Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Let Me Count Your Teeth!
Soon after I arrived in Kodai, Dr. Adey Bowminn, a pediatric dentist, called to say he would like to come and screen the creche children for dental problems. Together we saw all the children with the help of the creche staff. I acted as secretary and assistant, recording the names for Tamil language practice. It took me a couple of days before I realized when I was told how to spell names that "yel"means "l", "yen" means "n". Adey gave me a crash course in dentistry including distinguishing between staining and cavities, how to do a temporary filling, and how to record findings based on the tooth involved.
Being a former resident of Kodai, he knows lots of people and kindly introduced me to many of them including the general manager of the local 5 star hotel, the Carleton, the medical director of the local private hospital, and the manager of the local boat club. During all this travelling around Kodai, Adey was also trying to teach me Tamil! So now I have "dental Tamil".
"Bottle caries" due to putting little children to bed with a bottle fiiled with something other than water is a big problem in children here (see photos). We are working on a presentation for parents on prevention of this problem and dental care (e.g. brushing) in general. All the creche children receive a toothbrush and and are taught how to brush their teeth at the creches. Adults typically use a branch from the neem tree as a substitue for a brush. Unfortunately this technique tends to destroy the tooth enamel.
We will also be working with a local Tamil dentist who is a protege of Dr. Bowminn's and has agreed to help us with education of the families and treatment of the children. Many parents are reluctant to give permission for treatment because of past traumatic experiences with dentists and traditional health beliefs which dictate the best weather or season for treatment.
Adey and I visited a dentist colleague of his. The following is his fee schedule:
(A rupee is 2.5 cents or 40 rupees to a dollar)
Adult cleaning 250 rupees
Child cleaning 70-100 rupees
Small filling 100 rupees
Big filling 250 rupees
Extraction 60-100 rupees
Xray 50 rupees
The Creches
See www.help-kids-india.org for detailed information on The Betsy Elizabeth Trust and the Creche Project. As a nurse-midwife I am hoping to work with the families of the creche children, the staff and other local community members on maternal and child health problems. In the rural villages around Kodai where the creches are located it is not uncommon for mothers to die from complications of childbirth or for babies to die. Through an educational program called Home Based Life Savings Skills (HBLSS), designed by members of the Global Outreach Department of the American College of Nurse-MIdwives, community members can learn how to identify problems associated with pregnancy, birth and the newborn, provide first aid, and refer and transport women and babies to local medical facilities in a timely fashion. More about HBLSS in the future.
It's hard to describe the feeling of approaching the first creche we visited (Grace Children's Center), opening the door and suddenly finding 50 pairs of big, deep brown eyes fixed on us. The photos will speak for themselves. The children are BEAUTIFUL!
It's hard to describe the feeling of approaching the first creche we visited (Grace Children's Center), opening the door and suddenly finding 50 pairs of big, deep brown eyes fixed on us. The photos will speak for themselves. The children are BEAUTIFUL!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
How's Shannon?
Shannon is enjoying her brief summer vacation U.S. style-sleeping until noon, watching HBO movies (when the electricity is on), listening to her iPod and growing collection of World Music (latest acquisition is a collection of Tamil hits), drawing manga, watching anime movies on her laptop, and listening to the Top 40 on satellite radio. We have discovered Skype which allows her to call the U.S. via the laptop at very reasonable rates.
Her favorite thing about India she tells me is "the prices". The shops and street markets are full of beautiful, inexpensive jewelry, fabrics, lampshades, posters, clothing, crafts. A teen girl's dream!
We are working with a local tailor having salwar kameez (the other traditional woman's garment besides the sari) made. It is considered immodest here for a woman to expose the legs or bottom. The salwar kameez takes care of both problems with long pants and a long top.
Shannon is also responsible for most of the photos posted on this blog. Today she announced she was starting to write a book and how did one begin?! There is PLENTY to write about here! Everyday brings a new sight, sound, taste, smell, tactile sensation, or emotion.
I am so proud of how willing Shannon has been to try new things especially foods. She now counts lychees, mangoes, chickpea curry and chicken masala among her favorite foods. She was surviving on potatoes, rice and various Indian breads for the first few days here until she began sampling some of the other offerings.
An orientation for students and their parents begins next Saturday, July 14 at Shannon's school, Kodaikanal International School (www.kis.in) where she will be entering eighth grade with kids from all over the world. We have met several of her teachers and their families since arriving. School starts July 16 with a six week break at Christmas when we plan to travel to Japan (Shannon's request since Japan is the home of manga and anime). We have found a low budget 14 day tour that uses public transportation and local inns for accomodation.
So although Shannon definitely misses her friends, she is doing very well adjusting to life in India.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
A Word About Indian Toilets
Indian toilets are known as squat or floor toilets for reasons obvious in the picture. For one of us (no names mentioned!) these pose a slight physical challenge. A few deep bends a day build those thigh muscles pretty quickly though! Fortunately we have Western style toilets in our home, but the Creches don't. It's strictly BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper) there.The children fear falling down the hole much like U.S. kids fear our adult size seats and instead train on potty chairs or seat inserts. The kids here tend to move to one side of the hole.
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