Nature's Cure

Karanambu's cure-all:  the Neem Tree!

I'm happy to report that the effects of the mefloquine are not permanent!  Thankfully, the Peace Corps medical staff was very supportive and I was able to stop taking the mefloquine.  I'm feeling much better which I think is in part due to the Neem tea I've been drinking.  Karanambu has a beautiful large Neem tree, originally from India, which can do anything from curing cuts to purifying your blood.  It is even an insecticide (although the kushi ants - a big problem for local gardeners - still like to eat them).  Just boil a handful of leaves in two cups of water and drink three times a week until the malady has left you!  Like most herbal medicines, it's horribly bitter but I've been sneaking a couple spoonfuls of sugar into it.  Shhh!  Auntie Georgie likes to drink it with me, although she would never be so sacrilegious as to add a sweetener. Suzette tells me its a good contraceptive, although I'm not sure how many people know about that because family size tends to be rather large.  I even got one of the guests to try it to cure her cold, although I found out later it can cure pretty much anything except colds.  (Sorry Alana!)  I do feel better, and I'm hoping that the neem will make my blood so bitter that the bugs won't bite me at all!