I'm looking to friends and family for help in raising money for the health awareness seminars which are scheduled for next year. I'm trying to raise about US $950 to make it happen. The money will go towards purchasing diabetes testing equipment, weight scales, fresh veggies, seeds for planting veggies, and a few other props needed to make it a success. I realize times are tough back home but if you can spare a few bucks and want to help out send me an email at jmetz06@gmail.com
Happy Thanksgiving,
Miss and love you all,
Jim
Friday, November 27, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Work Update
The dry season looks as though it's coming to an end and I'm looking forward to not carrying buckets of water to my garden every day. One of the sons of my host family has been home for a week with his wife and child. The wife is Australian and it's been nice speaking english for a change. They invited a couple tourists from the nearby resort to have the sunday meal with us which was very pleasant. I rarely get
feedback on the work I'm doing and it was nice to discuss my projects with other palagis (people of european decent). So I thought it was a good time to post some blogs since I"m a little rusty in that area.
I began teaching computer classes at the primary school about two weeks ago. I was able to get 4 second hand computers from another volunteer at a very reasonable price. So far I've been teaching the very basics of computers which is good because my knowledge of computers doesn't run to deep. The principal selected 12 students from years 6,7, and all year 8 kids. We've been doing some typing programs, mouse exercises, and of course a few games. Not very many primary schools have computers so this is good opportunity for Samauga. I'm trying to teach as much English in the classes as well. After all that is what they really need to know. So now you could say I finally have a day job again. The work I did in preparing the new school proposal is pretty much finished. We are just awaiting finaly approval from Japan which hopefully comes soon. We will do some fundraising over Christmas to capitalize on overseas visitors. That's right capitalize baby! Japan will only fund half of the materials to build the school so we must find other sources.
The other major project I was working on is renovating the women's committee house into a health and activity center. This proposal is also awaiting a decision from the Australian High Comission. This project ties into what I'm really trying to do here in Samoa. A volunteer who ended his service last August, Nico, started what is known as the Joint Health Project with Peace Corps Savaii (my island) and the National Health Services (NHS). Together volunteers and nurses performed diabetes and hypertension screenings in rural areas of Samoa. When Nico left he handed me his bag of testing equipment and left it to us remaining volunteers to see the project continues. Samoa has a serious problem with diabetes and hypertension. And most can agree that there is a strong correlation between weight and health and you are more likely to have these health problems if you are overweight. There seems to be a lack of understanding in Samoa of this relationship. People eat alot and don't get much exercise. My vision is to create that awareness and give people the right information to make better decisions on what they eat and feed their families. To make that happen I am attempting to organize health awareness seminars to be directed towards women's committees in about 20 or 25 villages starting next year. The idea is to do a skit showing the relationship between weight and health, provide information about the diseases, the causes, and how to prevent from getting them. After the session the plan is to have nurses from the NHS provide free screenings to the participants. The current problem is that the NHS is lacking the necessary testing equipment. For example, the hospital in my district, which is responsible for about 15 villages has only two sphygmometers and one glucose meter. The plan
is to properly equip each of the 4 hospitals on the island as well as the 5 subcenters with enough testers to meet the needs of the people. I've been in contact with several people back who are looking for equipment to send over. So if any of you know someone who might have access to extra sphygmometers/stethoscopes or glucose meters let me know. I might be able to use your help.
The time is ticking away. Only 9 months to go and then it's time for something else. What that is I have no idea. Anybody hiring? Anything but car rental or fast food Chinese.
feedback on the work I'm doing and it was nice to discuss my projects with other palagis (people of european decent). So I thought it was a good time to post some blogs since I"m a little rusty in that area.
I began teaching computer classes at the primary school about two weeks ago. I was able to get 4 second hand computers from another volunteer at a very reasonable price. So far I've been teaching the very basics of computers which is good because my knowledge of computers doesn't run to deep. The principal selected 12 students from years 6,7, and all year 8 kids. We've been doing some typing programs, mouse exercises, and of course a few games. Not very many primary schools have computers so this is good opportunity for Samauga. I'm trying to teach as much English in the classes as well. After all that is what they really need to know. So now you could say I finally have a day job again. The work I did in preparing the new school proposal is pretty much finished. We are just awaiting finaly approval from Japan which hopefully comes soon. We will do some fundraising over Christmas to capitalize on overseas visitors. That's right capitalize baby! Japan will only fund half of the materials to build the school so we must find other sources.
The other major project I was working on is renovating the women's committee house into a health and activity center. This proposal is also awaiting a decision from the Australian High Comission. This project ties into what I'm really trying to do here in Samoa. A volunteer who ended his service last August, Nico, started what is known as the Joint Health Project with Peace Corps Savaii (my island) and the National Health Services (NHS). Together volunteers and nurses performed diabetes and hypertension screenings in rural areas of Samoa. When Nico left he handed me his bag of testing equipment and left it to us remaining volunteers to see the project continues. Samoa has a serious problem with diabetes and hypertension. And most can agree that there is a strong correlation between weight and health and you are more likely to have these health problems if you are overweight. There seems to be a lack of understanding in Samoa of this relationship. People eat alot and don't get much exercise. My vision is to create that awareness and give people the right information to make better decisions on what they eat and feed their families. To make that happen I am attempting to organize health awareness seminars to be directed towards women's committees in about 20 or 25 villages starting next year. The idea is to do a skit showing the relationship between weight and health, provide information about the diseases, the causes, and how to prevent from getting them. After the session the plan is to have nurses from the NHS provide free screenings to the participants. The current problem is that the NHS is lacking the necessary testing equipment. For example, the hospital in my district, which is responsible for about 15 villages has only two sphygmometers and one glucose meter. The plan
is to properly equip each of the 4 hospitals on the island as well as the 5 subcenters with enough testers to meet the needs of the people. I've been in contact with several people back who are looking for equipment to send over. So if any of you know someone who might have access to extra sphygmometers/stethoscopes or glucose meters let me know. I might be able to use your help.
The time is ticking away. Only 9 months to go and then it's time for something else. What that is I have no idea. Anybody hiring? Anything but car rental or fast food Chinese.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Feelin Groovy
I don't think I'll ever grow out of halloween. It could quite possibly be the funnest holiday of the year. This year myself and a friend decided to take the costume idea to another level. "Simon and Garfunkel" Live! A few months ago the idea was brought up and we ran with it. Spencer (Garfunkel) had the hair and the on the mark harmonies and I am a short guy with a big forehead who plays some sloppy guitar. So we learned a few tunes, and serenaded the partygoers with hits like "Cecelia", "Mrs. Robinson", "Homeward Bound", and as a bonus we covered John Denver's "Country Roads" as well as Flight of the Conchords "You're so Beautiful". While there were no prizes for musical
talent or showmanship, we played and sung our hearts out.
talent or showmanship, we played and sung our hearts out.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
There's a new guy in town
That's right the village finally has new pastor. Samauga has been without a shepard since February when the previous pastor and his family moved. The village has been busy preparing the church and house. New paint job and everything. When they arrived there was a big gathering with lots and lots of food. I was told by my family that day that I would be eating with the pastor and family from now on. After furthur questioning it was understood that I would eat with them for the first 2 weeks. Each family is responsible for 3 meals while the family gets settled in. And since I"m the village peace corps it was a good opportunity for the village to feed me lots of food. Cause that's what they love to do. So for the past two weeks I've been having enormous meals. The pig, which is a very important part of the culture here, was served every night. The point is that I ate very heavily and gained 7 pounds. For those of you who know me, you know that I can eat and eat and not gain weight. I mean I've been 150 lbs. since my senior year of high school. I've finally found my tipping point. Pig.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The Marathon
Myself and 5 other Peace Corps volunteers are competing in the annual marathon tomorrow. It is a 64 mile race in which we will divide into six. Each runner runs about 2 or 3 miles, depending on the incline, at a time before handing off the baton to the next runner. We start at 5:00 a.m. and don't anticipate being done until 1:00 pm. It will be gruelling. So wish us luck, please.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Hey Chuck Noland, I can spear fish too!!
Friends and Family,
One year down, one to go. Time is going incredibly fast. The time has almost come when I have to decide what I’m going to do after Samoa. The answer as of now. I have no clue. It’s winter here so things haven’t been as hot. But its definitely not cold. I adopted a cat who keeps me company during down time. I would have preferred a dog but they are not allowed in Samauga. Apparently they were eating the pigs. And we can’t have that now. Here is an update on the proposal for a new primary school. It has been unofficially accepted. I only say unofficial because paperwork has not been signed. The donor, Japan, employs a consulting agency to oversee the project from here on out. So basically they take over my job. I went to Apia last week to finalize things with the consulting agency. The project is officially out of my hands. What happens now is they will put our proposal together to fit the Japanese format. Everything is sent to Tokyo for final approval. Which according to the consulting firm and JICA, is just a mere formality that takes a long time. In other projects the library is up and running thanks to those of you who sent books. We are getting a few computers this week so I’ll be teaching some basic computer classes to primary school students.
Unfortunately a good friend and volunteer whom we call “Nico” has ended his two years and is going back to the great state of Minnesota. In the last six months Nico has been working with local nurses doing screenings for diabetes and hypertension. The project started just by testing a few people in his village and continued on to having formal screenings. The objective was to give people a chance to get screened and be referred to the hospital to see a doctor if the results suggested. The levels of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are extremely high here in Samoa. A good number of volunteers including myself assisted Nico in these screenings and are planning on continuing working with nurses in their community outreach program.
I’ve started spear fishing lately. It is not easy. The method I’m using is a sling shot with a 4 ft. long ¼” thick rod. You could also call it bow and arrow style too. So far I’ve stayed within the reef so I haven’t seen too many big fish yet. I got my first two the other day. Nothing to put on the wall or anything. In fact everybody I showed them to in the village just laughed. It’s a good thing I don’t have a family to feed. I hope to get some pictures up soon.
One year down, one to go. Time is going incredibly fast. The time has almost come when I have to decide what I’m going to do after Samoa. The answer as of now. I have no clue. It’s winter here so things haven’t been as hot. But its definitely not cold. I adopted a cat who keeps me company during down time. I would have preferred a dog but they are not allowed in Samauga. Apparently they were eating the pigs. And we can’t have that now. Here is an update on the proposal for a new primary school. It has been unofficially accepted. I only say unofficial because paperwork has not been signed. The donor, Japan, employs a consulting agency to oversee the project from here on out. So basically they take over my job. I went to Apia last week to finalize things with the consulting agency. The project is officially out of my hands. What happens now is they will put our proposal together to fit the Japanese format. Everything is sent to Tokyo for final approval. Which according to the consulting firm and JICA, is just a mere formality that takes a long time. In other projects the library is up and running thanks to those of you who sent books. We are getting a few computers this week so I’ll be teaching some basic computer classes to primary school students.
Unfortunately a good friend and volunteer whom we call “Nico” has ended his two years and is going back to the great state of Minnesota. In the last six months Nico has been working with local nurses doing screenings for diabetes and hypertension. The project started just by testing a few people in his village and continued on to having formal screenings. The objective was to give people a chance to get screened and be referred to the hospital to see a doctor if the results suggested. The levels of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are extremely high here in Samoa. A good number of volunteers including myself assisted Nico in these screenings and are planning on continuing working with nurses in their community outreach program.
I’ve started spear fishing lately. It is not easy. The method I’m using is a sling shot with a 4 ft. long ¼” thick rod. You could also call it bow and arrow style too. So far I’ve stayed within the reef so I haven’t seen too many big fish yet. I got my first two the other day. Nothing to put on the wall or anything. In fact everybody I showed them to in the village just laughed. It’s a good thing I don’t have a family to feed. I hope to get some pictures up soon.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Eye Doctor for a Week
A group of ophthalmologist students from the University of Hawaii have been traveling around Samoa in the last 3 weeks providing free eye exams. They were a little short handed last week and asked if I could help. So for the last several days I've been playing eye doctor. My job was to test people for glaucoma. Using a "tonopen" you touch the persons pupil until you get a reading. Even though we only found a couple cases of glaucoma I got up close and personal with Samoan eyes. I have never seen such damage as a result of the sun. But, every patient got a free pair of shades and glasses if their prescription was available. All in all it was a very successful project and I learned a lot about eyes.
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