What is she doing? I never know what she's doing...

You may be wondering what I am actually doing down here in Nicaragua. Well, after months of trying to figure that out, I've gotten a few things started. My main focus is pregnant women. I have 2 pregnant women's clubs now and we meet about every week(when they show up). The topics we've discussed so far are: nutrition during pregnancy, the risk signs during pregnancy and the factors that increase risk, breast feeding, family planning, and the general process of the pregnancy. I have a few videos and have shown one on several occasions. These are clubs that I have started on my own, or rather with the help of the community health promoters or brigadistas.

Another one of our goals is to work with youth and youth development. In La Cruz, I have a youth group, but we've only met a couple times, whether because they didn't show up, I couldn't make it with the bus, or there was a hurricane. We've just started on some confianza, or trust, building activitivites. Create a community map separated by gender, talk about self-esteem, and play ice breakers are so far the only things we've done. In Chaguite, I meet regularly with two to four girls. I decided I want us to do an HIV health fair in December, so that's our next plan. Should be a decent amount of work to prep them for the fair, but it'll be good for us to have something explicit to work on.

I just decided to start working with a brigadista in one of the largest communities called Salamasi. She is going to walk around the community with me to talk with malnourished families, introduce me to the youth group, and I'm going to assist her with a Tuberculosis awareness campaign. However, the last time we were going to work together, I showed up and she was busy making rosquettas, a Yalaguina specialty cookie made of corn, butter, and sugar. Rather than going out into the community, we chatted and she taught me how to make them.

My work with the Health Center follows funding from the Health Ministry or other organizations. If they can provide funding(ie meals for people who attend the events), then I will go out to communities with either a doctor or nurse and we give charlas on different subjects.

And that's about what I've been doing! Trying in my own way to work on PC Health's goals of preventing adolescent pregnancy, addressing teen sexual health, and maternal and child health.