MAMBA MAMBA MAMBA

Yesterday we went to Tree of Life to deliver Medika Mamba for the 5 malnourished children. Medika Mamba is not a program but a treatment of specialized peanut butter packed full of vitamins and minerals. The treatment is based off of height, weight, and circumference of the child's arm. It can last up to 8 weeks or more depending on the childs progress. The amount of mamba they eat per day depends on the measurements stated above. For instance, the lighter the child the less peanut butter they receive. As they gain weight more peanut butter will be prescribed. It all depends on the childs weight in kg. We highly encourage them to only eat the mamba during the treatment process in order to decrease the chance of getting sick from other foods. The staff of Tree of Life were given contracts that entails rules and restrictions to follow while the child is in treatment. For example, they can not feed the mamba to any other child in the house, they must feed the child the prescribed amount each day, they cannot share it with their families, etc. The charts are extremely accurate so we will be able to find out quickly if they child is eating the mamba everyday. If we find the child is not gaining weight in the first week we have to give the staff a warning. The next time the mamba must be pulled according to contract. It's unfortunate but I have a feeling the staff care enough about the children to follow the rules. I'm excited to finally see the children grow healthy and smile again. One of our coworkers, Ginette, helped translate instructions, rules, and answered questions.

Dishing out the prescribed Mamba.

The children loved the taste!

I was most excited to see this little girl, Elemnia, enjoy the mamba.

This is Dukenz. He sang us a song after eating the mamba.

Ginette fell in love with this little girl.

Plans for today include picking up the team from Minnesota and letting them settle in. They were suppose to arrive yesterday but flight schedules changed. They are due here any minute. We plan on introducing them to Lilavois and Tree of Life today. Other than that I believe projects will start tomorrow unless they're ready to work today which I would be completely ok with!

Aside from teams and projects, the interns and WWV staff are in the process of moving into another house. It is located in the same neighborhood and only about a block away from the guest house. It's very nice! I'll be posting photos soon. We moved in a few pieces of furniture but have not fully moved in ourselves due to lack of internet. Can't. Live. Without. Internet. :) Hope everyone has a good day!