Today, we finally got the medicines cleared from the airport- this was fabulous news since we had about 18 bags that were so full with medicines and medical supplies that we needed. The doctors are happy that they are able to fill the shelves of the pharmacies in the clinics. These places were empty and the staff were complaining that they were not able to give anything to the people.
We had purchased a number of medications from a pharmacy that we had made a contract with so he was giving us some very good prices. He would give us baby formulas for very little since they had about one month before expiration. We know that they will be used immediately- so no worries.
Went to the clinic in Jerash today – this is an old building that a local group had gotten for us and we just went in and set up the place – one room for the pharmacy and other rooms and in the garden and outside in the courtyard at tables the doctors would be seeing patients. One of the social workers would take the names down and find out what they were seeking treatment for, then send to the room where the appropriate doctor would see them for their illness or injury. Then they would go to the pharmacy and the people there would dispense the medications. It went pretty well.
Beryl, who had come with me from Seattle, had set up a table with a couple of other social workers and was making play dough – the kids would be gathered around the table to watch her make it from scratch – flour, water, salt, and oil with food coloring – then they would each get a piece to play with. The smiles on their faces for something so easy made us all smile and laugh. The parents or grandparent or guardian of the kid would come and ask for the recipe so they could go home and try and make it. Each child was given a bit in a plastic bag to take home so it would not get hard.
I would be running around helping in each room of where they needed help or run out to the pharmacy to get medicines that we did not have and bring back to the doctors.
The major things were mostly depression, migraine headaches, exhaustion, anemia, lack of good nutrition from not eating the right foods. Pregnant women that wanted to know if the child would be healthy, or children that would come in and state that their mother is always crying.
We would hear the stories of how they left Syria and how long it took them to come to Jordan and how they were living. You saw and talked to whole cities that were transplanted into one village in Jordan. The people had each other to rely on and talk to which was good. A number of people said that they had Jordanian friends that had taken them in and were helping them as much as possible with food, places to sleep and schools for their children.
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