Wow, Look At You Now, Flowers in The Window

Written April 10, 08

I have quasi-begun actual work with Peace Corps. With improved weather and language skills I have embarked on a low-key, but I hope effective anemia awareness campaign. When I say anemia awareness campaign, it makes it sound much larger and strategic than it is, but such is the joy of semantics.

My campaign is actually stolen from another volunteer’s, but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It is the Çigit Card. Çigits are sunflower seeds and eating them is both an art form and a national pastime in this country. People stroll around with a handful (they are dirt cheap, too) and eat them as they go, leaving a scattering of discarded shells in their wake. They also have a graceful, dare I say elegant, way of eating them. The shells are cracked down the middle with two or three gentle cracks of the teeth and the seed popped into the mouth. It takes practice, and I am not yet a master.

Another fun fact about Çigits is that they are nominally iron rich, as they have 2 mlg. of iron per cup. I am quite sure most Turkmen eat a cup of Çigits daily. Anyway, the campaign involves me going on home visits with my nurses to see pregnant women, who are generally at risk for anemia. A pregnant woman needs 30 mlg of iron per day, as opposed to 15 mlg for women and 10 mlg for men and children. I hand out a flyer detailing important information and preventative measures for anemia (if you are anemic or pregnant eat spinach…it has 6.5 mlg of iron per cup, vitamin C which helps the body absorb iron, and folic acid. It’s a triple threat.) Along with this flyer, I hand out a little bag of Çigits because people always like you more when you come with presents. I also rattle off a 5-minute lesson about the dangers of anemia and try to get the women to promise to cook an iron rich dinner.

So far, it has gone well. People like me showing up, perhaps because I am the American, but they listen with good grace as I butcher the language. My nurses are also great, after the first few visits, the nurse I was with got the blurb down herself and began rattling it off and elaborating on it. I have to do my first report to Peace Corps in the sort of near future, and while I am pleased with my project, I don’t really know how to tabulate results as far as behavior changes go. That will be something to puzzle over later.

So, wish me luck on further campaigns!