“Drink six bottles of water.” I have taught on the critical issue of rehydrating the body many times throughout this hot summer season. Memphis, TN has very humid and scorching hot temperatures during the summer months. This summer we have seen temperatures several degrees above 100 F. Adding in the humidity factor, it has been just unbearable. Many of my refugee friends are from areas of Africa where the temperatures are what they call “normal”, meaning an average nice temperature in the 70s. Their bodies are unfamiliar with the kind of climate that West, Tennessee USA offers. Refugees often complain of headaches and dizziness. We’ve even had to visit some of them in the emergency room due to severe dehydration issues.

Friday, we dealt with one of the worst cases of dehydration that we had seen yet. A pregnant mother of 30 weeks gestation visited the ER because she wasn’t feeling so well. It turned out, that she was so dehydrated that the baby had no amniotic fluid. I was surprised that the baby could survive with no amniotic fluid. I wasn’t at the ER with my refugee friend all day, so I am not sure of the exact details. All I know is what my friend was expressing to me over the telephone while she was sitting in ER. At any rate, she was put on an IV, given some medication and after all day at the hospital was sent home early that evening to rest and drink lots of water. The baby was said to be okay.

I visited my friend today in her home. I learned that she was trying to participate in a Muslim holiday they call Ramadan. During this time, Muslims fast from all food and water between sun up and sun down for near 30 days. So all day long, they do not eat or drink, but pray themselves through the day. I think with the right heart, it’s something to be admired. But, it could pose for a dangerous situation for my refugee friends as they struggle to get through the hot and muggy summer days with no water to cool their bodies down or hydrate them. This may certainly not be a safe thing for a pregnant mother to try to do.

I read in a book that pregnant women, nursing mothers or children are not required to participate in the fasting, but for some reason my pregnant friend must have felt like she wanted to try. I had to talk her through this situation and reason with her. It is also okay if under a doctors orders you have been told to eat or drink. I expressed to my friend that she had a child within her that she needed to feed and that she may not be able to participate in the Ramadan fasting and that her doctor had released her from this because of the dehydration scare. I encouraged her to still pray. I think she will listen to her doctor and my advice. She did mention, however, that there were other Muslims in her neighborhood coming down a little hard on her about her choice to stop fasting. It gave me a chance to express to my friend that God knows our heart and we don’t have to worry about what other’s think of us. I’m not sure if it comforted her much but I think it did.

I suppose clean drinking water is not as easily accessible in some of the area villages or refugee camps that my friends have come from. I’m not certain if healthcare workers are even teaching them to drink the eight to ten bottles of water that is so often taught here in America. Nonetheless, it is apparent that most of the refugees are unaware of the importance of drinking lots of water. Asha’s Refuge tries to teach some basic healthy concepts that are important to the well-being of each of our refugee friends. We are thankful for the relationships we have built which help our friends to trust our advice. We truly want the best for our friends.