the strike goes on

You have to roll with the punches...



So I had hoped to go with my colleagues to deliver a cervical cancer health talk at a local high school this morning. We arrived late because our transport was delayed (i'm getting used to that occurence :)) and just as we were sitting down to meet with the headmaster, we heard these booms behind us at the school gate. Some teenagers from another school had come to throw rocks at the gate and cause a ruckus. The headmaster excused himself and walked out with some type of stick to scare them off with. We watched from his office as students and teachers gathered in the yard to see what was going on. It turned out to be nothing, just some teens taking advantage of the climate of frusteration the current strike has brought about. They ran off. Needless to say, we decided to reschedule the talk since most of the teachers and half the students hadn't even come that day.



When I got back to the hospital, I saw in the newspaper that the president has gone off to South Africa for a knee operation. Hmm, interesting... let's just say negotiations to end the strike aren't moving very fast.

Sick people are lined up outside the hospital, waiting for the government health workers to return to work....and at the high school, students were complaining that their teachers aren't there to move forward with classes. I heard that workers were being threatened with beatings unless they joined the strike, so that doesn't help either!

Somehow I find it not surprising that the med school is still running though! I see the students walking to class every morning around 7:45am as I walk into the cervical cancer building.
Everyone is hoping that negotiations will come to fruit soon. Seeing the patients lined up and only a few clinicians there to tend to them is sad and frusterating. And this is when you start with so few to begin with!!! I wish I had more than a year of med school under my belt so I could be more useful!

On a more positive note - this afternoon, I joined some of the CIDRZ nurses for a lunch presentation. Seeing their determination and dedication to the work they are doing reminds me that strides are still being made and no strike is going to keep them from trying to do their work.
Let's hope Monday brings a productive spirit to the resolution making!

And on a random note, I haven't had many sweets since i arrived (yes, I know a little over a week isn't a long time, but it is to me!) So I just had a banana milkshake and it tasted like the best milkshake I've had in a long time. Ahh, absence makes the heart grow fonder. And food will always make me happy.