Big success of the week was the baby in the arms of the beautiful lady you see in the picture. She brought her daughter to us from a county some hours away with measles and in a very poor condition. Just under 3 weeks later we are discharging her home from the feeding centre fully cured. Its bloody great!

The main issue to address this week was hygiene. Many of the mothers have little idea regarding the transmission of infection. We fasten soap to the water barrel using a thin bandage otherwise it just disappears. The barrel is there for people to wash their hands after they use the latrine. I watched in horror as a mother took a potty, emptied it into the latrine and then washed it at the hand wash point putting the soap in a bandage INSIDE the potty and therefore covering it in faeces. If she or the others have been doing this before that means people have been washing their hands in diarrhoea / soap.

This was an urgent problem and demanded a solution immediately hence the construction you see in the photo. Behold Ladies and Gentlemen, I present : The Patented Dennis –  Potty Washing Station!

I am very proud of this as it works very well. The run off water goes into an underground soak pit. The barrel contains chlorinated water and although it may not be the absolute ideal solution, I still demand the title ‘Honorary Tech Log’!

We also spent a lot of time talking to the mothers about general hygiene , this will be a constant theme and will need ongoing reinforcement. Much of this is new to them and it will take time.

I was climbing trees for the first time in a few years yesterday afternoon. One of our washing lines (wire) fell down as the stand it was held up on had rotted from the base. I spent a while re hanging 3 lines to trees and latrine buildings. It was a lot better when I finished and should last a good long while.

After this I fixed a fence that was falling down – I have never been so practical in all my life. I for one didn’t know I had it in me!