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One of the projects I've been working on since I've been here is volunteering / studying at the Casa da Saúde. Casa da Saúde is a health center focusing on natural medicine for the more underprivileged population of Capim Grosso. It was started 20 years ago by a group of Irish and Portuguese nuns. I have to say it is one of my favorite activates here. Imagine a place with a large herbal garden filled with indigenous herbs used for everything from cough syrup to nutritional supplements for malnutrition with people dedicated to making sure everyone who needs them get what they need! Today I arrived at the health center to find out they were making Multi Mistura (Multi Mixture) a mixture of ground seeds and herbs used for anima and malnutrition. My Portuguese isn't so good. I can understand more than I can speak so I listen carefully to the Portuguese explanation of the process. Sister Marlene is especially helpful today letting me taste the different things as she tells me what they are. The recipe contains a lot of things that I'm just learning about but it does contain some familiar things like sunflower seeds and watermelon seeds. We toast everything separately than combine them then grind them! I also got to do ear candling for the first today! Ear candling is a process of removing excess ear wax impacted in the ear canal. First you make a cloth and wax funnel candle by dipping the cloth in wax and rapping it around a dowel and letting it dry. The funnel is lit with a match at one end and the other is inserted into the clients ear. Smoke and other warm gas is forced into the ear forcing the wax into the funnel in the form of a light yellow powder. I got to do two clients. I was nervous (holding a flame so near someone's head but Sister Sheila was very reassuring. Soon I was doing it with a little less supervision while she conferred with another client. Each ear produced considerable mounds of earwax powder. It's hard to believe it all fit in there! Everyone at Casa da Saúde is patient and caring. Sometimes I feel like I might get in there way - but lately they've made me feel like I'm actually helping. It's great to see their smiles when I go. As someone who plans to practice natural medicine in a poorly impacted area of my own city I find the health center a great inspiration. Raheema Nitoto, USA
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