July 5

Spent most of the day at the hospital meeting with Charles and Marthe, mid-level administrators at the hospital, and trying to understand the health insurance system in Rwanda. This is a bit of a technical subject to discuss in the presence of a language barrier. So it's slow going. Looked at a few of their insurance contracts. They are very short (bonus!) but most are in French (ugh). Lucas knows Charles and Marthe well from his trip here, but for the rest of you, attached are their pictures while they are working at their desks. Doesn't look so different from most of us at work, does it? Marthe told me that she is married to one of the nursing managers here at the hospital and they have 3 daughters. She worries about her daughters getting a good education so that they can obtain jobs, but I reminded her that it will be easier since they have her for a role model. That made her smile. :)

Since my nephew Lucas wasn't here to be the IT expert anymore, I had to fix Charles' computer problem today. It wasn't that hard. No images were showing up on his monitor at all, so I just plugged in another monitor that was sitting around, et voila.... his computer worked again. He was really worried, thinking that his computer had crashed with all of his important files on it. There aren't any regular back-ups done, and computer viruses are common (as Lucas knows all too well). The level of knowledge of how a computer works is fairly low compared with the average user in the U.S. They would really benefit from an intranet, so that they could file-share, but they would need a server and someone who knows how to maintain it. They have neither. Charles is the main hospital accountant, and he uses QuickBooks. Small & easy package.

Had lunch with 4 Brits today: Sheila (long term nurse missionary) and the 3 20-somethings visiting for 2 weeks. The 20 year olds were coloring with the kids in the wards today - they were a big hit! I wish I had been doing that instead of attempting to read French insurance contracts! What they are doing is basically occupational therapy, and Sheila was telling them how effective their interventions really are for the kids. She was saying that depression among kids here is a real problem, due to hopelessness. And a little intervention like coloring can lift their depression and speed up the healing process, especially since many of the kids have never seen crayons before. It's hard to imagine childhood without crayons! Good stuff :)