Pictures

I was having some trouble loading pictures, but here are some more of my last week! 

This is the fishing boat we took a ride in

This is the Conference at Pro-link

These are the leaders of 20 different communities around Hohoe that came to the conference 

 This is the waterfall we hiked to this afternoon

 Mary at the Stations of the Cross in Kpando

 Some of the Staff with Anna and I at Lake Volta fishing market in Kpando

It's a Small World After All

I think this may have been the best week yet!

After seeing the great HIV clinic in Hohoe Tuesday, I was able to start teaching at the schools on Wednesday. I started my personal hygiene program at Happy Kids’ Orphanage and School. I was a little nervous for the first class, but Anna was there to help me. We were able to go to 4 classrooms with the kids varying in age from 5 to 15. We made posters about when and how to wash your hands. Then we played a fun game that I found which shows how germs are spread. You start by having about ¼ of the class put one of their hands in paint. Then tell the whole class to get up and shake each other’s hands. This seemed to be a really popular game and the children seemed to have a lot of fun playing it.  I think it was a good way to highlight how you can get germs from someone else and even pass germs that aren’t yours. After the game we had buckets of water and soap and we first demonstrate how to wash your hands properly (Anna even brought out the nurse’s standards to hand washing) and then had each of the kids come up to wash their own hands. I would say that as the day went on, I got much more confident and was able to explain myself a little better each time. I was pretty surprised with their teaching methods, as many of the kids didn’t write anything down while their teachers were teaching and some of the teachers seemed about my age!

After we finished at our placement for the day, Anna, myself and the staff traveled to the next town over, Kpando, for some fun cultural programming. We first went to this park that has a BIG (rivals Rio…maybe I’m exaggerating) statue of Virgin Mary and then has all of the Stations of the Cross made into statues that are on a path throughout. It was quite a nice little park and I left a prayer at the feet of Mary under a rock. Next, we travelled to a pottery shop. Pottery is a big part of the livelihood in Kpando and this shop was filled with bowls, teacups, animal figures and candle holders. We ran into a Peace Corp Volunteer when we were there. He was in charge of business development in Kpando and had been showing the Pottery Maker how to further her business. It was great to talk with him for a while and get his perspective on the Peace Corp experience. He only had one more month left and he said for him it was a great opportunity.

Later, we went to the fishing village of Kpando on the banks of Lake Volta. It was super interesting to see and John, our cook, convinced one of the fisherman to take us out on his rickety old wooden fishing boat.

We finished up our day with meeting two other Yavoo (white people) that we had met at the orphanage out at Obama’s Garden. It was quite nice to have some western conversations again J.

On Thursday I did the same lesson on hand washing at a different school, St. Francis. This school, unlike Happy Kids, is a government run school and I noticed a great difference between the two. St. Francis was much more structured and had actual lesson plans. They also had teachers and student teachers who were training at the St. Francis teachers’ College that is on the same campus. The classes also have a lot more children than Happy Kids. They had upwards of 30 children in each class while HK had only 5 in some. I thought the morning went quite well and I was much more comfortable in my lesson plan and felt that the children understood me more than at HK.

Friday was a very interesting day because we were able to help at a Pro-link conference held for the leaders of the community. Their topic was Women and Children’s health and the importance of getting proper care. Anna and I helped with the check- in and than were able to sit in for the conference but it was a little hard to follow because it was in Ewe. Thankfully one of the pro-link guys translated a bit for us. They were the nicest people. We had to leave a little early, so I went to tell our host and he had the two of us come up in front of the group and tell what we thought of their meeting and plans for the future. I felt a little put on the spot, but I said that I was really impressed by what they had already established and understand how important it was to educate the rest of their communities.

That afternoon Anna and I headed to Mountain Paradise, which is about an hour’s drive away. It is a little hostel with a beautiful view of the hills and some nice trails. When we pulled up Anna was so surprised because the scenic bar had burnt down since the last time she had been there! The owner said that one of the farmers down in the valley had started a brush fire and it got out of control. We still managed to have a great weekend! Once we had settled in we were talking to this young couple, the woman was from California and the man was raised in Ghana. BUT GUESS WHAT?!!! He had attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids for undergrad and had worked in Muskegon! What a small world! He continued to amaze me when he said that he also went to U of M for grad school. I was so stunned and could not believe that he had lived in both of my cities! We had a nice evening with this couple and about 50 games of UNO.

This morning Anna and I got up early and had a nice breakfast of hot chocolate and pancakes, but they sadly don’t have syrup in Ghana so we had to settle for jam. After breakfast we headed out for a nice hike. There was a BEAUTIFUL waterfall and swimming hole we came across too! We swam and enjoyed the view for a while then headed up the rest of the way. The trail was pretty steep and went up and down the hillside. The owner said it took 3 hours but we did it in 2.

When we came back to our hostel we met an older American couple probably in their 60s or 70s and chatted with them for a bit. After we talked for a while, we found out that they work for USAID in Accra. We were talking a bit more and turns out that I was talking to the #2 in charge for USAID in Ghana! That is a hugeeee deal! I told him about my major and that I was considering the Peace Corp and he highly encouraged it. He told me that he had been a volunteer in Afghanistan and had actually been the last group to ever serve there. He said that since he left the US after college he has not lived there since and named off about 10 countries in Africa and some in Eastern Europe that he had lived in. I was so amazed by this couple’s life and it really encouraged me and my future. They both recommended that I look into one of their internships for next summer and I managed to get his business card. Who would have thought that you could do networking on a mountain in Ghana?

Now I am back at the home base and Anna just left L We had a great week together and I really enjoyed adventuring Ghana just the two of us this last week. The next group of volunteers should be arriving in the next 2 to 3 hours so for now it is just me and the staff. I am starting to plan my lesson for next week and I think it is going to be about brushing your teeth.

I am a little bummed I won’t be home tomorrow, it is my daddy’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Love you! Hopefully the brothers can pull through without my help.

Until later my friends!

Elizabeth

The adventure continues

Once again I feel like the last few days have been a week! Since Saturday it has just been Anna and me at the home base for the next week. We had a relaxing weekend and were able to go to church with our cab driver Prosper. It was such a wonderful church! It was a quaint little chapel made of cement and painted white. The only room of the building was the sanctuary. I really enjoyed the singing because it was all songs I recognized from church at home with a little bit of a gospely spin. It was so nice to be back in church and I was invited back for next Sunday when the bishop will be coming from Accra to preach! Later that afternoon we went to the waterfalls that we have visited earlier and were able to cool off in the water. We finished up our evening with a few cold ones (cokes) at Obama’s Garden, a local hotspot. Overall it was a really nice weekend that made me feel a bit more at home with Hohoe.

Anna and I in our Ghanaian dresses after church

Yesterday, Anna and I went back to Mary Marquart hospital and worked in the lab. This was the first time I had visited the lab. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about how they identify diseases through urine and blood samples. I was even able to assist in preparing the urine into a sample for the lab tech to view under a microscope. After placement Anna and I walked to the market and of course bought more fabric to make into dresses J We had a relaxing evening at the home base and watched How Harry Met Sally.

Today was a great day! Last week when the nurse from the HIV clinic at Hohoe hospital came to speak to us, she invited Anna and me to come see the clinic and that is what we did today. When we arrived at 8:30 the inside waiting room and outside area were already packed with people! Every Tuesday they host a clinical day for all of their HIV positive patients. We were greeted by Emma the nurse that had invited us to observe. She said that each Tuesday clinical begins with a fellow patient talking to the crowd about the importance of making your scheduled appointments and taking your medication properly and on time. I was really impressed with their approach and Emma told me that they treat every patient as a brother, sister, daughter or son. They have created a loving and understanding environment that I felt immediately when I observed the first counseling session. I was not only impressed with their approach to helping these people, but also their technology. They have a comprehensive approach, which includes having a pharmacy, laboratory, physician appointment, and counseling available in one location. This is much different than the other hospital I have been working at, where the HIV patients must travel to all of the other departments on their own to find the care they need. The only bump in the road today was when we were in the laboratory and the tech was teaching us how he takes a blood sample. I have seen much worse things since I have been here and it was actually great that he had the same vacuum system that we use in the states to collect samples. I think it had to do with the women’s face as he was taking the sample, but I began to feel pretty woozy and I passed out and as Anna said, “hit the deck” in front of all of the patients who were waiting for their blood to be drawn. Emma and Anna had to carry me to her office before I realized what had happened. I was fine, but a little embarrassed. As I was leaving all of the patients got a good laugh and so did I. I think it may have had such a large effect on me because the lab tech suggested that I help draw the blood, which is something I am definitely not into! Oh well, I survived and besides that small detail felt like I had a very successful day at the clinic!

Later on today I had Ruth and Ella, the girls that work for CCS braid my hair! I look a bit goofy but it’s so fun. They added hair so it is a lot longer and looks very similar to the African women that have their hair done. Enjoy the pictures! I am excited for next week when we will be having 18 more volunteers join us, but I will be sad to see Anna go!

More to come!

Elizabeth 

Post by fellow volunteer

Thank you to everyone who has sent me loving emails and comments! I'm sorry I haven't replied personally to all of them but know that I have felt everyone's kind words and prayers. 

Today at work was a little tough, as the 12 volunteers that started with me are heading home. As a last effort to really make a difference in these people lives, one of my fellow volunteers, Ken, a 41 year old RN from Indianapolis, attempted to help one of the children that has been in our ward for the past month. The following is a post that he wrote about his experiences. I really felt that he put what we have struggled with in the health system in Ghana into such great words. 

There is a little boy with dark black skin and big, wide eyes dying about fifty feet from where I sit. I’m typing this in the shade of an ancient tree on the campus of a district hospital in Kpando,a small town in the Volta Region of Ghana. The boy’s name is Prince and he is around 3 years old. Prince has been born to a poor, uneducated family and therefore he has little chance at surviving the infection that is threatening his life today. He is not a member of the National Insurance Scheme, and there is no social safety net for sick children in Ghana. There is no charitable foundation here with fat pockets that will step in and make a difference in his life. Prince has been staying in the children’s ward of the Margaret Marquart hospital for the past month, and his time is growing short.

Prince has a severe osteomyelitis, an difficult to treat infection in the bones and muscles of his left leg. Today, there is new evidence that the infection is in his blood stream as well, and this may well prove to be what takes him. Prince’s skin is cool and dry, its turgor poor. He is dehydrating. I have watched this happen slowly over the past two weeks. His family cannot afford IV hydration, so his mother tries her best to give him sips of water from plastic bags. He is severely malnourished and is showing every physical sign of protein deficiency. This means his body is breaking down his own muscles to use as fuel to keep the important organs functioning. His body is entering a crisis mode and will not have the resources to rebuild tissue in his wound site or fight his infection. His mother tries to give him bites of boiled egg. He is weak and unable to eat without aspirating his small bites. I help her clear his mouth and then , leaning him forward, we rinse it so no more goes down his airway. Frustratingly, this is literally the only thing I can do for him today. The family already owes the Margaret Marquart Hospital 600.00 Ghana Cedis (about 350.00 USD), and the hospital will not refer him to a teaching hospital elsewhere because of this debt.

In the US, regardless of Prince’s economic status, he would probably survive this. There is a good chance he would have already have been treated and released, and he would be back doing the important work of three year olds; playing with toys, throwing tantrums and generally charming the socks off of anyone around. His treatment plan would likely include around the clock antibiotics, and we would test the infection to make sure he’s getting the right ones. He would benefit from IV fluids to help rehydrate his tiny body, and we would run tests on his blood to look at his electrolytes and protein status and blood counts. These tests would let us know if we were on the right track with his treatment. He would most likely get some nutritional support (heavy on the protein please), either through his veins or through a feeding tube going directly into his stomach. He would possibly have a surgery or two stabilize his leg, and we’d look at the progress with xrays and scans. Kids are resilient and can survive things that adults never could. I would bet on Prince surviving in the states.

No matter how much we complain about the cost and the hassle in the US healthcare system, Prince would not die there because we made a choice a long time ago to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves. It’s called Medicaid, and it prevents things like this from happening. Medicaid is a social program, so for those of you convinced we should get rid of all these safety nets in the US, I invite you to come to Ghana and work in a children’s ward for two weeks and see if that doesn’t change your mind.

I’m in Ghana to participate in a two week immersive volunteer experience. I’m with 9 of my colleagues from around the globe. We have lived among the people of the town of Hohoe, a rural village in the middle-eastern section of Ghana. We have learned about the culture, eaten the food, survived the heat, explored the waterfalls and visited the locals in their homes. We have appreciated their art, nursed their sick, taught their children and assisted with their savings accounts.

My trip has been paid for in full by the US based global pharmaceutical company I work for. My colleagues and I are all pretty hurt by Prince’s story. We’ve grumbled, we’ve complained, some of us have cried a little, and we’ve discussed our options. We work for Big Pharma. We are from “The West.” We are educated, street-smart and we have means. We know that we can rush in and intervene on Prince’s behalf. We can break all the rules against donations that this program has in place, pay off Prince’s bills and transport him to Accra, a large, metropolitan city in the south where he would probably get the help he needs to survive. And all of that sounds good on the surface. We could pat ourselves on the back and sleep easy tonight knowing that we helped.

But would we really have helped anything?

Every action has a reaction. Prince’s family is very poor and Accra is five bumpy hours away on congested, poorly maintained roads. He would likely be there for a long time and someone from his family would have to be with him around the clock to provide the basic care that hospitals do not. The care he would get in Accra would be much more “western” and would cost significantly more than what has been charged so far by the Margaret Marquart and there still would be no charities to help financially. His mother would be forced to neglect his siblings and his father would lose the meager wages keeping the family afloat.

What looks like an ideal plan on first glance rarely is.

So we can hope that Prince survives, thrives even. Miracles happen every day, after all. But we can do more. I’m writing this because I feel helpless to intervene directly, but I can tell his story. I can keep up on his progress and I can, maybe sometime down the line, find a better, more substantial way to help out not only Prince, but the tens of thousands of Ghanaian kids that fall through the cracks.

PICTURES!

My camera broke last week, so here are some pictures that my friend Lindsey has taken. 

 These are some of the adorable neighbors that came to the yard to watch us play volleyball.

 This is the band that played traditional tribal music for us and taught us how to dance during our first week. 

 This is the largest waterfall in Ghana. It is only 13 km from our home. If you look closely you can see bats in the upper left hand corner. There were hundreds of them!

 Look I'm still alive! Enjoying the restaurant at Big Milly's Backyard this weekend. 

 A little tired out in our room at Big Milly's 

 Anna and I enjoying our porch at Big Milly's

 On Kokrobite beach for the weekend 

 The sun sets at 6pm, but it is still beautiful!

 Dying the traditional batik fabric

 Our finished products!

long overdue

Sorry it has been awhile but I was informed by my mother that I needed to update on my life.
After battling the flu on Thursday I managed to fully recover this weekend on the beach. On Friday, the 2 other interns, Lindsey and Anna, and I traveled to Big Milly's Backyard, a hostel in Kokrobite. It was the cutest place, but so hard to find. We ended up arriving about 10:30 pm on Friday after driving on dirt roads that really would not be considered roads back home. We drove for about 45 minutes on these roads and it felt like we were in the middle of no where. Finally when all 3 of us were beginning to lose hope that this place did not exist, the taxi driver found it.
We pulled up to several bonfires, a bar and so many yovo (white people). It was nice see a bit of western culture again. We checked into our room, which had 3 beds all with their own bug net and a  bathroom with a shower. We then headed out to the balcony deck where we sat next to the beach listening to the water but not being able to see it because it was too dark.

The next morning Anna and I woke up early and went for a nice beach walk. The beach is beautiful with a lot of big wooden boats that the fishermen use to fish. There were so many people working with these boats and nets, it honestly felt like I was back in biblical times because the processes are still the same. The men and some children were in charge of getting the boats out, pulling in the nets and pulling out the fish from the nets. Then there would be a bunch of women working to cleans and gut the fish. It was such an interesting process to watch and from the restaurant pavilion of the hostel you could see everything.

We had a nice breakfast of banana pancakes, cinnamon toast and mango, pineapple, and banana before we set out for the beach. It was so nice to just lay in the sun and bath in the ocean. The water was really warm and wavy. After we were all worn out from the beach we spent the evening having dinner, which included a massive amount of lasagna for Lindsey and I, and Anna had tilapia. It was so nice to have cheese again! Cheese is something that we do not have at all at the house. Later we lounged by the bar and had an interesting conversation with a man who was of lebanese heritage and looked lighter skinned but considered himself Ghanaian. That night we saw a few performances by 3 little men that were double jointed everywhere and amused the crowd by positioning their bodies in crazy ways. Following them were some musicians that played authentic african instruments similar to the guitar. These men were all of the rasta and Bob Marley culture as were many of the people that we saw this weekend. On Friday it was actually the day of remembrance for Bob Marley and it was interesting to see the great impact that he has had on the culture here.

On Sunday we were picked up by the rest of the volunteers that were making their way back from Cape Coast and then had a 5 hour drive back to our house. We stopped at the mall on the way back and had a nice western meal of mozzarella sticks and nachos, which is so funny to me because when you are in Accra, it feels as if you are in any other large city across the world. There is a diverse group of ethnicities and also a lot more people dress in western style than in the traditional African clothing.
I was able to talk to my family a little bit on Sunday evening through skype but I didn't realize how hard it would be to actually see them. It was still nice to chat a bit and wish my mom a happy mother's day.

On Monday I headed back to what has become my favorite place, the children's ward of the hospital. When I arrive in the mornings everyone is usually waiting for me. The kids come to the table as soon as I walk in the door and even some parents will come too. I pass out coloring books and crayons and say hello to everyone. Then I will walk around to all the beds and make sure that everyone who wants to, has some crayons and a coloring sheet. I am getting a little worried though because each time I leave, I usually feel so bad about taking everything with me that I let every child have a crayon and a coloring page. This has depleted my supplies some and I am almost out of coloring pages and crayons so I am not sure how I will go about getting more. On little boy that has been there since I have, I found out this week has HIV. It is really quite sad because he has been so much fun to color with and he is so talented! He has a wrap on his leg and could not walk so I thought he had just injured his leg, but when I talked to his mother about it she told me it was a boil. Lindsey knew right away that this meant he has HIV. I will obviously not treat him any differently now that I know this, but it has been really sad to think about. He is, however, getting the ARV treatment that he should be receiving and it is being payed for him so that is also good news.

After placement on Monday, our group visited an herbal doctor. This actually made a lot of the volunteers upset because this man's logic is so skewed and people go to him for medical treatment. He has technically gone to school, but he said that he will not tell us what he learned because that is a secret that people pay to learn when they receive treatment. He gave us a sample of what he does but dipping one of our volunteers fingers in an oil and putting it under a microscope. The microscope was hooked up to a monitor and he pointed to different things that he saw and said things like, "This shows that she needs to not drink cold things," and "This shows that she should not have alcohol." It was a bit strange to say the least, but prepared us for what we saw next.

We then traveled to a bone setter. At this location, people will visit if they have a broke or dislocated bone. The first thing before we walked in that George, our advisor said was that it is not sanitary. I knew as soon as he said it that it must be pretty bad. They gave us a tour and in each room there was no lighting and anywhere from 2 to 5 people laid on the ground with their legs or arms or hips resting in an angle that the bone setter had placed them in. One man had a shoulder injury and had been laying on the floor with is arms spread wide for 3 months! It was quite a site and got me to thinking about the sanitation of it all. They had a photo album showing them actually operating (if you could call it that) on people that had come in after accidents and they were just sitting in lawn chairs or on the ground with blood going anywhere. I wonder how many more problems going to this place has caused for these people.

Our final stop for the day was to this large mansion that was made by an American man for his Ghanian woman. It was very beautiful and all made out of cement with a very beautifully designed fence all the way around the house. Here, we met a woman that made batik fabric, a traditional bright printed fabric, similar to the background of my blog. She let us all design and make our own handkerchief. First, you start by dipping a large wooden stamp in a waxing concoction and pressing it onto the scarf then you place it in the dye and then hot and cold water. The end result looks somewhat like tie dye. It was really interesting and I enjoyed learning this traditional trade.

Yesterday we did not go to the hospital, but instead climbed the tallest mountain in Ghana, Afadjato! It definitely sounds more prestigious than it is. It took us about 45 minutes from where we started to reach the peak. I think my favorite part was that our guide was a young boy probably around 16 and he did the hike in flip flops! He told me that he does it some days as many as 5 times. It was a pretty steep climb and I managed to fall on the way down, but survived.

Later we had our second language lesson of Ewe, the tribal language that is spoken here. We learned numbers and parts of the body and also a nursery song that all children know.

I would say after being halfway into my second week, I am beginning to be more accustomed to the area and culture. I really like the village we are in and have enjoyed getting to know the staff more. One of the workers in particular, Ruth, is my age and I have had a lot of fun hanging out with her and seeing Ghana from her perspective. Sometimes it is hard to understand coming from a more developed country, but she says that she would never want to leave Ghana to move to the US or similar country. I have really thought about that this week and come to see that a lot of times people from the US, myself included, think that our culture is the best for everyone, but that is not at all true. Many people would rather live a more simple life that is what they are used to.

Thanks for reading! More updates soon (promise mom)


See ya later alligator
Elizabeth

Ghananana

Wow! What a past 2 days it has been! I feel like a whole week has gone by, so much has happened! I guess I will just start from Monday.

Monday was my first day at Mary Marquart Catholic Hospital, which began in the 1960s by a female German physician. There were 3 other new volunteers coming with me and the 2 interns that have been here for the past 3 weeks were also working there. We started by getting a tour of the facility. The campus is quite beautiful. Each ward has its own building and there are little areas of grass and outside seating between each ward. The areas I saw were the maternity, children’s, surgical theatre, and physical therapy. We met with the head nun in charge, and then she assigned us to our wards. I was put in Maternity this week and was not at all prepared for what I got myself into. To be honest, it was a horrifying and eye opening few hours. 

            When I arrived back at maternity I was shown (and by shown I mean wondered because no one wanted to help me) into a room with three examination tables. On the farthest one from the door laid a women completely naked and uncovered who was obviously in pain. She was in the middle of a contraction when I walked in but no one was caring for her. As I observed the situation, one of the physicians, a Cuban Gynecologist who does not speak the local language, walked in and started aggressively poking and prodding at this woman. The thing that struck me most was that he had not interacted with her and when she was obviously in excruciating pain was given nothing except and slap on the leg from his so she would stop moving.  At this point I was really feeling uneasy and asked one of the nurses if I could observe him for a while. I followed him into a room with 6 beds and he told me that all of the women were recovering from C-sections and that I could clean their stitches. I was taken aback because I have no medical experience and he just wanted me to jump in. I told him this and he said I could assist him and later on I could do it on my own. Later, he was giving a woman antibiotics and said that I could do it. At this point I reached my breaking point and told him that I REALLY had no experience and should not be administering shots on the first day. He understood but said that I would do it later. By this time, it was time for me to leave for the day and I left feeling overwhelmed and so unsure of what I was doing there. I talked to the other two interns at lunch and they told me that that was the norm and although they are both nurses, I should be able to find other ways that I can help and not to be discouraged by one day. I heard what they said, but Monday was still a very hard day for me. Not only was I completely unfamiliar with the Ghanaian health system and the way things are run here, but I also felt like I was completely useless unless I risked hurting a patient by trying to perform a task I am definitely not trained to perform.

After lunch I was happily distracted by our trip to the market. The market in Hohoe is where people from the surrounding villages come to sell food and goods on Mondays and Fridays. It is the typical scene that one may think of when they envision Africa with each person having their own little hut/stand. Much of the food included smoke fish laid in the hot sun, cassava roots, plantains, mango, dried fufu, and then the fabrics! All of the fabrics are so beautiful and colorful and honestly I think it is where Lily Pulitzer gets its inspiration. I walked around with one of the girls that works at our house and I purchased a beautiful aqua and tangerine colored fabric that we took to the seamstress to be made into a dress. I could not believe the operation the seamstress had. She works out of this little tiny wooden shack and has an apprentice work by her side. On of the other interns, Lindsey said she has already had 8 dress made by her and they are all so beautiful and different! Once we got back to the house we played the fiercest game of volleyball I have ever been in!  The workers got really into it and were so good! I tried to do my part but I think I was more of a hindrance than helpful.

This morning I started my day with a run at 6:15am! It was such a nice way to start the day, but it was super hot. It was so funny to watch the expressions of the locals. There were 5 of us that went and it was entertaining to see them do a double take and then you could tell they were thinking, "What are they doing?!" It is actually a super hard workout to do here, not only because of the heat, but also because it is really hilly. If I keep running, I am going to be in great shape for mild Michigan! 

After breakfast we headed back to the hospital and on the way Lindsey and Anna (the other intern) gave me a little pep talk, which helped my state of mind when we arrived. I started in the maternity ward today, but it was pretty quiet. No one was in labor or about to be except one woman who was having twins. The policy here, however, is that anyone who is giving birth to twins must have a C-section. So she was being prepped and brought over to the theatre. I then helped my friend the male nurse with the C-section stitches cleaning again. And this time I did it all on my own! It really wasn’t bad at all, but the system here for keeping things sanitary is pretty bad and Jerry (my nurse friend) told me that if you are not touching the patient i.e. you are using forceps (like I did when I was cleaning the stitches) you do not need to wear gloves… So I was a bit skeptical on how effective and safe that idea really is, but that is life here.

After we finished with this I decided to head over to the children’s ward and I colored with some of the kids there. This was also a bit sad because one of the boys would not interact at all, and although many of the children did not speak English they would at least color with me, but he would not do anything. This other little girl thankfully became my friend even though she wouldn’t talk to me and we colored and then played stacking games with the crayons. It really is too bad that we cannot leave donations at our worksites (although understandable in the long run because it makes organizations depend too much on gifts) because we bring activities when we come, but besides that the children in the hospital really have nothing to do for the rest of the day. Today went so much better than Monday and I can see that there are things for me to do here that does that involve performing medical procedures.

After lunch today, the other interns and I went to a spiritual healing church service. This was quite interesting because we had to leave the city and could only drive a little way than had to walk to this little hut made of dried grass and logs. We were late to the service and one of the guards had to talk to our intern supervisor before he would let us in. We had to take our shoes off and once we walked in all eyes were on us, 3 young white women and a Ghanaian man walking in late.. I’m sure it was quite a site! Once we had taken our seats in the front, the “prophet” continued. He was talking in Ewe so our supervisor George had to translate. It was pretty interesting from a Christian perspective because they quote the bible a lot. Halfway through all of the leaders left the hut so that they could call the spirit into the “prophet” and when they returned he was wearing a bright orange choir robe. He stood at the front of the hut and began to rock back and forth and then would say something like “Someone in this room has a husband who is not caring for his children,” and then someone would walk up and listen to the leaders and “prophet” talk to her. Something to this effect went on for well over an hour when George told us we should go. We got up to leave and said our goodbyes. The prophet stopped us and said we had to be told our futures. So we all took turns listening to him as a pastor type person translated. He gave us all a bible verse and but a cross of oil on our chest. It was definitely an interesting experience. George said that the reason it is so far out of the city is because some people view it more as the practice of Voodoo, which is more traditional and is not accepted in a super Christian country like Ghana. The reason they view it like this is because the people that attend this church do not believe in doctors and think that the lord will heal whatever ailments they may encounter.

So after this adventure, when we got back to the house, a representative of the Ghana health system spoke to our group about the way the health system is run here. It was pretty interesting and also seems a bit inefficient. To simplify it, you pretty much have to keep getting referred up to the next best facility until you feel like you have the care you need. After this we had yet another activity to our day which included a traditional dancing and singing group with drums and to my surprise, a trumpet come to our house and teach us how to dance. It was a lot of fun but unfortunately had to be cut short by the rain. A huge storm passed through tonight and we lost power for a little while, but thankfully it is back on!

Well now you know about my whirlwind of a last few days. If you made it to the end of this post, congrats!

Until later my friends!

Elizabeth 

WOE ZO! (welcome!)

We actually have wifi at the house so I will be able to check my email often. However, the two volunteers that were here before us said that it has been down for the last 2 weeks so I think it really depends on the day.

Today we didn't have much for planned for the day so I was able to sleep in. Apparently I was the only one to take advantage of this because when I woke up at 9 everyone else had already left the house to walk around the city. This gave me the chance to check out our showers which turned out to be in much better condition than I had anticipated. The night before one of the other interns who had been here for the last three weeks told us that she had to do the crab walk to use the facet that had pressure in order to wash her hair. She is about 6 feet tall so I think that had something to do with it, because I really did not struggle with the water or the temperature even though we have no hot water. 

After I had battled the showers I met our cook, John. He was busy preparing lunch for the staff and knowing me, I offered to help as I love being in the kitchen. First he just had me put away the dishes, but after I was finished he gave me a lesson in Ghanian cooking. John taught me about the different staples that are common to Ghana such as the yam, cassava, and plantain. They also use many different spices than Americans. In particular, as he was preparing a cooked spinach dish, he added almost a full cup of crushed up seeds of a white melon. He said it is similar in look to a watermelon but the insides have more of an eggy taste. He let me help make this spicy chili sauce by using a mortar and pestle (not sure about that spelling). Most of their food is super spicy for me, but its still good. We will typically have rice, chicken, some sort of tomato sauce and the freshest and best tasting mango and pineapple I have ever had! He is an expert cook and doesn't use any recipes. He told me that back in his home town of Ho, he learned how to cook at a hotel, but for the past 6 years he has been working for CCS. John also taught me how to handshake in Ghana. I got a kick out of it because I love making up secret handshakes and thats exactly what this felt like. To start, you would just shake someone's hand like in the US, but then you grab thumbs, another typical move in the US. Following that however, you shake hands again but interlock fingers into a snap. I thought it was so funny because that is the typical handshake here, but to me it feels like something middle school girls would do. 

Tomorrow we are starting our placements. I am actually going to be in a hospital instead of the health center because they do more of the actual medical work there. There are 7 of us working there. Tomorrow we will have a tour and then be assigned to a ward. So far it has been a great day but I can tell it is going to be one of those trips that we all head to bed at an early hour because we are all so tired.

Sweet dreams 

Elizabeth 

Day One!

I have arrived! After more than 24 hours of travel, I am now safely at my house in Ghana. Today, myself with a group of 7 other volunteers arrived at Accra Airport and then reached our home after a very bumping 4 hour drive. In Ghana they decided that the best way to control the speed limit is by having speed bumps every 800m on the road. This combined with roads full of potholes and a ton of people swarming cars to sell food and clothes means a super bumpy ride. But, we survived nonetheless.
During our ride, I had a flashback to my neighborhood in Muskegon with all of the deer we have, but instead of seeing a deer on the side of the road, we saw a baboon!
Once we arrived at the house we were greeted by 2 other interns that have been here for the last few weeks. We had dinner with some of the staff and then headed out to the city of Hohoe to explore. We ended up at the interns' favorite bar. As I sat enjoying my Sprite, it was so humorous to me that unlike in the US where most bars and clubs are full of women dancing, here, the dance floor only consisted of men. And let me just say, they showed up all of us American girls that decided to join them. They weren't huge fans of my salt and pepper move.
Now, we are back at the house for the night. We are still waiting on 2 other volunteers to arrive from the airport.
Having only been in the country for a day, I would say that the major differences I see between the culture here and in the US is their extreme friendliness here. Wherever we went tonight people would say hello and smile. I would say this does not happen in the US, where half the time people ignore the people around them. Our security guard for the night is especially friendly and he is known for memorizing all of the volunteers names and where they are from, including all of his past volunteers! From talking to the interns I have come to realize that I need to chill out a little bit. They made me realize how important it is to talk to the locals and develop a relationship with them since we are living in their community. (Don't worry mom and dad, this doesn't mean I will be going off with any strangers!) But there it is so important to be open and friendly with the people that share the community I have just come into.
With so much excitement in one day, I am exhausted.Tomorrow will bring a full day of orientation and an Ewe language lesson which is the local dialect spoken here.
More to come soon!
Elizabeth

Less than 24 hours

It's the night before I depart. My bag is packed, passport ready and I'm ready to go! I could not be more excited. I cannot believe that the time is finally here.

This week I heard from Cross-Cultural Solutions and found out about my placement. I will be working at the Kpando Health Centre. Some of my daily duties will include taking vitals, carrying out educational talks, making patients' beds, assisting nurses with daily duties, shadowing doctors and providing companionship to patients. I am so happy about my placement and to be able to work in a health environment that is very different than what I am used to. This health clinic is very large with a maternity ward, HIV/AIDS counseling section, lab, psychiatric unit, family planning and public health unit along with other areas. It was established in 1955 and mostly sees patients that are farmers, fishermen and tradesmen. I hope to interact with the HIV/AIDS patients as this is an area that I am interested in and possibly have some sort of program implemented through my internship while I am there.

 I will arrive in Accra around 11 am Saturday and then it will be a 4 hour drive to my home in the Volta Region. The time in Ghana is 5 hours ahead of Michigan since it is in the Greenwhich Mean Time Zone. After tonight my internet access will be limited until I am settled in Saturday night. We will start our work on Tuesday after a 2 day orientation at our home and work site.
I will blog as soon as it is available once I arrive.
Until then my friends!
Elizabeth