(EDITOR'S NOTE: Katherine Cox, a graduate of Abilene High School, is a senior at Davidson College in North Carolina. Interested in women's reproductive health issues, she is participating in a medical mission in Mwandi, Zambia. She is the daughter of Bart and Jackie Cox.)

(From e-mail to family and friends on Thursday, July 13, 2006)

It seems like each day keeps getting better and better here in Mwandi. Today three of us went out to a rural health clinic 15 km away. The building was about the size of a small dorm room and was made of mud. The community didn't know we were coming, but the word spread fast! After an hour bumpy ride there (it can take a while when there are not roads), we made it and were greeted by around 60 school-age girls who came on their lunch break for their tetnus booster.

The two nurses with us took down all the girls names, and then they were passed on to us for their shots. We wore gloves, but that was about as sanitary as you could get with no running water or electricity. Some of the girls were so scared that you would think they would rather have tetnus than get the shot. They would try to get away without actually getting the shot by covering their arm and pretending they were in pain. After we each gave about 20 shots we felt that we had pretty much mastered it, which was good because the babies and their mothers were up next.

Each baby received measles, hepatitus, and polio vaccines if they did not already have them. We felt aweful sticking these cute babies and making them cry. The hard part though was seeing the babies who were already sick. We did not have room to take any of the sick childrn with us back to the hospital, so the nurses told the mothers to walk their children (which could take at least a day). The babies would flinch and jerk out of the way when we gave them the vaccine, but we got pretty good and holding their whole body under control with one arm, while giving the shot with the other.

Overall, it was an incredible experience that doesn't even seem real now. I mean here I am in rural Africa giving vaccinations to children who have never seen a white person before (yes, we terrified any child under 5 who would see us and immediately start crying). I felt as if I was from another planet because of the way the children would stare at us. Although I guess the United States really is a different world from anything these children could ever imagine.

On another note, I feel like my fascination with the women here in Zambia has only continued to grow. I cannot imagine how far some fo these women walked to get their babies vaccinated. After serving well over 300 people, we only saw one man with a child. These women are strong, and they certainly cannot count on the men. You look into the eyes of some of the older women and see a perservierence that I cannot imagine. There was one grandmother in particular that seemed immuned to any type of pain, she simply displayed stoicism and strength.

Well, that is all for now. Please excuse the typos and spelling errors... you know I never could spell.