Queen for a Day

On Wednesday the mobile medical team went to the village of Tulu. There’s a primary school close to the church where we were planning to set up our operation. As soon as I climbed out of the ambulance the kids came running.

I must have a huge ego because I never get tired of being treated like a celebrity. Kids swarm around to shake my hand and have their picture taken with me. Believe me, it’s hard to break away when it’s time to get to work.

We saw about 65 babies and toddlers over the next 4-5 hours and when it was time to pack up to leave I decided to walk home to stretch my legs and get some exercise. The Africans laugh at us when we walk just for exercise because of course they get so much exercise just going through their normal day. They’re only too happy to accept a ride back to the clinic. Tulu is a “short” walk from Matoso by African standards. It usually takes only 20 minutes to drive there and about 60-75 minutes to walk it.

I started off across an open plain and immediately heard kids yelling to me.

A group of kids were running full speed toward me and I ask you- who could walk away from that?

So I stopped and waited for them, worked the crowd, took the requisite photos and waved goodbye.

They ran back
across the field waving the whole way and I started off toward home again with a big grin on my face.

Because it was after 3PM, people were taking their afternoon bath, or heading home from school or work.

As the path began a slight climb toward the dirt road a group of girls in their school uniforms greeted me. Each was carrying a large container of water on her head which is likely a part of their daily chores.

I'll leave you with this one image which was my favorite of the day. And by the way, with all the stops to talk to people along the way, took me a full 2 hours to make it home. Worth every minute too.