TEACHING IN INDIA: Los Gatan Olivia Coburn-Flynn, a junior biology major at Haverford College, Pa., taught English and worked at a hospital in Kodema, India, this summer. How she spent her summer vacation convinced her to focus her training on women’s health in underdeveloped countries.
She knew when the summer started she wanted to be a doctor. Now she has set her goal on becoming an ob/gyn. She intends to pursue an MD/MPH program.
In her own words, she and another Haverford student “saw almost 100 babies born, sat in on several C- sections and a hysterectomy, and went on rounds with the doctors and nurses. At the school we taught English to children in kindergarten through seventh grade.
“We focused on comprehension, since most students could pronounce English words but had no idea what they meant. We tried to make sure that what we were teaching the kids would be useful in conversations, so we had lessons on body parts, colors and the names for family members.”
The Haverford students learned a lot at the hospital, but felt they weren’t able to help out much there, not being certified nurses. Their duties were restricted to what orderlies do. Where they did feel they made an impact was at the school. There they improved the students’ comprehension and comfort with the language.
“For me the most rewarding part was making connections with the sisters, hospital staff, schoolchildren and patients,” Coburn-Flynn says. “These are people I will never forget and who have changed the way I see the world.” In the hospital she sat up for hours with a patient who had an emergency hysterectomy, whose life was in the balance because of excessive bleeding.
Fortunately the patient and her baby survived. Another time Olivia was asked to come up with a name for a new baby boy, but ducked that one, saying she liked all names. Olivia is a 2009 graduate of Los Gatos High and the daughter of Laura Coburn and Kevin Flynn.
She was one of 60 students who received stipends from Haverford’s Center for Peace and Global Citizenship to work on projects here and abroad. Haverford was founded by Quakers and retains an emphasis on community and conscience.
Olivia chose India, she says, because her father travels there a lot and she has heard stories about that country throughout her life. However, it was the program she chose–women’s health care–rather than the country, she adds.
KEEP THE MUSIC COMING: Pippa Siersema, who lives on Summit Road, was dismayed to learn that the Sebastopol Music Festival had ended, and wanted to do her part to help keep the bands that performed at that festival alive and performing. So she organized a concert evening at her house recently, and some 70 people paid $20 to attend.
A potluck dinner was part of the proceedings, and through the years that part of the evening has become very competitive, with each cook bringing his or her specialty. Pippa has been holding what she calls “traditional world music” evenings either at her house or the Radonich Ranch for the past 20 years.
Bands featured often include Le Vent d’Nord from Montreal; Old Blind Dogs with Irish fiddler Kevin Burke; and the Copper Family. Siersema’s intent is to host about eight concerts a year, and she hopes to line up bookings for the bands in both the Mendocino and Santa Rosa areas so the musicians can reap enough to make the Bay Area a profitable destination.
OLIVE OIL CONFECTIONS: Here’s an unusual new product for those with a sweet tooth, and it promises to be more healthful than most. It’s called Passionate Sweets, and it’s made with olive oil rather than butter or other fats. Say Ota is the president. She offers Dolce Amore, a box of 12 confections for $10, found at Dolce Spazio or online at www.Pas sionateSweets.com.
LOBSTERS GALORE: More than $100,000 was raised at the recent Claws for a Cause lobster extravaganza from 1,250 tickets sold. Some one-quarter of that was net. The lobster catch was 2,760 and average consumption was 2.2, Lobster chairwoman Diana Pleasant calculates. However, one greedy gourmand reputedly scarfed down 13.
BETTER BOOKS: Thousands of books will be for sale on Oct. 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., in council chambers’ hallway, sponsored by Friends of LG Library. Also, check out Friends’ mega paperback selections Oct. 1, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., on the Civic Center lawn. Valerie Wainwright is booksale guru.
Have a tip for Main Street? Email maryannck8@gmail.com or call 408.540.7977.
