President's Report - Spring Quarter

March 31, 2010- School Health Services Advisory Council - Submitted final report and recommendations on content of coursework required to obtain school nurse license and school nurse wellness coordinator license as well as best practices for the use of school nurses and school nurse wellness coordinators in providing health and wellness programs for students and employees of Ohio school districts. The report was sent to all OASN members as an alert on April 19, 2010. The report/recommendations were sent to the following for review and action: the Governor, the State Board of Education, the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, the Board of Nursing, and the Health Care Coverage and Quality Council.

April 13, 2010- Presented at the Ohio School Based Health Care Association (OSBHCA) 2nd Annual Advocacy Day at the Riffe Center in Columbus. Topic- School Nurse Wellness Coordinator Update. Good day for networking and educating audience on the need for school nurses and the need for legislation mandating school nurses. Dr. Larry Hill of the CincySmiles Foundation expressed support for school nurses and encouraged others (not just school nurses) to advocate for school nurses. After the program ended, Renee and I were able to meet with Senator Kevin Coughlin to express support for Healthy Choices for Healthy Children legislation- Senate Bill 210 and House Bill 373.

We have several members that are new to the OASN Board. Judy Harmon will be representing Central, Mary Kay Mayle is representing East, Denise Kaufman will be representing Northwest, Patricia Forrai-Gunter will be representing Northeast and Lauren Brown is serving as Member-At-Large. Welcome! Thank you for your willingness to serve our organization!

Finally, thank you all who worked on this year's conference in Dayton. Your hard work and creativity shined! It was definitely worthy of an "Oscar". It was a tremendous success! I enjoyed the atmosphere, the speakers, and sharing time and conversation with many dear school nurses from across the state.

Respectfully,

Eva Garchar RN, MS, NCSN
President, Ohio Association of School Nurses

Update on Gail Pohlman, Peace Corps Volunteer

When we last heard from Gail, she had just learned she was to enter Peace Corp training in February and that she was to be assigned to South Africa to work on HIV education.

The volunteers are learning and observing the South African culture in the workplace (local clinic). Gail notes that workers try to impress her with their efficiency and accomplishments. Her approach is to leave things as they are and just try to give a suggestion now and then.

She describes the public taxies as beat up pick up trucks with benches in the back that pack in 25 or more people and their belongings. Gail described a church service she attended after taking a taxi to the Shambe Church, " after you arrive, everyone puts on a white smock and drapes a white sheet around their shoulders. Young women have to drape the white sheet over their head and face and navigate by looking at the ground. Men wear some animal skins around their head and some wear animal skin or fur skirts. There is a two hour service, eating for one hour, traditional dancing for one hour with drums, shields, and sticks, and then back for another two hour service. A sort of "blended service".

Gail says internet connection is slow and coffee hard to find but she's having a good time. Until she locates some, a good friend is sending her packages of coffee. Please read a note from Gail which is included further on in the newsletter!

Update on OASN Legislative Activities

The OASN Board of Directors would like to thank each of the Regions for their donations to the legislative fund. This fund supports the activities and the good advice of our consultants, Baker Management, LLC, for which Heidi Welch is the grassroots consultant. Eva, Kate, Lauren and I meet with Heidi nearly every Thursday by phone conferencing. She helps us draft letters, prepare testimony, and gives us her perspective on legislative issues.

The following is a summary of legislation that OASN is either an interested party or a participant .

HB 373 & SB 210 The Healthy Choices for Healthy Children Act The legislation is currently under revision with the substitute bill due to come out the week of May 3rd. The concern with the BMI screening deadline of November 1st appears to have been resolved with a new date of May 1st. OASN has been appointed to the council but it is questionable whether the council will remain in the language of the legislation because there are so many organizations also wanting to be appointed. Heidi, Kate, Lauren and I participate in a call-in meeting as coalition members on Mondays, with the Ohio Business Round Table policy director, Jessie Cannon. OASN will likely give proponent testimony in the near future.

HB 206 - APNs authority to prescribe schedule II drugs

OASN has signed on to support the APNs. A support rally at the statehouse will be held on May 11th. Other ways that school nurses can demonstrate support in addition to joining the rally are to contact the Speaker of the House, Budish and your own House Representative to ask for a floor vote.

HB 450 - Workplace violence against nurses

Nurses experience the greatest number of assaults in all practice settings. This legislation seeks to make assaults against nurses a 4th degree felony punishable by a prison term of 18 months to six years and fines up to $5000. This legislation was introduced by Denise Driehaus (D - Cincinnati) on February 11th, 2010.

These legislative issues are important to either nursing practice or the well-being of nurses. OASN has a role to play as a supporter of these issues as well as an active grassroots participant in its own right.

Renee Besecker
OASN Executive Director

We live in a society that loud noise is the acceptable and sometimes unavoidable part of life. It is around us at all times from blaring music to recreational activities. With the increased use of personal listening devices, there are reports from audiologists and school nurses that younger children are showing signs of having noise-induced hearing loss that would not be expected until middle age (Spencer J., 2006). Also, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that the number of Americans ages three and older with some form of hearing disorder has more than doubled since 1971. There is a greater need to educate on the dangers of what high noise levels can do a person's hearing-an opportunity for instruction, innovation and intervention.

Instruction & Innovation

While the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) contains requirements for hearing and vision screenings for school children, there are no policies in place in Ohio requiring hearing conservation practices to be taught in the school curriculum. Since there are no specific requirements for this education in the law, it allows innovation in student instruction about hearing conservation. The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has introduced The Ohio Hearing Conservation Program Book - A Resource Guide for Hearing Health Prevention (http://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhPrograms/cfhs/hvscr/reso urce1.aspx ) .The goal of this resource is to increase awareness of preventable hearing loss among school-age children and to provide information on hearing conservation programs for school personnel developing local programs.

Hearing loss caused by exposure to recreational and occupational noise results in devastating disability that is virtually 100 percent preventable. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the second most common form of sensorineural hearing deficit, after presbycusis. (Rabinowitz, 2000, p. 1) The incidence of NIHL may be reduced through hearing loss prevention programs that educate on the appropriate use of ear protection and ways to reduce noise exposure. There are numerous studies that evaluated the effectiveness of hearing conservation programs administrated in schools that show student improvement in understanding of hearing knowledge and that noise awareness improved after participating in hearing conservation programs. In a study by Bennett & English (1999), once children went through the program, carryover was observed by teachers by the children; there were reports of second graders teaching third graders about hearing protection.

Intervention

For children to learn in the classroom, they must be able to hear effectively and consistently. Our goals of the Ohio Hearing Conservation Program are to educate school-aged children:
· On the dangers of loud noise by knowing which sounds/noises can cause damage to their hearing
· To wear earplugs or other hearing protective devices when involved in a loud activity
· To understand why it is important to keep the volume down on MP3 players
· To understand that by limiting their listening time they will protect their hearing by giving themselves quiet breaks

We know hearing loss in school children may interfere with normal speech and language development and with the ability to learn. Even mild or unilateral hearing losses may be educationally significant. School screenings provide opportunity to provide detection, referral for treatment, and follow-up for students. The Ohio Revised Code 3313.50, 3313.643, 3313.673, 3313.68, 3313.69, 3313.73 and 3709.22 require annual hearing and vision screenings for school children. ODH's Hearing & Vision Requirements can be found at http://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhPrograms/cfhs/hvscr/requi r.aspx .

Screening is not to be confused with diagnosis of a hearing loss. The Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) defines hearing screening as "the performance of audiologic testing procedures for the purpose of initial identification of persons who may have hearing disorders" The purpose of screening is to identify students who may have a hearing deficit of some sort. The families of students who do not pass the initial hearing screening and a re-screening should be notified in writing about the results of the school screening. They should be referred to their primary care provider and/or an audiologist for diagnosis and treatment. Families are requested to have the primary care provider complete the "Hearing Follow-up Record" and return it to the school. When the school nurse receives the "Hearing Follow-up Record" from the parent and primary care provider, the school team will be able to work with the student, family and provider to optimize student function in the classroom.

Students with optimal hearing are more likely to be academically successful; working together in this way can promote success for the student. If you have questions about hearing screening, referral, follow up or the hearing conservation program, please contact Kim Anthony, AuD (contact information below).

Spencer J. Beyond the Music: iPods and Hearing Loss. The Wall Street Journal. January 10, 2006.

Bennett JA, English K. Teaching hearing conservation to school children: comparing the outcomes and efficacy of two pedagogical approaches. J of Educational Audiology 1999; 7:29-33.

Peter M. Rabinowitz, M.D., Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, American Family Physician, May 1, 2000.

Kim Anthony, AuD.
Public Health Audiologist
Ohio Department of Health
246 N. High St.
Columbus, OH 43215
(330)643-1326
Kimberly.anthony@odh.ohio.gov

Cumulative Donations to the OASN Education and Research
Endowment Fund
December 2009

New Angels (those donating up to $100)
Abbott, Aloshen, Armbruster, I. Besecker, Bjerke, Black, Boerke, Bowman, Browning, Bucco, Bystrom, Coupland, Crough, Easton, Elliott, Erickson, Ferguson, Ferris, Florian, Forrrai-Gunter, Gephart, Gladieux, Griffin, Gunter, Harover, Hasser-Zetts, Hegenberger, Hernandez, Hlinomaz, Hughes, Inderbitizen, Kaufman, King, Kiplinger, Knowles, Kolde, Kossman, Kraus, Lavy, Lewis, Luckenberg, Malone, Martin, Massey,McCandlish, McCray, Miller, Montgomery, Murdock, Neater, Norton,, Simpson, O'Dell, Osterday, J.Overmyer, R. Overmyer, Perkins, Ponish, Reinhardt, Rice, Riley, Rowland, Rufner,Schoettmer, C. Scott, Simpson, Skolnik, Smart, Smith, Spychalski, Steiner, Strasser, Toole, Turner, Underwood, VanMeter, Velasquez, Wehagen, Wehner, White

Angels of Caring (those donating between $100- $500)
Barney, Baum, R. Besecker, Bodie, Carstens, Farmer, Garchar, Hilvert, Holton, Jeffers, Karpowicz, Keith, Liu, May, Mosca, Nikkola, Nolte, Nordin, Pohlman, Poulson, A. Scott, Stoner, Strouse,Wisham

Angels of Sharing (those who have donated between $500-$1,000)
Hendershot, Neuss, Praeger

Angels of Mercy (individual donations received were over $1,000)
Blanke, Rini

To date there have been 109 individuals who had donated before December 1, 2009 and not all have been OASN members. We are proud to announce that there are 79 New Angels, 24 Angels of Caring, 2 Angels of Sharing and 2 Angels of Mercy. The Endowment Committee wishes to thank each and every one of you for your participation in this worthy cause!!

Welcome to Our 10 Newest Angels this Spring

Bochenek, Kathleen Daffler, Diana Flannigan, Judy Ganguly, Susan Inscore, Judy Marrinan, Patty Pettis, Mary Perrin, Amy Shannon and Sherdina Williams.

Remember that all donations are approved by the IRS as tax deductible and any amount is greatly appreciated.For additional information on how you may donate, please check the organization's website at: www.oasn.org

OASN Education and Research Endowment Fund
Annual Report 2009

This has been a "roller coaster" year for all investors and the Columbus Medical Association Foundation reports that as of 12/31/09, the OASN Endowment Fund's status stands at $17,897.68. There is $2,206.00 in the Patricia M. Baum Educational Scholarship sub-account; $540.00 in the Carolyn Azbell Research sub-account and the remaining $15,151.58 in the Unresricted sub-category. Monies deposited over the past year have come from individual donations, interest accued and the profits from last year's Endowment "Game Night" Event, the Silent Auction and the 50/50 Raffle held during the annual conference event.

As stated in our contract with CMAF, the Education and Research Fund Advisory Committee recommends to the OASN Board the disbursement of scholarships and awards, "to promote optimal wellness among Ohio's school children and their communities through leadership education, research, training and the support of the practice of school nursing." Five hundread dollars is distributed yearly to applicants meeting the criteria for the Patricia M. Baum Educational Scholarship and the Carolyn Azbell Research Award. The 2008-09 winners respectively were Cynthia Dawn Abbott and Candace Hendershot.The same amount is also won by an attendee at the Annnual OASN Conference who plans to attend the NASN Conference during the summer.

To obtain further information regarding the OASN Education and Research Endowment Fund, please consult the OASN website (www.oasn.org) or contact any Board member or me at nnikkola@earthlink.net

Norma Nikkola, Endowment Chair

*SNO-OASN....your school nurse organization!

OASN has a need for a newsletter representative. Some computer literacy and newsletter skills preferred; however, mentoring will be provided for the interested candidate. Access to a computer required. Acceptable attire: bunny slippers and cozy pajamas! Volunteer from home!

For further information, please contact Vice-President Kathy O'Dell (vicepres@oasn.org) or the current newsletter rep. Jenny Ferris (newsletter@oasn.org).

As of our March we had 169 COASN members from 12 of our 14 counties. We had an increase of 12 from last year!!! . We voted at our March board meeting to have the associate member and member at large category pay the same amount as a member as they are getting continuing education for their nursing license. Debra Stoner, our web master is working to have a members only section on our website by next school year. We have continued to encourage our COASN members to be members of OASN/NASN as we have verbally each meeting and in the newsletters pointed out the benefits of belonging to our state and national organization as well as our region.

Lynn DiLoreto and Shanna Huber put a lot of time into getting together the application packet for the Research/Special Project Awards for 2009-2010. No one had applied by the Nov. 30th deadline so the deadline was extended to March 5th. Only 2 persons applied and one didn't meet the qualification of being a COASN member for the last 2 years. Therefore, an award was only presented to one person this year. Shanna Huber (CCS) is the lucky recipient who plans to send home backpacks of food with indigent middle school students for the weekends.

COASN had our final meeting of the year May 5th at the Fawcett Conference Center in Columbus. After the dinner the new board was introduced. Our original speaker was Dr. Jeff Burrows, an Ob/Gyn physician who is trying to get about one half million dollars to fund a treatment house for girls who have been human traffickers. Dr. Burrows heads the board for Grace Haven House and they have plans to run a treatment facility which will be about 100 miles northwest of Columbus. We received 1.5 contact hours for his very informative program. Our original scheduled speaker was Christina Conrad, BSN an anti- Human trafficking specialist from the Salvation Army comes highly recommended as a great speaker. She has presented programs to Columbus City School staff. Contact her at christina.conrad @use.salvationarmy.org. Central Ohio also has a 24 hour Human Trafficking Hotline- 1-614-258-4357.

Physical Signs of human trafficking -
Bed bug bites, older broken bones that did not heal properly, traumatic brain injury, bodily injuries: broken bones, concussions, burns, bruising, bite marks, vaginal/anal tearing from violence including assault, stabbings, rape, and torture, reproductive health problems, exposure to STD's including HIV, pregnancies, abortions, fertility issues, malnutrition, rotting teeth, stunted growth in children, alcohol and other drug use, chronic back, visual or respiratory problems.

Psychological harms of human trafficking -
Shame and grief, mind/body separation/ disassociated ego states, depression, hopelessness, anxiety disorders, self destructive behaviors including suicide, traumatic bonding with perpetrator, Post Traumatic Stress disorder.

You may not see these girls in schools as your students but many of us work in other aspects of nursing in the summer or on weekends so this info will be helpful in other nursing settings as well. However many times he said the abuser is someone the child knows. Therefore when a child comes up missing from school it is important to track if that student is enrolled elsewhere or report their absence to the proper authorities.

Other news:

One of our school nurses has been a half time position but she is retiring and our school district is making her position full time! We had only 3 full-time nurses when I started 20 years ago and now we will have 5 for 11 buildings! I work with a great bunch of nurses who help each other so if you know of school nurse who has acurrent ODE license, please ask them to forward their resume to Kevin.scott@gocruisers.org

If any of you send letters to parents about student BMI results, please forward them to me at centralrep@oasn.org. Our school district is collecting letters for ideas of how to be nice about the info and yet get the info to parents and to know what districts are sending.

Word of Mouth, an anti-smoking program started in 2003 by Cleveland Clinic and the American Lung Association will not be available in the web version starting June 1st as the private funding is used up that has been used this year since the tobacco funds the state received were put into other funding by our governor last year. We received word this week that Cleveland Clinic would not be having a person in charge of setting up the access to the 4 lessons each year for 4th, 5th and some 6th grade classes that the school nurses in our district and Worthington have facilitated since 2003 when it started. (Other schools in the state have used it also) We were especially distressed in our district as most of the students have at least one parent or adult in their home that smokes. Our high school has noticed less smokers. Also this year Word of Mouth had finally been put on the Buckeye Best Award as a category to check for tobacco education!! So what can we as an organization do to get tobacco education computer lessons funded?

I appreciated all your help last year when we called asking for information about health services in your school district. Working on the state level with other great professional school nurses from around Ohio has been a great experience. Thank you for this opportunity. Hopefully more of you will encourage your colleagues to join both OASN and NASN as well as your region this coming year. See you at our meetings and conferences!

Respectively submitted,
Ann Underwood, RN, BSN
Groveport-Madison Local Schools
COASN Rep. to OASN

The NEOASN Annual Spring Meeting was held Saturday, April 24th at Hillcrest Hospital. Following a breakfast buffet, President Debbie Weisbarth opened the meeting with a warm welcome at 8:40 am. Lisa Mason, treasurer, gave the treasurer's report showing that we are in good standing. An audit was completed this spring by Julie Golub and Pam Katz. A donation of $1,000 will be made to continue our support of OASN's legislative efforts, as was voted unanimously by members last May. Membership chairperson Mary Ellen Shannon reported our current membership is 69 with 21 lifetime retired members. This is a decline in membership from past years. Several members volunteered to work on recruitment and ways to reach out to potential members for next year.

Mary Massey, OASN representative, shared information regarding the report to the governor from the School Health Services Advisory Council. The report recommended that requirements for ODE School Nurse Licensure remain the same and that School Nurse Wellness Coordinator requirements include a school nurse license plus additional training. Recommendations for university programs leading to school nurse licensure would follow the professional standards of school nurse practice with an emphasis on demonstrating those skills. The full report is available on the ODE website.

Mention was also made of HB 19 which was recently signed mandating that schools teach teen dating violence prevention to all students in 7 - 12 grade starting next year.

Susan Kramer was congratulated for receiving an award from the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland. The award will be permanently named The

Our program was presented by Dr. Jyoti Krishna, head of The Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Sleep Disorders Center. He began by describing the dynamic nature of sleep through the lifespan. He gave an overview of the common sleep disorders and sleep related problems in childhood. Finally, he explained the reasons for teen sleepiness in the context of changes in teens' circadian rhythms and the effect sleepiness can have on learning. This was a very well received and useful presentation. Dr. Krishna was an excellent speaker who kept us awake and attentive for two solid hours!

Board members will meet in June to schedule programs for next year, contact us with suggestions.

Mary Massey
NE Rep. to OASN

The SWOSNA Executive Board has many changes for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year. Kathy Dafler has agreed to start the presidency one year early effective July 2010. The following are open Board Positions for next school year: Vice-President, Treasurer, Ways and Means, and Public Relations. The Board may consider meeting "electronically" on Elluminate over the next school year. More discussion regarding this change will take place on May 20 at the next Board meeting. The Board did not meet on 4/13/2010 as originally planned, but corresponded via email.

The SWOSNA membership is down by 18% from last year at 124 members from 152 members. The "Outback" membership contest recruited 2 new members and Judy Marrinan won the gift certificate for recruiting the most members. The new membership forms are posted online and membership can now be purchased for 2 years. Jeanie Bochenek and Mikki Lukens will be preparing a brief survey to send out to members asking for recommendations of meeting places and topics for upcoming general sessions.

The general meetings for winter and spring have been held in Brookville, Ohio. Ms. Donna Zartman presented, "Signing Made Easy to the 29 members present and was well received. On April 29, Ms. Nicole McCormick from Dayton-Montgomery Public Health presented on "Sexually Transmitted Diseases" and gave a very informative update. For the upcoming school year, the general meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 16th on "No Child Left Inside" with Mr. Doug Horvath presenting.

Andrea Smalls has been working with "Health Care Today" which is a publication that circulates to the Datyon area and north of Cincinnati. In honor of Nurses Week, there should be a special tribute to nurses and Andrea will be interviewed in this article. No SWOSNA members appliedfor the NCSN Scholarship during this school year.

At the SWOSNA general sessions and OASN conference, SWOSNA has been selling t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies with the logo "Health kids learn better-Ohio's school nurses make it happen!!! They are very cute and would be great to wear anytime, at a board meeting, or out in the community. These items will continue to be sold at the general meetings and possibly at the new school nurse conference in September 2010.

Income $1560
Expense $2169
- $609 Remaining items to sell at upcoming events.

The OASN conference was a huge success in the Southwest region with 228 attendees. Planning for next year is well underway with tentative dates for April 1-3. OASN Annual Conference Planning Committee meeting was held on April 19, 2010 at Dayton Marriott for a debriefing of the recent conference. Kathy O'Dell was soliciting help at the General meeting on April 29 for Committee Chairs for the following areas:

Banquet, Registration, and Silent Auction.

An open full time school nurse position is available at Dayton leadership Academies-DaytonView Campus. Amy Doerman is the Principal . Contact information is 937-567-9426. She is planning on waiting to fill the position for the Fall.

Anyone interested in any of the open Board positions for next school year can contact me, Jeanie Bochenek at southwestrep@oasn.org

Lastly, SWOSNA would like to thank Crystal Thornton, Cheri Hunkemoeller, Andrea Smalls, and Britt Burlie for their service and commitment to all of the children, families, and school nurses in the Southwest region of Ohio.

Respectfully submitted,

Jeanie M. Bochenek MS RN NCSN
SWOSNA Representative to OASN

"I - Town" Queen, Annette Scott, RN

With secrecy worthy of the CIA, Annette Scott's husband Hugh, pulled off a surprise family and community in celebration of Annette's birthday and recognition of her many accomplishments for the Ironton, Ohio school district. Annette is the representative from the Southeastern Ohio Association of School Nurses to the OASN board of directors.

Annette was honored by the presence of many of her school district's faculty and staff , her church, family, and other community members, and representation from OASN. She has worked hard to increase SE 's membership . A plaque indicating the largest percentage of increase in membership was presented to SE this year at the OASN annual conference.

She was lured to the celebration by a request from her Superintendent to conduct a CPR class for the bus drivers on Saturday, May 1st. Instead, she entered a room full of balloons , gifts, and a delicious lunch. " Shout outs" were heard praising Annette's contributions to her school district and community. A dance in her honor performed by church youth and her son and daughter was dedicated to "Ms 'Nett".

A gift to Annette from OASN was presented to her by Executive Director, Renee Besecker. One person described Annette as "Queen of I - Town". She certainly was that day.

Happy birthday and many happy returns, Annette, from OASN.

About the yard. I noticed that it was the custom to rake the yard or sweep the yard every morning. I first noticed this in Bhundu where the ground is very hard and compact. The custom was to use a short broom made of broomstick stuff tied together. The brooms are about a yard long so this activity is completed while bent over. There is no grass in the villages. I noticed in the city that people have irrigation and actual lawns but this does not appear in the villages. In my village now, Ndumo, the soil is very sandy and tends to be an inch or two deep in places in the "yard" so the broom would not work. The locals use a leaf rake. I wondered why everyone had a leaf rake without deciduous trees and now I see it's just to rake the yard. Again this is completed almost daily. The objective is to gather any debris and create a smooth appearance. I also learned the second purpose is to rid the yard of the bird poop. My current setting has chickens, guinea hen, and pea foul with lots of poop everywhere. So, when you rake you can clear away the poop. My current host has planted a small patch of grass by his front door and waters and fusses if anyone walks on the grass. He is quite proud of the green grass.

My host family traveled for a funeral yesterday. This requires an all night vigil. They returned today and announced that tomorrow they will slaughter a goat and feed the several relatives that are here because of the funeral. I think I heard the goat "get it" a few minutes ago. Think I'll skip the early prep and just watch the cooking event tomorrow.

Visited the local high school and the local tech high school last week. While at the high school a teacher ask that I teach his American History class that day. The subject was the American Civil Right Movement and I was pretty well prepared as I have been struck with the similarities between this and the South Africa struggle to end Apartheid. These were 12 grade students and all very respectful and very interested. We had a lively interesting discussion and then they all had to shake my hand. I learned that about 50% of the students are already parents and a large percent are 20 yrs old or older. There are many delays in getting your education here and I truly admire those that are sticking with the goal. Teen pregnancy rate is pretty high but I didn't get an actual figure, more on all that later.

The tech high school had a wonderful principal that recognizes that many students don't belong in the purely academic track and would benefit from learning some trade skills. However, after building the school they were without funds to develop any workshops for trade skills. They have one classroom with stoves and cooking equipment and they have a "hospitality" curriculum. There are no computers or libraries in either school so it seems pretty bleak. I will attend a grant writing workshop at the end of the month and can perhaps then share some tips with the principals.

Walking around the village I have seen 3 or 4 bicycles. There is a real problem with tires. They seem to get holes or leaky valves immediately. I saw one boy that had decided to just ride on the rims.

There is a small mouse in my house and he has munched on my winter coat and one of my rain jackets. I went to the one hardware store and one grocery to look for a mouse trap and found that they don't have them. The hardware is ordering a few for me and I put out poison (no my favorite) but the mouse lives on. I spent a great deal of time today hanging things from the poles that hold up my grass roof. I hope the mouse will be discouraged.

Just called away to see the dressing of the goat. They explained that they will cook "everything" and we will feast tomorrow. Somehow I decided not to stay and see which, if not all, of the organs would be saved for the feast. I prefer to be surprised.

The weather is still really warm/hot. It's May 15th and mid-Fall but stays in the 70s or 80s most days. Evenings are nice with temps in the 60s. I will travel to Durban area in a couple weeks and will have lots to report I'm sure.

I learned last week that there are four Indunas (Zulu traditional chiefs) in my municipal Ward. There is a continuing task of fitting the old leadership into the new governmental organization and leadership. It's an interesting problem. Land for instance is not really owned by anyone. If you want to build a house you must go to the Induna and ask to be given a plot. Sometimes your family has a large enough area that you can just build on the family land. It has made some interesting complication for foreign investors that have come to build resorts or lodges for accommodations for tourists visiting the game reserves. It's difficult to get bank loans for building and business development when you can't show a paper indicating that you won the land. I will continue to learn about this system. I'm not clear about who has primary authority in a community. My organization was clear that in order for me to be accepted and safe in the community I needed to visit the chief as the first [person that I met in the community. I took him a small gift and gave my respect and was given his blessing and assurance that I would be well taken care of in his territory. He lives in a small block and stucco and rock house with no electricity and no water tap. Due to his age and status he calls my organization when he needs his water containers filled and we bring the truck and haul his water from my family tap. He wears western clothes when out and about but Zulu traditional skins and stuff at church or ceremonies. He is very friendly and anxious for my Zulu language skills to improve.

Guess that's enough for now. Please feel free to dump these long rants if you are getting tired of my day to day adventures.

Gail Pohlman
Peace Corp, South Africa