Seems Like I have Been Here a Long Time Already

Caution:  The following post may be upsetting to those with Grammar Sensitivity Disorder. My editor has not been able to Englishize this post as her computer is acting up.  Therefore, I humbly apologize if you suffer from GSD, especially the Queen if she reads this blog.

I do not seem to be getting any smarter. No matter what no slide show... If you want to see more of this week's pictures, please click on:  This Week's Pictures

Those Amazing Sisters have taken on a New Project

"The Sisters of Mercy [and an Ursuline] have partnered with the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) to set up a safe house for girls and women who are rescued from Trafficking In Persons (TIP) by the Women Miners. We call the project Together In Peace. The Home was opened in January of this year and presently there are eleven young women and two babies living there.

At the Home, working with the Ministry of Social Protection, besides providing food and safe 

shelter, courses are provided to give them knowledge and skills so that they can earn their

living when they return to their families (and not be tempted to return to the mines) One of the 

residents came to us as a twelve-year-old, nine months pregnant. The baby was born the day 

after she arrived at the Hospital. Counselling is also available as many of the girls are traumatized 

by the time they get to us."  Blessings, Mary Peter Ngui,o.s.u. [The OSU here does not stand for Ohio State University though I do think that Mary Peter might have made a good linebacker.]

Sister Mary Peter asked if I could ask for some craft materials before I came down; however, when I asked real crafters, I got the response: "What type of crafts are they doing?" So I went to find out.  Actually, Mary Peter emailed me and asked when I could go.. and with in the hour, she was picking me up to go over to meet the Director of Crafts, a Ms. Jordan.  She had been working there even before the place was opened cutting grass and doing any odd job.   Mary Peter must have warned her I was coming because she was already compiling her list when I got there.

Here she is proudly showing a few of the girl's crafts.     And by the time I left her office, I had a long list of stuff that included: Floral foam, Popsicle sticks, Ribbons – Paper and Cloth, and all widths, Beads, Paints and Brushes...

I passed the list on to Elizabeth Abdool with Guyana Christian Charities Canada as they were arranging one of their two yearly shipments to Guyana.   And since I was walking by the student classroom and they were getting "excited" [maybe not the right word] about my bare legs, I thought I would give them the opportunity to add a notch on their salvation score sheet.   Now all the students were encouraged to bring in something for the TIP home...  I added a small incentive by intimating that if they didn't bring something on our trip to the National Psychiatric Hospital, there was a possibility they could get left behind.   (If my grandkids were here, they would shout, "Don't believe anything he says.")  The nursing students are less sure as they have known me for only two weeks.  

And Speaking of Less Sure .....

I have my big exam on Tuesday... and no it is not the CXC exam in Caribbean History though I am reading the course textbook.  It is the NAMES (or PIZZA) test.   When I take their "prison shots" on the first day, I set up the bargain: I will name all 23 of your correctly or I will buy pizza for everyone.  And I set an exact exam date as last year's class felt that I had cheated because the exam was one day late.   I know:  two weeks - twenty-three names - a piece of cake.   Actually, I do not think I am batting .500... though if I was playing for the Yankees, I'd be a super star.  Some of my more creative [or hungry] students are trying to increase the amount of difficulty.  I am fairly confident though I did call Kelly "Rhea" all class... and the others kept laughing ..... I guess they can taste pizza.



Two trips to the Morgue this Year

·    Last year's first year students did not get to the morgue after I left, so they all wanted to go this year. It is impossible to fit two classes there, so we needed to make two trips.  My new co-leader of the PBL programme, Candy Mohan, really did all the arrangements and she and two other "old-er" nurses went as well, Candacy Lane and Keshana Giddings.   They even stopped at Paul's stand and got everyone a pop and put it on my tab.  You know you have arrived when the pop stand guy lets you carry a tab!  And then they came back and ran the discussion  about how the students felt.  An excellent job and they didn't even need me - except to pay for the pop.

I   

Over the years, I have been impressed with the depth of their pondering on the experience, so below are two Qohelethian philosophers:

"Apart from being the first person there, the peace and quiet was good for a change.  We all gathered and ventured to the highlight of the day to see  "dead people".  I've always wanted to see what a dead person looks like.  I was not pleased about the environment, but I guess the dead were not worried about that.  For me it was the most amazing experience to witness such a phenomenon.  The way they actually cut through your skin like an animal with no feelings.  It's hard to even think that one minute you are here and in a split second you could be lifeless  Reality really struck me at the morgue, to realize that people take life for granted when they could be no more in seconds. Though I was smiling a lot I felt really sad to know we all will have to die.  FYI: It was cool to see what my organs may look like. 　 　 "

"My visit to the morgue was exciting at first and then slowly it got weird.   I had seen dead bodies up close and personal before.  I helped to bathe and dress one, even did her makeup.  But to see them like that, vacant, cold, not aware that they were going to be put on display made me realize that life is a feeble thing that nothing really matters, not even the life we leave behind, because in there no one cares how good you were, how important you were, whose mother, father, sister, brother, friend, child you were, you're nothing, but flesh, flesh that no one in there cares about.  You are nothing but a nameless, lifeless thing who is in the way of someone's lunch break.   No one will miss you, but your family and with time even they will forget you. I realize that a lot of things that I thought mattered really don't."

From a Book I Have Just Read

Road to Belwasa written by Reuben Lachmansing.  There were a couple of quotes that I really liked, mostly because they agreed with me and they are at the heart of what PBL tries to accomplish:

“According to a group of psychologists, intelligence is not merely book learning. It reflects a deeper and broader capability for comprehending our surroundings, making sense of things, figuring out what to do.”

 “…how physics was taught in schools – emphasizing engagement and understanding as opposed to memorization.” 


John Tries to Get Some Religion

I have been friends with Tabitha Mallampati, her husband, Sekhar, and their now Queens College student, Isaac.  Tabitha was a nurse from India who started teaching many years ago at Mercy.  However, her real reason for being here was to be a missionary from her Indian Christian church, Laymen's Evangelical Fellowship International.      It is very conservative in its Scripture interpretations but has a broader social outreach.   Anyhow, I try and go once a year as I have in the past.  And my colleague, Tony Carr, was a regular there and still stays connected by helping to teach music online to a few from the church.  I really have to admit that I have to sit on my hands so I don't start objecting every five minutes.   They are all very kind people  and I enjoy them individually; and, in my opinion Tabitha has done more to move nursing forward that anyone else in Guyana... And she makes a great after-church lunch!  

Pastor John

The choir

Shanty, one of Tony's protegees 

Bram, a senior member

Some visitors from a far, including me, with some members.

 One more piece of "Good News" from LEFI

The gentleman to my right is Pravesh Bhola.   He was one of the few students who had to endure my classes twice. [A story too long to tell here.] Now he is a physiotherapist at Mercy and Balwant Singh's after graduating last year.   Anyhow, he shared his good news that he is going to be married in India in a couple of weeks.  It is an arranged marriage, but he has corresponded with her over the net and will be there one whole week before the wedding!   He is a good guy and I wished him luck.   I would be worried, but as I remember they are about the same as romantic ones for legth of survival.


Seems like this has been long enough, but I really didn't get to my Mental Health work or a real live ethics case .....  maybe next week.  Stay tuned.. And thanks for reading.  John