anan clinic mozambique
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Anan Clinic Mozambique newsletterTRANSCRIPT
Anan Clinica | P.O.Box 88 | Nacala Porto | Nampula | Mozambique
Stichting Anan Clinica at Bilthoven | the Netherlands | [email protected] | [email protected]
www.ananclinica.com
page 1
The latrine project
From the 30th of May till the 22nd of
July two volunteers, Mieke Siemerink and
Marijke Thunnissen, both medical students
from the Netherlands, went to Nanatha
village in Mozambique. They have been
providing education to the community
about sufficient hygiene and infectious
diseases in order to prevent diarrhoea.
Anan Clinica Newsletter • nr 3 AnanC
linica
Both had never been in such rural areas of Africa, and
they were astonished by the beauty of the country. The
amazing white beaches with the bright blue sea, the
cashew -, mango - and amazing baobab trees silhouetted
against this blue and white background.
In the first days Mieke and Marijke got in contact with
the community and with the ‘activistas’. It was amazing
that the people in Nanatha were living with so few
resources, facing so many difficulties, and yet still are so
warm, friendly and lively. The ‘activistas’ showed a great
dedication and couldn’t wait to get started with the new
project.
In Mozambique, the mortality rate among children
younger than 5 years is amongst the highest in the world,
especially in rural areas. One of the most important causes
is diarrhoeal disease. In the top ten causes of death at all
ages in Mozambique, diarrhoea is the number two, second
only to HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, this also applies to the
beautiful Nanatha community.
The final goal of our ‘volunteers’ internship was to improve
the sanitation by building latrines next to the school of
Nanatha. Before they could start with the construction,
they had an important job to do: teaching the community
about several infectious diseases and diarrhoea, how to
prevent them and how to treat the symptoms. In most
cases diarrhoea is preventable due to better hygiene,
which for instance can be achieved by washing hands
before cooking and eating and after using a latrine. They
taught the community the warning signs of dehydration
and how to prevent and treat this with for example a
homemade oral rehydration solution.
page 2 | Anan Clinica | Newsletter nr 3
Together anything is possible
First, Mieke and Marijke gave education - with the
help of a translator Feliciano - to the ‘activistas’ of
Nanatha. Feliciano is born in the area, and speaks English,
Portuguese and the local language Makua, this is of
course a great help and without his presence it is hard for
‘Dutchies’ to teach the local mostly illiterate community.
The ‘activistas’ are a group of 17 volunteers chosen by
the community; most of them are already helping Anan
Clinica from the start. After several lessons the ‘activistas’
went to other villages nearby Nanatha to teach those
communities about how to prevent diarrhoea and other
infectious diseases. Furthermore, Mieke and Marijke gave
education to the schools together with the ‘activistas’.
Since the children are the future of the villages and often
the sad victims of the consequences of diarrhoea.
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For donations: 44.68.04.444;
Stichting Anan Clinica at Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
After the education sessions it was time to start
the construction of the latrines, two for the boys
and two for the girls. First step was digging four
holes with a depth of 3 meters each! Then they
made a firm fundament for placing the cement
plates, which they made with a malt. On top of
that, they built two very nice houses to ensure
that the structures will last for a very long time.
Everybody, and especially the ‘activistas’, is
very proud of the achievements of the project.
Hopefully we are able to build more latrines
like this in the future to prevent diarrhoea. We
hope that latrines in combination with better
knowledge helps reducing further spread of
infectious diseases and diarrhoea.
For donations: 44.68.04.444;
Stichting Anan Clinica at Bilthoven, the
Netherlands.
Anan Clinica | P.O.Box 88 | Nacala Porto | Nampula | Mozambique
Stichting Anan Clinica at Bilthoven | the Netherlands | [email protected] | [email protected]
www.ananclinica.compage 4