Ilha de Mare

This is epically huge...proceed with caution.
Yesterday the group got back from a three day excursion to a nearby island (Ilha de Mare.) We went there with the intent of performing a health survey of the population but as I have learned in my time here plans are generally made only so that they can be made. They literally mean nothing, so I wasn't surprised when we ended up running a health fair in the town clinic. We worked with nursing students from UFBA - the federal university in Salvador - and put on a clinic with a variety of stations. We discussed hypertension and diabetes (hugely prevalent in the population) and ways to stay healthy so as to not rely on medication. There was also a clinic check up, vaccines, a height/weight/blood pressure station, dental care and med dispensal. It was pretty well attended and lots of fun. I learned some excellent Portuguese words as well.

So that was what we were there for, however we managed to cram A LOT into the short time we were there. The fun started when the seven of us who were living in Santana and Itomoabo were dropped off. The boat made it till it was about waist deep and then we took the plunge. I climbed in and the water was definitely past my bellybutton. Someone handed me my bag from the boat and I carried it to shore. It was pretty hilarious and the people on shore enjoyed the soggy group of Americanas who arrived.

Each of us stayed with a different family on the island. Mine was a mom and a dad with a 14 and a 7 year old girl. It was the first time I had really interacted with a family that has a dad the entire time I've been here. I didn't really realize what a rare breed they were until I actually had one. The fact that father figures are so absent here made this family even more adorable. When their dad came home at the end of a work day (fishing and carrying loads from boats to shops with his donkeys) the family would pull the little mattress out of the girls room and put it in the living room. They would turn on the TV and watch it together with the dad and daughters all curled up together on the floor. He was pretty quiet but really enjoyed showing me everything they grow in their garden (yucca, okra, tomatoes, peppers, mangoes, bananas and more that I can't remember) and telling me that he loves to be able to pick food and have his wife cook it for breakfast. They worked very hard but were very happy. The mom was super quiet but very sweet and the daughters were hilarious. They enjoyed telling me jokes that I half understood, teaching me Portuguese riddles and magic tricks. They also took me and my friend Frances (who was pretty much my neighbor there) on a hike on Friday morning.

We climbed the hill behind their house and went over and under a dozen barbed wire fences to reach the little lighthouse on top of the hill. We then went halfway down the other side (creating our own path as we went) to a little spot overlooking the ocean. We had an absolutely amazing view of the bay. To the left and far off into the distance was the skyline of downtown Salvador. We could also see the profiles of some islands off in the distance across the perfectly clear blue water. There were a few fishing boats out on the water(the island's main sustenance is its fishing.) The boats are basically brightly painted canoes and the fishermen are constantly in and out of the water setting up nets and diving down to untangle them. It was pretty neat to just sit up on the edge over the water and watch one bright yellow boat in particular slowly make its way from the middle of the bay to the shore. It was only eight in the morning but it was already extremely hot and I could only imagine how the fishermen must feel paddling in the middle of a huge mirror. On the way back my older sister (Talita) pointed out some different plants - baby coconuts! - and we collected some of the edible ones and brought them home, along with "cat's eye" (a gorgeous bright red and black seed) which apparently is great for making bracelets. We washed and feasted on baby coconuts - they are smaller than a quarter and you chew the outside and suck the sugar out of it, then hammer it open and eat the tiny amount of meat.

My family lived in Santana, a settlement that is on the side of the island facing Salvador, but the only health clinic on the island is in Praia Grande which is a twenty or thirty minute walk (when the tide is low) from Santana. And when the tide is high...you wait. And at night...you slip a lot. It was hard to navigate at times but it gave me a real look at the realities of life on the island. It would be easy to romanticize life on a gorgeous little island where everyone know everyone and everyone grows a lot of their own food, but the reality is that it is hard. There is one health clinic (as of last month) which is very nice and new but which is only open three days a week because no doctors live on the island itself - they come from Salvador. And as for emergency services, there are none. In an emergency you have to find someone with a boat and try to get to the mainland as fast as you can. It means a lot of unnecessary deaths and a lot of scary births of babies born in transit. While the health fair we put on was nice and appreciated, what the people really need is 24 hour emergency services. The island is technically a part of the city but seems to have been forgotten completely (it doesn't even get to elect its own city councilor.)

Later that day we did the health fair (in which I held a baby as she was getting some shots which did not make us the best of friends) and took a boat to the far side of the island to get a taste of life on the poorer side. And though it was about a fifteen minute boat ride it was a completely different place. Instead of brick and mortar houses and packed dirt roads there were houses of clay and sticks with small paths between them. I saw the worst case of malnutrition and lack of care I have ever seen. Annapurna and I were talking to a family about their life and the mom started telling us about how all of her kids have horrible cases of scabies. She called out her eight year old - Fernanda - to show us and it was honestly really hard to look at her. She had the sweetest little smile but she had scabs all over her arms and legs and was so malnourished that she looked more the size of a five year old. She walked very slowly and didn't play with the other kids. Apparently (we talked to the community health worker later) the mom is an alcoholic and occassionally tries to get her kids access to the right meds but never follows all the way through on the treatment so they never get better. It was very hard to see, especially next to the kids a couple houses down who were a little skinnier than the kids from the other side of the island but who were laughing and playing with each other and climbing up other girls in the group. Our director told us that that level of malnutrition is now very rare in Brazil but that doesn't make it any better for Fernanda. Oh and the ultimate irony. The poor side of the island is traversed by natural gas pipes taking gas to the Petrobras refinery on the neighboring island. They go through pastures and run alongside the road but somehow the gas money never seems to make it back to where the pipes come from.

I returned home that night and watched a little soap opera with my family. They tend to go to bed around eight (and wake up at five) because it is better for the fishermen to get out early, so I hung out with Talita for a little bit and went to bed after we talked about her education. That in itself is pretty darn impressive. The school on the island only goes up to fourth grade so kids who want to keep going to school have to go to Salvador. Many don't (my mae there only had a 4th grade education) but Talita loves school. She gets the boat (a free service of the government for students) at six in the morning and heads to class. She doesn't go to the school right by the boat ramp like many of the kids because it isn't as good of a school and she wanted something harder. So she gets off the boat and walks a couple miles to her school. She loves math and learning in general - I was reading some English with her - and wants to graduate. Her parents support her completely (I think they are ashamed of their own level of education) and she really wants to go to college. I hope she makes it but right now the odds are not with her. TWO people from the island have ever graduated from college. And one of them is the director of my program.

In the morning we went to the beach and I fulfilled one of my goals for my trip - I played soccer on the beach. It was awesome. A lot more screaming small children than the average game but absolutely hilarious. Talita and about ten of her little cousins were just running around having a blast. And they absolutely loved watching me chase the ball so they would "accidently" kick it past me and then just laugh and laugh when I kicked it back. One little five year old may be bound for futebol fame...he was kicking penalty kicks like it was his job. And when I asked him what team he would play for he got really shy and whispered "Vitoria" which is everyone's favorite Bahian team. Then he started screaming and laughing.

I went home and handed out some little presents and took off with a huge farewell from the whole family (including Mikey and Nina the hilarious dogs.) And the neighbor's donkey and the donkey's 17 DAY OLD baby. Cute. And quite a sendoff.

The boat to leave had a couple of little canoes to shuttle us back and forth. The resulting dry clothes were negated when some of the guys from UFBA decided to jump in. So almost everyone who was still wearing their swimsuit...and some who weren't launched themselves off the boat into the water. It felt delightful for sure even though there was a mad scramble for the boat when the professor's canoe started towards us.

And none of this is conducive to getting any work done whatsoever but that doesn't seem to have impacted the amount assigned. Oh and I am currently in an internet cafe with about twenty guys playing the same fantasy game. And SCREAMING in Portuguese when they die. I may have popped an eardrum so I hope you enjoy the tale.

PICTURES...going up slowly but surely
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