Rehoboth Children's Home

Week 3

The work schedule at Rehoboth works so that you are working about 15 days and then have 3 days off. This week I had some time off which I spent with my family in the capital. Most of my volunteer hours this week came from working on the website (taking advantage of faster internet connection in the city). I've made a lot of progress with the site layout so far. For this site I chose to use Wordpress in the hopes that it would be easier for the Rehoboth staff to use than the one they previously made (which I made in high school). They are used to keeping the world updated on happenings at the home through their blogspot blog. While there's nothing wrong with this, I think if they were to utilize the website more it would appear more professional and "legit" to potential sponsors and donors that read about the home.



As for my time off, I was able to see a lot more of Guatemala and gain some insight as to what daily life here is like. Here are some of the things I've noticed: First off, Guatemala is a beautiful country. The only way I can describe it is like going to a day spa for your eyes....which sounds incredibly dumb. But really. Volcanoes. Volcanoes everywhere. It's a drastic change from the flatness that is Florida. Second, the roads are insanity. I've yet to see a traffic light and I've been here for a month :O There are pretty much no traffic laws of enforcement and yet Guatemala has a lower rate of deaths by road traffic accidents than the U.S. However by selecting violence as a cause of death Guatemala is ranked #1. Which leads me to my next point.....Guatemala is also pretty unsafe in some places (lololol). During my time here one thing I can truthfully say I have not enjoyed is how careful I have to be with how I dress, who I'm with, etc. The men here don't respect women and don't bother to hide it. During my first week here I actually witnessed the police chase down two stolen trucks and chase the drivers down the street into the restaurant where we were eating. And they had their guns pulled. But this is normal for Guatemala.

Last week we took the kids out for a hike in the area surrounding the home and we visited a woman who was making a tapestry for the house father. They were some of the happiest people I have ever met...and also some of the poorest. I very sneakily took some photos:

While I stayed with my family I had a different experience. My aunt is a very hard working educated business woman and has become quite successful. Below are some photos of her house, also taken very sneakily:

 The disparity of the living conditions in Guatemala are extremely evident, and the distribution of income is also highly inconsistent. The richest 20% of Guatemalans account for more than 51% of the country's overall consumption. More than half of the population lives below the national poverty line and nearly one half of Guatemalan children under 5 are chronically malnourished (source).

One last observation I've made that I'd like to share is that Guatemalan people are very hardworking. The indigenous people slave away making beautiful intricate tapestries that they sell for about 80-250 Quetzales (about 10-30 USD) with simpler patterns going for even less. What Guatemala lacks in the way of systems (roads, store inventories, etc.) it makes up for in customer service. Guatemalans are helpful, intelligent, and kind-hearted. Though Guatemala is very different from the States, I've definitely fallen in love with it, and will be very sad when I leave next month.

Week 4: Cancer Patients

Little did I know at the beginning of this week that I would get to work with individual cancer patient cases alongside IRMC’s cancer department! Of course, this re-sparked my desire to do cancer research (I’ve been keeping an open mind to several different medical career routes). Incidentally, I had been thinking of cancer etiologies and experiments the night before. So perhaps this will be a large part of my route to a career of helping others with prevention and healing from cancers, in addition to other diseases. I would like to start this research soon by combining it with my forthcoming senior research. 

I landed this task, unfortunately, because the “patient navigator” staff person of the cancer center had recently broken her arm and needed help preparing packets and paperwork for her upcoming meetings. The patient navigator determines which of the hospital's patients who receive tests and surgeries have cancer. That is impressive in itself. She then contacts them, collects all of their data (lab work, CT/X-ray images, statuses of surgeries, etc.) and creates packets to be referred to during the meetings that take place twice a month. These meetings are based on the type of cancers being discussed. For example, the meeting I attended this week was for lung cancer patients and the meeting two weeks from now is for breast cancer patients. Lung and breast cancer are the most common forms that IRMC sees. The patient navigator also helps to set up genetic counseling sessions that take place over video conferences with a doctor at Duke University.

The first day of working with the patient navigator, we completed the lung cancer patients’ packets. The next morning at 7 a.m., I took notes of what the doctors discussed during the meeting. There were 4 patients being discussed, each case headed by a doctor who has primary ruling for the patients’ future treatment. It was incredible how quickly the doctors discussed the details of the cancer, including whether there were actually malignant masses or if the masses were only benign. This was done while each patient’s CT/X-ray images were displayed on the projector. The doctors discussed further testing methods per the official NCCN treatment guidelines that are based on the stages of cancer and many other details. This, I realized, was a vital component to the diagnosis and treatment of patients. For instance, performing a needle biopsy on a patient who was in stage 1 of lung cancer could risk spreading the cancer cells, worsening the patient’s condition. Rather, they could perform other imaging tests to determine more about the cancer. 

The next day, I worked in the auxiliary office with the rest of the volunteers as usual and collected a great amount of data for the infectious control project. The hand hygiene practices have increased by 5.5% (progress!). By the time I finished that, the patient navigator called for my assistance with some data compiling. Working with this data also brought me to a scary realization. I didn't anticipate that many of the patients that are seen at IRMC are cancer patients. However, in totaling the data for the month of June, there were approximately 170 new cancer patients., and I was told that this was a smaller group than those of previous, busier (in-season) months. One patient was only 23 years old and had been fighting leukemia since age 17. I had seen the data in epidemiology class that cancer is now in the top three causes of deaths in the U.S., but seeing the names, ages, and diagnoses on paper makes it very real.

This being on a serious note, I am very thankful for the experiences I had this week working with the cancer department. I see a huge need for research to determine etiologies and truly effective prevention and treatment. Speaking with the patient navigator throughout the week on a professional and personal basis and discussing our agreeing hypotheses on the causes of cancers, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to help perform this research and implement prevention/treatment programs vastly into our world. At this point, I'm very anxious to begin this work and make an impact. That said, to any of you or those you know who are interested in my progress in this cancer investigation or have further suggestions, don't hesitate to contact me! I am always eager to learn more and teach more. 

Good health & B-love to all!

Flagler Schools Summer Camp Week 3!

Hello hello! 

This week I kicked off Monday with the addition of the Orange group; we now have five groups of kids and one floater, Cassie, whom I mentioned in my first blog. I feel like we are now all properly positioned and that we're working in full-capacity. The first two weeks we kind of jumped around and a few people were sent home due to low numbers and camp, and this week that didn't have to happen.  It feels much more organized than before, and so I am happy. 

My group is mainly comprised of the (for lack of a better term) "problem" kids from each group. These aren't bad kids, but simply kids who have issues with listening and following directions and don't play well with the kids in their group. I was genuinely surprised by a few of them, who in their groups were absolute terrors and were constantly trouble but when put in this new environment were not just well-behaved, but kids I now enjoy having around. One in particular used to fight and then whine like a baby when he was disciplined, but once in the new group he became a leader, showing the other kids how to play with toys and reminding others of the rules. Unfortunately, one of my kids was removed from camp Monday afternoon. He was not necessarily a problem kid, but one that was obviously not ready for camp. You could tell he was an only child and was absolutely babied at home, so anything you asked him to do he blatantly defied you. I think being in school for a year will do him some good and hopefully next summer we'll see him again. 

This week was kind of rough. In some respects it was much better, but if we're judging based on our kids' behaviors it started well and went downhill. Things were fine until Wednesday, which is when we went to Daytona Lagoon for field trip. One of our new counselors, Justyn, apparently has known nothing of the trip schedule since camp has begun and thus knew nothing of us going on Daytona Lagoon. He didn't wear trunks to camp, but rather long pants and was sent home. So right off the bat we were below capacity. The kids were great on the bus and fairly behaved at the kids' zone. We faced an unexpected challenge from the lifeguards who decided for the first time EVER that our kids were not permitted to wear their camp shirts down the water slides. The kids had to remove their shirts and hold them tight down the slide, until they got off, at which point we had to flip them and help them put them back on. Not too difficult, but almost all of our kids went down each of the three slides probably at least twelve times each, so we were down there for a while. It was fun though, and after a bathroom break we headed home because the daily Florida thunderstorms had begun. As we headed back to wait for our bus driver, it began to downpour. So our poor kids had to walk a good five minutes in the rain to the bus before boarding, so we were all completely soaked and freezing for the ride home. At least it helped them fall right to sleep, though ;] 

Thursday was truly a difficult day. One of our other counselors left for a week and a half for Greece but didn't remind our site manager, and another counselor didn't come in until eleven. That left four counselors for five groups, each of which were pretty large at about fifteen or sixteen kids a piece. I took both groups, and the combination of the two left me at thirty kids to myself, which normally is not so hard but they just played off of each other and went absolutely crazy. On the playground, a child was stung by a wasp, but he was a trooper. We were also told that day that we couldn't take our kids to the movie room (our last rotation of the day) until five o'clock, which is two more rotations than we usually have. Our kids were exhausted by then and were really irritated to move around that much, but I tried to keep them relaxed by reading stories and visiting our computer room so they could still have fun. 

Friday came around and we finally got in the pool! After a two week hiatus I can say with certainty there was no better feeling in the world than soaking in the cool water in ninety degree heat. We had to rush to lunch shortly after returning, so some of the kids had to change their clothes after eating, but it all went pretty smoothly. We visited the computer room again after lunch, but this time instead of just playing on PBSkids.org, I taught them how to login, choose Safari and type in PBSkids all for themselves. Although they were totally bored and frustrated while it was happening, afterwards in the movie room I heard several of them bragging to other kids that they knew how to use the computer now. Next week's lesson: shutting them down! I love tiny victories like this, because when they get back to school in August it'll be one less skill they have to learn in a short amount of time. 

So that was my week! Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! B<3!

Flagler Schools Summer Camp Week 2!

Happy weekend everyone!

This week at summer camp was a blast. I was able to solely lead a few different groups this week as we had counselors out sick. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the different groups and am noticing specific sort of personalities in each group. For instance, the kids in the Blue group are very curious and quiet, whereas the Purple group kids are very active and love high-intensity play. It has really been a test of my skills to be able to relate to each group of kids and keep them engaged according to their interests.

This week our field trip was at camp, and it was a visiting animal show called the Tree of Life; the kids absolutely LOVED it. They showed us a tortoise, tarantula, a hen, a small gecko, a ferret, a ball python, and an Australian hedgehog. We shared the space with the 4-5 camp, and I was actually surprised that I had to ask those older kids to be quiet more often than our kindergarteners! All in all, though, everyone learned a lot about different types of animals and our kids were thrilled that they could touch most of the animals.

Before the show, we had some extra time while the instructors set up, so I led all of K-1 in a rendition of Jay's "Rare Bog, Rattlin' Bog" song and dance and they went NUTS. Two weeks later we still hear that song being sung in the rooms every now and again. I even was requested to repeat the whole song on Friday before our movie. I was really embarrassed at first but knew it would be a nice activity to keep our kids up and moving and entertained while we waited. The version I found online went from the hole in the bog to the tree's branches and limbs all the way down to a rash on a tick, haha! It was really successful and it made me really happy to be able to give that small nod back to Jay.

On Friday our pool time was cancelled due to a lack of communication between the pool managers and our supervisor, but we still made the most out of a great day. Our kids continued their prince/princess theme for the week by making paper crowns in art and magic wands out of pretzels and frosting. Not the healthiest, but they sure had fun! I also found out on Friday that I will be getting my own group come Monday morning due to an overflow of kids, so look forward to hearing about that!

Bonner Love, and comment below if you remember any camp songs or games that you loved as a kid; I'd love to share them with my kids and carry on camp traditions!

Rehboth Children's Home

Week 2

Hey gang!

In my second week at Rehoboth I was able to get to know the kids a lot better. They call me "Aunt Bella" and are a joy to be with (nearly) 100% of the time. Perhaps the biggest development this week was that I also served as a temporary house mom while Merida went home for a couple days. This left me in charge of Maria and Fernanda for the weekend. I was responsible for getting them to do their chores, clean their closets, take care of their pets, prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner....etc, etc, etc.......all in a timely fashion and while sticking to a strict schedule. Needless to say it was a busy couple of days but I was able to fit in some fun activities like making bracelets, watching movies, etc.

Below is a little video I put together so you guys could see some of the kids I've been working with:

These kids all have inspired me through their strength and positive attitudes despite coming from shady family backgrounds and bad home situations. Last time I visited during high school, Antoni had just arrived at rehoboth and his story  in particular stuck with me. Antoni and his sister  had been locked away in a room for their whole lives (for Toni this was 7 years and for his sister it was 12). Their parents left them alone all day each day for all those years, isolated from people, with no one to look after them, care for them, or feed them.

These kids had never learned to speak. Doctors and specialists told the directors of the orphanage that it was too late; that these kids would never ever be able to talk. But the directors of the orphanage where the brother was sent; armed with an unwavering determination and unselfish love, achieved what they called a “miracle” after a few months; although not perfectly, Antoni could speak. Coming back this time I was amazed at the progress that Antoni has made, he speaks perfectly and is energetic and makes jokes and has the most contagious laugh. He is the polar opposite of the boy I met all those years ago who kept to himself. The work being done at Rehoboth changes these kids' lives, and I feel honored to play even a small role in it.


Until later,

Bella

Week 3: Fish Philosophy & Relationships

In our Bonner Training and Enrichment meetings during the school years, we discuss the importance of perspective, relationships, and much more in efforts to inspire one another to improve and intensify the impact that we make on our communities. Recall the Rita Pierson TED Talk video (link at bottom as a refresher :) ) on the vitality of relationships in learning experiences and the ability to succeed. Many more of you will probably remember the meeting led by Jo when he introduced his “fish philosophy." He showed us a video interview of the men working at Pike Place fish market in Seattle. Their shift in attitude from being unhappy with their job of selling fish to their seemingly boundless joy and humor in serving people (flying) fish was an inspiration to many of us. Each day and each task should be approached with the highest optimism and effort. The results from doing so will surprise anyone. Interaction between people runs our planet and it is when those interactions are positive and productive that the results are more astounding and beautiful than imaginable. 

So, I approach my service in this way and am able to do so by the contagious positivity of my fellow volunteers at IRMC. Each day, even each four hours (regular shifts at IRMC are four hours), I am serving alongside different people. The majority of the volunteers at IRMC are elderly, with several “TAVs,” or teenage volunteers, and even fewer college students in the mix, as well. I learn so much just being in their presence and speaking to them about their families, pasts, careers, current affairs, scientific breakthroughs, FIFA games, America's Got Talent episodes, and whatever else comes up! I share with them my plans for my future and what I’ve learned about current nutrition. We laugh, learn, and enjoy each other's company. Then the phone rings and we're off to discharge a patient or deliver a "super stat" specimen to the lab. That positivity transfers to our interactions with others and creates a welcoming, comforting environment for people who are disheartened about their own, or their loved one's, health.

Before last summer, I was not quite sure what serving at a hospital would be like, but it has been because of these relationships that I am able to flourish there and be a better help to others. I actually continue to realize how well relate with the elderly and will carry that on in my service work during the upcoming year. The volunteers and Maureen (the director of volunteer services), especially, have set example of how best to interact with patients, visitors, and staff. We face many different personalities and situations. In addition, each day, things at the hospital are changing. They’ve done a lot of restoration, have constructed additions, and have moved locations of departments within and even nearby the hospital within the past two years. It is still very much so in progress! But each day, we assist one another in adapting to changes. I do the same in helping to train any new volunteers that come to the hospital.

I’ve been trying to figure out how exactly to express the thrill I have in volunteering at Indian River Medical Center, so I have given you this reminder of the importance of positive relationships in hopes to spread my story of joy! And I’ve included a photo of me with just a few of the volunteers from this past week!

Lastly and on a side note, the data collection project for the Infectious Control Department that I perform with another college volunteer is going well. You know the science-minded: the more data the better! Eventually addressing this issue of below-satisfactory sanitary practices will make a large impact on improving the cross-contamination issue that is a problem in hospitals nationwide. As I mentioned previously, too many infections and illnesses, including MRSA, are transmitted in hospital settings. Being a "germophobe," and for good reason, I take this project seriously and am anxious to see some positive results by the end of the summer!

I hope you all are enjoying your service as much as I am!!! Best wishes and B-love.

Rita Pierson’s “Every Kid Needs A Champion” TED Talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion

Flagler Schools Summer Camp Week 1

Hi everyone! My SOS this year is heading back to my very first job I ever had, which is the same summer camp for kindergarten and first graders that I attended when I was younger. It's facilitated by the Flagler County Adult Education department (where the budget comes from) but is really overseen by our school board. Our kids pay to attend camp, but that covers field trips, home EC, art activities, pool trips every week, and to have counselors who have been checked out and can be held accountable. There are scholarships available, and free lunches provided. :) 

Much to my slight embarrassment, I showed up to camp Monday morning in a bright red outfit; shirt, shoes, backpack, the whole shebang because I was told I'd be the leader of the red group. Due to a communication error, I didn't receive a group. Needless to say, my little counselor heart was broken. With a brand new site-leader, the two most experienced counselors, myself and another named Cassie, became "floaters." This is a reference to pool inflatables, not poo. The funny thing is, our first summer together, Cassie and I were also floaters, so it was quite humbling to have the most experience and be put, in some regards, at the bottom of the hierarchy. 

However, and I believe Cassie will agree, we were seriously helpful to our two brand new counselors who received groups the first week. My partner, Justyn, has never worked with kids in his life. I see a lot of myself in him: I was sixteen and had no experience when I began, too. But I think I have him some great tools that first day, like helping to establish rules and order among his kids, and some great bonding activities. He had a great handle on his kids by Friday, and it made me really proud to see him step up and lead his kids instead of just being there. 

Our first field trip this week was to a bowling alley in Ormond Beach, and I must say, our kids did excellently! For many of them, this was their first time at a bowling alley, their first time on a school bus and their first time leaving Palm Coast. I was very proud of how well they listened and behaved on the bus, considering the fact that due to dreaded budget cuts they were sitting three to a seat (all with seat belts, not to worry). We were supposed to visit this really gorgeous park in Ormond that is all done up like a castle (it was huge!) but because of conflicts with another visiting camp, we decided to return home. Everyone got an ice pop back at camp, so it all worked out just fine! 

The kids as a whole this year are much more challenging in previous years; only a few of them are truly mean-spirited and don't know how to play with others, but the largest division would have to be what we playfully refer to as "space cadets." Usually kids who are babied at home and not taught structure and discipline, who come to camp and are so excited by it all that they're easily distracted and don't listen that well. I think most of our kids this year have never been to school before and thus need to have the rules reinforced more often, like being quiet in the hallways and how to sit properly at lunch. Just like we saw in Dr. Sapp's class, you can easily differentiate the kids who receive attention at home and those who don't. I try my hardest to be patient and overly attentive of the kids who don't, because I'm afraid of giving them another reason to want to misbehave or wanting to stay at home. 

In conclusion, I think my challenges this year are twofold: it seems that in addition to training our kids, I am also somewhat tasked with training our new counselors. Obviously we will all develop different styles, but I hope that I can help Justyn and Tayla, our other newbie, to become confident in dealing with any group of kids they're placed with, especially kids with whom they're unfamiliar. It will be interesting to see how it goes. Hope everyone has a wonderful summer and I'll keep you posted!