Motivation

Transportation/MMC promotion!

February has been a hectic month. Between scheduling appointments, doing MMC education in schools, booking clients, performing MMC at different clinics, and setting up camps to perform MMC within local communities, the stress can really pile up. Fortunately my team and the people we serve provide me motivation each day. I’m so impressed with how hard our team works, how willing they are to work long hours in order to get the job done, and how appreciative our clients are to receive MMC services. 

A few weeks ago the Department of Health (DOH) organized a 3 day MMC Camp in a rural community in order to bring MMC services to boys that don’t have easy access to a clinic. The DOH asked CMMB to assist at the camp to circumcise as many boys as possible. The camp was a great success. We worked non-stop for 3 days in order to circumcise the

Patiently waiting

130 boys that showed up for MMC. We had to work extra late one night in order to circumcise every client who showed up that day. Our team was more than willing to stay late even with the hour drive home ahead of us. The last client of the night was a boy who went to school and also worked on his father’s farm. He waited all day to be circumcised, missed a day of school, and was unable to take care of his father’s cattle. When we asked him why he chose to wait until 7:00 p.m. to be circumcised instead of just coming back the next day, he said he didn’t want to go home without being able to show his father that he is now a man.

Mother registering her son for MMC

Our team normally works during the week, but we’ve also started working on weekends in order to reach more boys who aren’t available during school days. This past weekend we set up a Saturday camp to circumcise boys from a nearby school. We used the local tribal court and converted it into a surgical room with HIV counseling and testing in the tent outside. Every client that shows up for MMC must sign a consent form before we circumcise them, and if they are less than 16 years old they must have a parent or guardian sign their consent. Most clients are between 16 and 49, but on that day one client showed up who was only 13 years old. The week prior to this camp, CMMB went to the nearby high school to do MMC education and hand out consent forms for boys under 16. Unfortunately, this boy was from a local primary school and didn’t know about the necessary parental consent. We had to turn him away because he was too young. About an hour later the boy showed up with his mother so she could sign his consent form. After registering her son and signing the consent form, I had a chance to sit and talk with the mother while she waited for her son to be circumcised. She’s a 62 year old mother of 16 children, and her 13 year old son is the second youngest. Her son wanted to be circumcised because his father died of AIDS. She said she is current taking classes to learn how to read and write, and she was very proud to be able to sign her son’s consent form.

This job is definitely hectic, hardly every runs smoothly, and can be pretty stressful, but each day I find new motivation to continue working to ensure this project is a success. It’s pretty great to have a job that’s so rewarding.