After a restful weekend off we were back at it today, albeit short our fearless leader.   Curtis was indisposed with other critical issues for the day.  As a result, I was asked to lead the group in our training.  The idea was initially a little intimidating, but I couldn’t justify missing out on such a unique opportunity. 

The location for the training was the Kisorya Health Centre.  It was only 80km from our home base, but it took 2 hours to reach by car due to the extremely rough road conditions.  When we reached the clinic site, we were immediately greeted by a community health nurse who led us to our training area.  We were very impressed by the level of organization of the staff and their eagerness to get started.  

After a quick tour of the facility, we set up our training equipment in the shade of a massive tree with an intricate root system that was being utilized by several young mothers and their infants as seating.   Behind us was the open, breathtaking landscape that has become the quintessential image of rural East Africa.  The temperature was 30°C most of the day but a steady, cool breeze kept us very comfortable.  We could not have asked for a more picturesque setting for our training. 

After a quick introduction, we gauged the language proficiency of our audience and had our trusty CPAR contact and friend, Inno, translate for us.   I was very thankful to have him by side through the training to ensure the information was clearly expressed to the students.  The translation also provided me with the time to collect my thoughts and prepare our next teaching point.  I was pleased to discover that teaching through a translator was actually less intimidating than teaching back home.  

As a less than whole team, we were very fortunate to have a small class of 6 very competent participants.  Everyone was able to quickly pick up the material and demonstrate the skills with accuracy and efficiency.  All of this contributed to optimal teaching environment.  However, my real confidence came from knowing that behind me stood 8 incredibly supportive and brilliant HBB team members.  Together we had another amazing day defined by further victories and new learning opportunities. 

I cannot wait to get back out there tomorrow and continue this amazing adventure!

Ben Dorion