So, for anyone that was wondering, I actually do some work here in Belize. One of my favorite days of each month is Mobile Clinic. I believe I have briefly described the process before, but each month, two nurses come to our community center and set up a clinic for the day: babies in the morning and expectant mothers in the afternoon. Babies are weighed, measured, and vaccinated; then, their mothers are sat down for a quick consultation. These days are huge! About 40-50 infants pass through, and we get a chance to identify ones that may be underweight and therefore undernourished. We can give them incaparina, which serves as a protein supplement. Every time one of these days passes, I can see the impact it makes on the community.
For the last clinic though, my Community Health Worker and I decided to take it a step further. We held an information session while the mothers were waiting for their consults. We touched on topics such as exclusive breastfeeding and which foods to feed your baby at what stages. We had some materials from the Ministry of Health with great photos, but, unfortunately, they were all in English. So, I worked to make a brochure in Spanish with the same information. I have to say: our message reached a lot of people. (After all, our audience couldn't really go anywhere!) I think we will continue this model for the coming months choosing a new topic each time the clinic comes.
Anyways, just wanted to send a quick update from very warm and, today, very rainy Belize!
Love always,
Jess
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