Human Development Index

So apparently (according to google/wikipedia) Niger is only the 4^th poorest country in the world.

However it has the lowest Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is “a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. “ So you could probably say Niger has the lowest standard of living in the world. In case you were wondering, the countries that are poorer than Niger are: (lowest) Malawi, (second lowest)Burundi, and (third lowest)Central African Republic. I will be celebrating American Thanksgiving on Saturday, and there are a lot of things I have to be thankful for.

I am also thankful that today on rounds the baby I delivered the night before with forceps is happily breast feeding with Mom. The lady with the Cesarean from yesterday is healing well, and one of our premature babies had gained enough weight to be discharged and return weekly for follow up visits.

I did see something the other day that raised my eyebrows for a second. I expected insects (lots of them) and I expected that you would have to use something to kill them, I guess I didn't expect that force required to kill them would be quite so extreme. Fortunately they have lots on hand at the Co-op which is open Tuesday and Friday from 1430 – 1530. You can buy lots of stuff there – everything from pringles to peanut butter. They even have ice cream treats!.

Did I mention they have a swimming pool here in Galmi? Quite a luxury given how scarce water is. Well they do. Not Olympic size or anything, but they do give the staff children swimming lessons on Fridays. Water here is often sold in little baggies about the size of a sandwich bag. The nick the corner and suck the water out.

Also on Fridays is movie night. The early feature is an episode of the Andy Griffith show, followed by “A night with the King”.

Psalm 107:1

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever.