Well, I'm nearing the end of my first week in Bolivia. And I have to say, after camping for a month in Kenya, I'm feeling quite spoiled. We spend weekends, Mondays, and Tuesdays at the house in Santa Cruz and the rest of the week at the clinic in Palacios. I am in the process of getting my public health project underway, I will be bringing "bicho" medications (for worms and other parasites) and vitamin A supplements to schools along with flip flops for the children. It turns out that if these children get 2 doses of vitamin A per year, the mortality rate decreases by 30%. Pretty amazing. To keep the program going, I will need to do some research and data collection to get it approved for funding. I'll also be teaching the teachers at the schools about hygeine and nutrition to decrease the rates of future "bichos" and encourage them to take the project over themselves. It is amazing to be working with all of these doctors. They are some of the smartest people I've ever met and I learn more and more every day. Oh, and I found out that I passed my boards the day I left! Thanks for the prayers :-)
