As usual, things get rather jumbled when you don't have access to a computer all the time, and what access you do have can get a little iffy at times. How lucky we are in this country! So, I will retrace in depth, some highlights of our journey and learning experiences.
First let me tell you about our trip to the village where Pastor Gabriel is. This is a village along the Sunyani Road, on the way to Kyekyewere, where Pastor Ben (in Kumasi) and Emmanuel Opoku (here in STL) are working on a sanitation project. Our first stop was at a home. It consisted of 3 rooms, one that was the 'kitchen' or primarily storage for cooking utensils and some food, a hallway that lead to the second room which contained the occupants clothing (a man and wife live here) and another room with mosquito netting and only large enough for a double sized mattress on the floor. The gentleman was kind enough to allow me to take pictures of his home. His home are the pictures you see above. The kitchen area, where the shelving is, is only for storage of cooking items and some food. Food preparation is done outdoors. Actually most living is done outdoors.
We then visited the village latrines, yes, that is village latrines. You see, the village is about 1/4 mile from the potties. In the women's side, there were about 6 small 'stalls' which inside were a hole in the floor, a basket for paper (like newspaper, magazine paper for wiping) and that was it. Now, being a nurse, I have seen and smelt things that are quite unique, but I about made it 2 stalls down before gagging. This type of set up is not uncommon there. While I purposly haven't gone into explicit detail, nor included the pictures I took, it is important for us to understand the lack of not only water, but clean sanitation facilities. These are the things that make diseases common areas like this, diseases we rarely see in the US. This spread of disease is why education, sanitation, clean water are important. Such simple tools to provide good health.
Pastor Gabriel then showed us the remainder of the village. I will insert here that during this tour, his little 3 year old girl had my hand and was following me along in her bare feet. She was proud when we reached her family and we were able to meet her Mom, brothers and sisters. A huge smile broke across her face as she looked at them, then at me. We were made very welcome and the children shyly practiced their English skills with us.
Later that day were visited a hospital in Dafura. It is about 50 beds consisting of a women's ward, men's ward, pediatric ward, labor/delivery/post delivery ward and 2 operating rooms. It is built in a square with a nice large open area in the center. All the windows are covered with mosquito netting and all the beds were full. In the lobby of the out patient department, there must have been 80 to 100 people waiting....waiting to see the ONE doctor on duty for the entire hospital. He not only sees the out patients, but makes rounds 3 times a day. Nursing staff is there to assist. We saw the laboratory, dispensory, medical records area and both OR's. Seeing this facility was good as I began to formulate in my mind what is needed in a health facility in Kyekyewere.
So, I think I will leave you with these thoughts now. Seeing for myself what I have only read about or seen pictures of, was a learning experience in itself. One cannot begin to envision the need for items and practices that, in the US are common and expected by patients in the health care system. When one doesn't have even clean water, how can one expect to raise a family to live to adulthood? See their children educated? See their grandchildren run and play? One may not see their child reach the age of 5 years and every day is a struggle against disease and potential death. My cold shower that night was a blessing....
Tomorrow I will post about our meetings with Nana and the customs involved in the discussions along with the outcomes of the discussions.
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