CHE class in Lemoa

Today, Lisa conducted the CHE class today on diarrhea and dehydration. Lisa and Kemmel had completed CHE training a few years ago and I was able to attend it in May. Dee, the friend who I picked up on Sunday, also participated in the May class.

Lisa had started the class and then asked for someone to write down the responses from the class. Here, the scribe is writing the answers to Lisa's question, "What is diarrhea?" All answers are written. This prevents people from feeling their answer was wrong and to encourage total class participation. It is easy to assume that everyone knows what it is and how to describe it but there is always opportunity for more education.

The CHE training includes discussion and activities. Here, Lisa is demonstrating how a person with diarrhea loses volume and it needs to replace. She emphasised that people to not die from diarrhea but dehydration...............you can not see it but there is a hole in the bottom of the container. As she walked around the class, she lost the water and then she would refill it as she emphasised important points.

Two guys volunteered to help make the replacement fluid that can be easily done at home. Here, Gatorade and other drinks are expensive. Most people here have the needed ingredients in their home.
First we need clean water.........then we need one hand-full of sugar.................

................. then one pinch of salt. We then added fresh lime juice which will provide some potassium and flavoring. There are many recipes for this but Lisa offered a simple one that uses items that are commonly found in a Guatemalan home.

Here the guys participate in a role playing activity. The class listened and then responded to questions.
The class was divided into three sections and each returned with their responses and then presented the ideas to the class.

Group two discussed how to prevent diarrhea..........specifically related to hygiene. It included how to maintain the home and personal hygiene.

Time for group presentations.

I think the class was great! As we do each class, we will learn how to improve them. The volunteers are really interested in education and how to help their communities. They love to participate in the activities and it promotes learning.

After the class was over we enjoyed lunch.......chicken, salad, rice and tortillas.

Kemmel met with all of the leaders of the ABC program to prepare for the end of the year celebration. It will take a lot of planning and preparation...............but I am sure it will be a great celebration and we look forward to it!

Tomorrow, Dee will head with us to Chuguexa. It will be her first clinic and I think she will enjoy it.