We Are All The Same Blood

Before I get crackin' on this blog post, I'd like to first  make a shout-out to my beautiful, amazing, loving mother! She celebrated her 50th birthday on the 3rd of this month!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! If you're in Mechanicsburg, take a short trip to my house and give her all the love and hugs I so badly wish I could...

Thursday began much better than the rest of the week! No spiders, no food poisoning.. I was finally feeling like my peppy self again! Work was quite busy right from the start of the day. I managed to type up and organize all of my tedious information concerning the mothers and children in my case study thus far. Whew! Still a lot of work to be done, but I'm more than happy to get the ball rolling.

 

After lunch time in the canteen I began coordinating with student services and Dr. Sayeeda about making a trip to Matlab sometime early next week! Words could not possibly describe the excitement I have for this trip. I feel like I am getting ready to go to Bangladesh all over again! And in a way, I sort of am.

 

To fill you all in, this is the description of Matlab as told by ICDDR,B:

 

"ICDDR,B maintains one of the richest, most comprehensive and longest running, longitudinal data resources in the developing world, producing regular accurate demographic and health data for rural Bangladesh. With over 40 years of continuous demographic information on a population of over 200,000 people, Matlab is our major rural field site, and major public health resource for the world. The site is a model for public health strategies around the world. Public health decision makers often refer to Matlab to understand underlying factors that are important for making decisions regarding intervention design" (iccdrb.org)

 

Matlab is located in the rural area of Chandpur, Bangladesh and is surrounded by rice paddies as well as other rural farming areas. This trip (two weeks, give or take) will open my eyes to the truest colors of this beautiful country. Where I am in Dhaka is very unique to Bangladesh, but is the capital city and only a small sliver of the whole cake. Most of the country is rural and reflects the landscape that Matlab is submersed in. Though I have absolutely cherished all of my experiences in Dhaka so far, I cannot wait to go to the rural area of Chandpur and experience the traditional culture of Bangladesh.

 

Most importantly, I am eager to learn more about the prevention side of the problems plaguing this country. Aside from its' world renowned research, Matlab contains a Community Health Research Branch that focuses on maternal and child health in the community as well as community based interventions.

From spending time at the icddr,b hospital in Dhaka and learning about treatments, I have discovered my interests lie in preventing problems before people reach the point where they need a clinic. Nearly all of the patients that come through the doors of the icddr,b hospital have health issues that are 100% PREVENTABLE!

I will most likely be leaving for Matlab Monday morning :) As always, I will keep you up to date!

 

Thursday wound down as I spent my last 45 minutes conversing with the staff members and mothers in the NRU. Apon, the baby boy with the HUGE smile, is being discharged Sunday because he has met his suggested growth and weight marks set by the NRU physicians. Since Thursday was most likely the last time I would see him or his mother, I took the time at the end of my day to make sure I handed the pictures of Apon I took last week to Bokul, his mother. Upon receiving the computer-paper covered with a black and white photo of her smiling baby boy, Bokul's face lit up and she was immediately showing everyone in the NRU. 

 

I started to get a sinking feeling; this was one of the first mothers I formed a relationship with and today was the last day I would see her, most likely for the rest of my life. By translation help from a staff member, I told Bokul what a wonderful loving mother she is, that I will miss seeing her and Apon, and that I enjoyed getting to know them. After a few minutes of jumbled Bangla, Bokul had unknowingly spoken some of the most touching words I have ever heard, ones that I will cherish for the rest of my days. The staff member translated back to me that Bokul enjoyed being around me simply because I treated her the same even though she is poor, dirty, uneducated, and from the slums.

 

The staff member, after translating what Bokul had said, pointed to me and said, "You know, you have red blood, I have red blood, a black man has red blood. We all have red blood. We are all the same, we are all human. God views us all the same, therefore we are all the same". 

 

My heart was immediately full. I had just spent a whole day filling out paperwork, feeling inadequate and as if the work I was doing was only for my benefit and wasn't changing anything in the lives of the people around me. What a great reminder as to how important it is to constantly treat people with compassion and love. I am persistently reminded each and every day that even though we may feel as if we are not making a difference in other peoples lives, we are absolutely having an effect on others through our relationships and encounters with them.

 

Be love.

-C.