Day 2: Monday, December 28, 2009
The flight from Heathrow to
\nAccra was pushed back by an hour. The wait was fairly uneventful, aside
\nfrom Stephanie’s entire carry-on bag being rifled through by security;
\nthey thought her international electric plug adapter was a bomb or
\nsomething.
\nI spent much of the layover trying not to think about being
\nthirsty, given that the unfavorable exchange rate of dollars ($1.77) to
\npounds (1) made bottled water nearly $8.00. I tried unsuccessfully to
\ncatch a vertical nap on a seat and, when the noise and excitement of
\nthe day made that impossible, I journaled for a moment before delving
\ninto a Rachel Cohn book recommended by my Aunt Nancy; librarians are
\ngreat people to know.<\/p>\n
Our Arrival in Accra
The reception in Ghana was
\ntremendous. A representative of the United States Army helped usher us
\nthrough immigration and customs. Our guide\/escort Kwado met us at
\nbaggage claim. We loaded up 22 boxes of supplies, 22 carry-ons, 10
\nchecked items, 10 Nursing Students, and a faculty advisor into a 25
\nseater van. Our driver, Solomon, is one impressive motor vehicle
\noperator- he could get that enormous van parked most anywhere. Oh, and
\nI almost forgot, it was over 80 degrees when we landed.<\/p>\n
Our First Meal in Ghana
It was very late at night when
\nwe arrived in Accra, but Kwado, his wife Sylvia, and our other guide
\n(Mawuli) took us out for toasted cheese (grilled cheese) at Frankie’s
\nbefore we checked into The Samartine Hotel; owned by Sam and his wife
\nMartine (a native of Belgium.) Both the owners were extremely welcoming
\nand hospitable. We were delighted to find our bathrooms contained
\ntoilet paper! The first night I had no water to shower by, but this was
\nremedied on the second night of our stay.<\/p>\n
Day 3: Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Breakfast: instant
\ncoffee or Lipton Tea; mango or orange juice; an order of ‘eggs’ got you
\nscrambled eggs with red pepper and onion; toast (a sweet bread); fat
\nspread (margarine); sugar; creamer<\/p>\n
This morning was my first introduction to Ghanaian time. We
\nwere all up at 7 am, due to leave for our tour of Accra and the
\nUniversity of Ghana at 8 am sharp’we didn’t depart until 9:25 am. My
\nboyfriend would absolutely love Ghanaian time.
\nWe were honored on this day to be joined by Director Eugene
\nArmani from the Ministry of Education. After our bus tour it was
\narranged for us to meet a representative of the Minister of Education
\nwhere we discussed our itinerary and the kind of programs we hoped to
\nimplement. He, in turn, offered us some insights into the history and
\nplight of Ghana, and offered us some excellent advice.
\n‘Find out how they [Ghanaian people] live; do not shy away from
\ndifference [and] if [the clinic] has no waiting room, no drugs, find
\nout why; evaluate challenges [so] you can help advice, guide, and serve
\nas advocates.’ ‘Mr. P.K. Daneau (sp?)
\nWe also learned in this meeting that 40% of Ghana’s population
\nlives below the poverty line. Though education for all is priority of
\nthe Ministry of Education and there are enough teachers in Ghana,
\ndeploying these teachers to remote, poor communities is a problem;
\nmeaning quality education is not accessible to all.<\/p>\n
Touring
Stay tuned for pictures. Describing my
\nimpressions of the people, the roadways, and the building structures
\njust won’t do justice to what you can see from the pictures I’ve taken.
\nI will say, though we have plenty to complain about with the Big Dig,
\nit’s nothing compared to the roadways here-most often dirt\/clay, full
\nof potholes (even those that are paved), with large drop offs on either
\nside where the sewers are. There are no speed limits, no sidewalks, and
\nvehicles claiming the right of way!<\/p>\n
Day 4: Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Another early
\nmorning wake-up call but delayed departure. We repacked the van and
\nheaded for Ada, a poor community of approximately 15,000, on our way to
\nKpando.
\nIn Ada we were given a tour of the Kasseh Health Clinic. It was
\nabsolutely eye opening. Their ‘nursery’ housed a sink and a metal crib
\nwith no mattress. The labor room was two metal tables an arm’s length
\nreach from one another that weren’t even long enough for someone to lay
\nflat. The Post-Partum Unit (the ‘Laying In’ room) is where women go
\nafter delivery for six hours before being sent home with their newborn.
\nThis area housed four frames with mattresses hemorrhaging stuffing at
\nall four corners, and lacking any kind of plastic or protective
\ncovering. I work in Labor and Delivery, so this touched a very
\nsensitive cord for me. Thanks for the tissue Renee; that experience was
\noverwhelming. New mattresses could be purchased for 80 cedis ($55.50
\nAmerican) but this expense is far too great to be affordable to the
\nclinic. Again, I feel like words are not enough and look forward to
\nwhen I can post pictures for all to see.
\nI stayed in Ada for a blood pressure clinic with Zanele, Whip
\n(Stephanie), Lauren, and Renee. The other half of the group loaded up
\ninto the van to go to a nearby village.
\nAt our BP Clinic we could not prescribe meds because Val was
\nwith the other group, so we worked with the clinic and referred people
\nover to their consulting room when we found extreme BPs. I was shocked
\nby some of our findings.
\nMale, aged 60, 200\/90
\nMale, aged 47, 248\/148
\nFemale, aged 40, 210\/94
\nMale, aged 37, 158\/100<\/p>\n
Many of these people had been on medication for their blood
\npressure but reported that it was ‘finished.’ They did not understand
\nthat blood pressure medication is something you need to be on for life.
\nThrough our translators, Prof and Sylvia, we worked with these clients
\nto explain the complications of high blood pressure, lifestyle changes
\nthat help improve BP, and the importance of getting on and staying on
\nmedicine.
\nThe hardest thing about this interaction was the patients who
\nsat before us for a BP screening but who really had some other medical
\nproblem they hoped someone could treat for free, because they could not
\nafford the clinic.
\nFemale, 75, c\/o foul smelling urine, question UTI
\nFemale, 23, severely jaundiced, question TB or Hepatitis
\nFemale, 53, c\/o right sided pain radiating to her back, possible kidney stone<\/p>\n
We had no antibiotics to give these women, no means of
\ntesting for hepatitis or TB. Our possible kidney stone was in tears,
\nbut we didn’t even have strong pain medicine to offer her relief. It
\nwas depressing, but really drew a vivid picture of just how much these
\npeople need, because we were offering such a small service and they
\nwere still so thankful to be seen by white ‘nurses.’<\/p>\n
Our First Supply Donation
Though we did not have as
\nmuch to give as we would have liked the donations we offered the clinic
\nat Ada probably doubled the resources that we had seen during our tour.
\nThey were all gratefully received by the nurses and other staff members
\nthere.<\/p>\n
Day 5: Thursday, December 31, 2009
We are staying in
\nKpando at Cedes Guest House. The girls last year became familiar with
\nthis location because they would eat at Cedes Restaurant, which is
\nclosed for the time being. The internet caf’ is located directly across
\nthe street, but the owner Eyram informed us that the internet was down
\nfor the day and he wouldn’t be open on the holiday, New Year’s Day.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Health
I’ve been amazed at how
\nwelcoming important government officials have been to us. Twice now
\nwe’ve been invited into Ministry buildings to speak with very important
\npeople. Today we spoke to representatives for the Ministry of Health
\nand the Director of Health, a Doctor, for the Volta Region. With them
\nwe negotiated how our time would be spent during our stay in this
\nregion (through January 12th.)<\/p>\n
BP Clinic in Torkor
We saw well over 250 patients on
\nthis, market day, in Torkor (a fishing village along the Volta Lake.)
\nPeople waited in the hot sun, many standing, to have their blood
\npressure taken at one of our four stations. We also set up two other
\nstudents with BP cuffs who circulated through the crowd taking BPs.
\nMany were sky high, stroke material, blood pressures. We kept Val very
\nbusy calling her over to consult about a patient. It was hard to tear
\nourselves away at the end of the day, but we had dinner arrangements
\nwaiting for us on the other end of the day.<\/p>\n
Day 6: January, 1st, 2010
Happy New Year! We spent the
\nday in Torkor again. Lauren, Zanele, Jocelyn, and Mawuli walked through
\nthe village with a speakerphone to inform people of our location in the
\nmarket place. Lauren videotaped a good portion of her journey on foot
\nand had some amazing storied to share about life in the village. If
\nthere is ever an opportunity to raise awareness about our presence, I
\nwill certainly jump at the chance. One man approached the group asking
\nthat they come see his ill mother, too sick to travel to the market.
\nThe girls saw a hawk with no wings, being kept as a pet. They reported
\nhuts upon huts upon huts corded together. And, as we have found to be
\nthe case everywhere, they encountered gratitude that we had come.
\nBack at the clinic’we had quite an influx of children on Day 2,
\ncompared to day one. We listened to heart and lung sounds, checking
\ntheir mouths and discussed dental care, several went home with
\nantibiotics for ringworm-more than I would have anticipated seemingly
\nhad umbilical hernias so parents had to be referred to a doctor for
\nsurgery.
\nThe adults waited in line for two stations and, again, we found
\nsome very high blood pressures requiring amlodopine prescriptions from
\nVal and clinic referrals. We are very lucky to have an NP with us who
\nhad access to prescription medications and the knowledge base to
\nprescribe it appropriately. We also saw ringworm, a large venous ulcer
\non the calf (that was dressed,) vision problems, bilateral leg edema,
\netc.<\/p>\n
Financial Argument
On our way out of the village,
\nthere was an argument over our agreed on cab fair (50 cents a person.)
\nIt’s the first time I felt somewhat unsafe in Ghana. The vast majority
\nof people are very welcoming and friendly. The people of Ghana are
\ntypically friendly, truthful, and thankful. Many young children do call
\nus out as we walk down the street (Yovo: white person) but it all feels
\nwelcoming. Adults frequently greet us with a ‘you are welcome to Ghana.’
\nOur escorts were speaking rapidly in Ewe to the driver, trunks
\nwere opening and slamming shut, one man put a hand to another’s chest-
\nit may have been less frightening had the whole argument been in
\nEnglish, but even though this it the ‘national language’ I have been
\nsurprised by how many citizens (outside the cities) do not speak
\nEnglish. Most, even who know English, speak in their native tongue
\namongst themselves.
\nIn any case, we piled (literally as there were 5 of us girls in
\nthe cab) our and jumped in another Taxi. Mawuliu has been an incredible
\nadvocate and guide for us. I was extremely thankful he negotiated us
\nout of that tense situation. The root of the problem we encountered in
\nthis instance is poverty. When some people here see a white face, they
\nsee an opportunity to bargain for a higher price. There is this idea
\nthat all Americans are extremely rich. Compared to Ghanaians, we are,
\nso I can see where they are coming from. In reality, however, the
\nNSWB’s funds are limited, so we rely on the help of our escorts to keep
\nextra costs reasonable.<\/p>\n
Day 7: January 2, 2009
We spent the day visiting the
\nChristian Children’s Home in HoHoe and touring the Wli Waterfalls.
\nToday was the first time I saw an actual chicken pen; most chickens
\nroam around the streets. The children were absolutely adorable. They
\neagerly greeted our Trotro, carrying 15 of us, and sang songs I
\nrecognized’The Lion King, and songs I didn’t, but that appeared to be
\nthe kind of children’s songs that have hand movements that go along
\nwith the words.
\nWe got a tour of the facility from one of its leaders, Nicholas.
\nThere is a girl’s dormitory and boy’s dormitory, three classrooms that
\nare broken up by age, a kitchen, a sleeping area for the volunteers,
\nwashrooms for volunteers, and the chicken coop previously mentioned
\nthat houses poultry to provide protein sources to the children. Outside
\nthe facility is also a playground with an area utilized as a soccer
\nfield, swing sets, and some other metal jungle gym type equipment.
\nIt was heartbreaking to see how little these children had. One
\nlittle girl grabbed my hand and dragged me from room to room, before
\npulling me into her dormitory, over to her bed. There she dragged a
\nblack trash bag out of a cubby and dumped its meager contents on the
\nbed, two plastic horses, a kaleidoscope, a stuffed bunny, a coloring
\nbook, and four broken bits of crayon. These were all her worldly
\npossession and she was so proud to hand me her bunny and show me
\npictures she’d done in her coloring book. Than she gave me her most
\ncomplete crayon, purple, pointed to a page and said ‘You draw!’ She
\ngave the best of what she had, and shared. It was touching.
\nLater, before we left, we gave all the children a page from a
\ncoloring book and one crayon. We didn’t have enough, at that time, for
\ntwo per child. However, we have tons of chalk and crayons that will be
\ngiven to Nicholas, the director, to distribute. Still, I watched the
\nchildren share colors or come up to trade for a different color. It was
\ncertainly nearly a riot to get their hands on the initial round of
\nstuff, but than they were all very kind and civilized’not remotely
\nwhiney or selfish as sometimes children in those age brackets can be.
\nTruly, truly impressive’it makes me appreciate so much all that I have
\nand that my parents were able to provide for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Day 2: Monday, December 28, 2009 The flight from Heathrow to Accra was pushed back by an hour. The wait was fairly uneventful, aside from Stephanie’s entire carry-on bag being rifled through by security; they thought her international electric plug … Continue reading