I am enjoying my experience in a clinic setting and not just a snapshot, but seeing the routine and getting to see patients go through the whole process. All the staff has been trained in the system and most are familiar with it. There are some computer skills lacking, but they can be improved with practice. Mainly the problem with training is that they are trained and told to use it, but not shown how to incorporate into usage. I'm not saying I'm the best person for the job, but I am trying my best so I hope that counts. I have seen increased usage after spending every day for a week sitting with the triage nurse. Just helping her fit the system into her routine and doing something as simple as moving the computer desk so that it is less awkward for her to access while with a patient. The pharmacy is a bit of problem because they need doctors to input the prescriptions in real time for them to be able to use the system well. My next step is to work with the doctors. There are also more nurses at the clinic and DOTS workers (Direct Observed Treatment Short course - approved treatment strategy for TB patients) which are next on my list! I much prefer being in the clinic than at the computer by myself so half days in the clinic and half days at the office make for a good balance. The goal is to have the clinic in realtime before I leave. I remain optimistic because I think I have to - somebody else can be the realist.

Working at the Chest Clinic has also gotten me involved in their World TB day plans which should be quite the event. I designed some pamphlets based on material I was given - they were really pleased with them but apparently they will print better from Corel instead of Microsoft Publisher so they are going to use my contents and someone else's designs.

Moment of Silence

This post seems a little trivial after my last post, but some semi-sad news in my world - my laptop has died. Or has atleast gone into a coma. Typing an email at home and planning a new blogpost last week when it froze. Blue screen of death. Scary error messages. I'm pretty sure that it is dead, but a guy at work is taking a look at it. I didn't have internet access at home, but I used to type the blog posts in the evening and upload them at work so now I will have to fit them in inbetween work.

Currently at Oasis Cafe (www.oasiscafegy.com) typing some emails and planning some applications so I thought I would do this quick update.

Things seemed to have settled over the past couple of weeks after the massacre. The streets in Georgetown were definitely very quiet and I don't think the marchers went beyond their marching in protest.

Work is going well. I am working in a clinic with the GHIS which I am enjoying. So much more to share about that experience!

I am trying to apply to schools while I am here which is an adventure in itself. Can you believe that some schools still require paper applications?!?! Me neither. Frustrating.

More news soon. Keep your fingers crossed for my baby (my laptop). Take care.