Breaking news: Norweigan medical students
visit Waccamaw-Siouan tribe to learn, share, and help
turn youth into first-aide responders!
We were six Norwegian
boys who went to stay with the Waccamaw Siouan in Buckhead, N.C as volunteers. Our prime objective was to
teach first aid to the kids in the day care centre, but also to observe the
tribe and learn about their way of living.
Upon arrival we were met by Reverend Mike and our counsellor, Dee
Patrick. We had a long conversation with the Reverend. Since we were to stay at
the church parsonage, he had to make sure we were decent people, and that we
would behave in the church. We were very pleased that we were given the
possibility to stay at the church. That was due to the last volunteers which
did a great job and earned the community’s trust. Thanks guys!
The following days were
spent at the day care centre and driving around in the community meeting
people, making relations. We were also explained the complex family-structure
with the Patrick’s and the Jacobs. In fact two of us went to stay with Dee’s parents; Mom and Dad
Patrick. These two were fed much more than the rest of us (great food, from
what I’ve been told!), and Jon and Erling (a.k.a.
Farmer John and Earl) in fact gained a couple of pounds each. We also got to
visit the local health station and speak to doctor in charge. This way we got a
view of the health problems in the community, which are amongst others:
smoking, alcohol and nutritional issues.
In fact we made an appearance on the local TV-show, explaining what we
were doing in Buckhead and what we hoped to achieve
by us being there. After our fifteen minutes of fame, we went to the fire
station to celebrate St.Patricks day. We were
surprised to learn that this was such a big event amongst the Waccamaw-Siouan. Being from
Dee and Sandra suggested that we should have a healthy cooking class.
Something we thought was a very good idea. We handed out flyers and put up
posters in the community. We were to make salmon with vegetables (a traditional
Norwegian dish), and the meal was to be free. Unfortunately no one showed
except Dee, Sandra and Bligee, not to forget Dr. John
from the local health centre, who held an inspiring
lecture on nutrition.
The last week we got to work with our prime objective; the first aid
course. We spent some time with the kids to get to know them, and let them get
used to us. Then we had a two-day course. Teaching the kids how to control a
situation in which someone gets hurt; -cry for help, -call 911, -practice first
aid. In the first aid part we focused on CPR and bleeding control. We felt as
if the kids got to master some of the elements, and that they are more able as
first aide responders than most other kids. But we also feel that this
knowledge should be repeated at a later point to ensure the learning process.
At the end of our stay we got to go to Spirit of Eagles Conference. This is an annual conference
addressing health problems amongst native Americans
nationwide. We got to learn a great deal about the issues facing these
communities. We also got to speak to the Mayo clinic representative which gave
us some pointers as to what problems future volunteer work should be
addressing. The problems she mentioned was alcohol,
tobacco and nutrition. She specially stressed the issue of nutrition because of
the high prevalence of obesity, diabetes and other nutrition related issues.
We also think that this
would be a good place to start. Maybe by changing the “snack culture” which we feel is a big
part of the problem. At the end of our
stay the kids we taught first aid brought their parents and held a show where
the children showed what they learned. We made some songs which we sung. Traditional
Norwegian goat cheese was served.
I hope we got to show the Waccamaw-Siouan how
much we appreciate them letting us stay there.
Thank you for giving us this opportunity!
Best regards,
Arild, Jon
Martin, Erling, Thomas, Arne Martin and Kristian.