Catching up in Ghana

In the last post you learned some about the building process for the Clinic. That was just the building. There are plans also for a well with purification system on it and latrines. We can all learn about that later. My apologies for the lack of pictures on the slide show and movie on this blog. It seems as if I just can't get Picasa and Blogger to connect, thus nothing happening. But I continue to try to figure it out and one day, wa..la, it will be there. I have about 50 pictures from Ghana in the movie that I so want to share with you all. Have faith, the will appear, someday.

This morning I Skyped with a friend in Tamale. He is from Zambia and is completing his training with the Christian Brothers in Tamale. We met last April on the eventful trip to Tamale and have continued to email, Facebook, Skype ever since. He is a very nice and talented young man that has chosen a profession dedicating his life to his people. Our chats always leave me hopeful and excited to return to Ghana. We discuss his current studies, his hopes, his fears, yet this young man's dedication and optimism leave me with a feeling of joy and happiness in my heart. As I think about that, all my Ghana friends provide that feeling of being loved and cared for. They are wonderful people. Hopefully, I will be able to take a week and visit with Sydney and the Brothers and meet Emelia, a new friend in Tamale. She works with orphaned children and the elderly in the Tamale area in the northern part of Ghana. Emelia and I Skype frequently also, sharing ideas and information about our projects. I have offered to spend some time with her also as she makes her rounds, examining children the elderly.

Sisters Irene and Laurene are back in Kumasi after the summer in the US. Their wish list is in my hands, taking over those oh so yummy American treats they miss. Even Cindy, the cook has a list for me this time! Parmesan Cheese (only the Kraft kind) measuring cups and things of that nature. Last year it was note cards. Did you know you cannot find note cards in Kumasi...Office Max are you listening? Cool Whip packets, tea...just little things of enjoyment. I am anxious to see their new apartment and spend time with them again. Laurene and Irene are working on a library at the Spiritual Center in Kumasi. For many years Laurene has been holding a lending library on the porch of their home a couple of nights a week, then on two other nights, she tutors English. My friend Lydia from Kyekyewere has been taking English lessons from her and sent me a letter this past winter that she wrote herself! Now the Sisters are in the midst of building their dream library at the Center.

Actually I was going to write about the state of health in the Village of Kyekyewere and my plans for this longer trip. But, I gabbed on about my friends instead. That is good; you should meet Sydney, the Sisters, Cindy and Lydia, then Daniel, Edward, Emmanuel, Nana and the list could go on. You would love them too. Maybe tomorrow I will tell you of my health plans for the trip.

Remember your donation for the clinic building and/or medications is much appreciated by the Village of Kyekyewere. If you send me a picture too, I will post it on a board with other donors so the Villagers can 'see' those in the US who care about them.

Building a Clinic in Ghana...What really goes on!

Plans are beginning to take shape and form for this coming trip to Kyekyewere, Ghana, West Africa. Even though there are so many preparations to make, I know it will come together even at the last minute!

Over the weekend I spoke with Nana, the Chief of the Village. He assures me all is well, his family, my friends, and the people of the Village. They will continue to make more blocks for the clinic so that building may begin.

In the last post, I informed you of what was accomplished in 2009. Land Title, land cleared, block making machine purchased, blocks made and Nana is in the process of having more blocks made over the next few weeks. We should be ready to begin building. It will be exciting to see the land marked off for the clinic and to begin to build the footings for the building and maybe even a wall or two.

Let me explain to you a little of what I know about the building process in Ghana. The blocks are made, one by one, on site, thus the block making machine. These blocks are made of cement, sand, and water. This mixture is then put into the block making machine, two men squish the top of the machine down to form a block. The blocks are then removed and stacked. Yes, that is as you read one by one. The blocks are about 18 inches, by 9 inches, by 5 inches and very heavy. There should be about 2500 of them made now, all by hand. You get the idea the building process is very labor intensive. Once the block walls are up, there will be a finishing coat of a plaster or cement over the blocks. Cement will make up the floors, but I feel it necessary to have a drain in each room with pipes that lead to a grey water area in order to properly disinfect and clean the floors. Close to the top of the walls, maybe a foot to 18 inches down, there will be blocks with design openings in them to promote circulation throughout the clinic. Then a tin roof will top it off. These plans are quite subject to change, but you have an idea of what the process is like. Nana, his advisors and I will need to discuss these plans in more depth once I am there.

At the top of this post are pictures of the block making machine and some of the blocks so you can get the idea of what they look like.

Didn’t know I would need a degree in construction too! There is always something to be learned in this world, and sometimes ignorance is bliss when learning a new ‘craft’.

A bag of cement costs about $35.00USD, a truck load of sand about $70.00USD with delivery. Each bag of cement mixture makes about 30 to 35 blocks. If you wish to contribute to the block making, please use the Pay Pal button on the Blog or on the www.walbridgesettlementfoundation.org web site, under donors, at the bottom.

The end of another summer, only this one not quite as sedentary as last. As I sit outside, enjoying the cool air, watching the sky darken, my thoughts turn to a small village in Ghana. Kyekyewere. You know, that Village I have visited several times now. The one where I am working to build a health clinic. Only my last visit turned into a near death experience for me, thus the long absence from work on the project.

You see, we women shave in the USA. My accommodations with the Sisters were beautiful, but most of my 3 weeks there we didn’t have any running water into the house. So, making do as one does in Ghana, we would bucket water in for toilet and bathing. Drinking water was all bottled and purified. Yes, I know I am a nurse and a pharmacist, and I am more than aware of the problems associated with the lack of clean water, but it really never occurred to me that bathing, nor shaving could have near disastrous effects. That small little spot under my arm I noticed prior to my departure turned into a massive cellulitis by the time I got to New York about 48 hours later. And, yes, I will admit, not following my Doctor Daughters instructions of going to the hospital immediately, almost cost me my life. But I was so close to home….so close…. I could make it home. Yes, that I did, and, on the humorous side, know how to get through the packed waiting room at Barnes Hospital. But as my blood pressure continued to fall, more IV’s started , more tubes being put in and the questions of my next of kin, religious preference, legal advisor, and oh by the way how do you feel about intubation began to hit me, I realized just how sick I was. Thank God for the many prayers from the Sisters in Ghana, The Christian Brothers there, my friends here, I made it through, but am not 20 anymore either, so the healing process has been long.

Over the past 15 months of recovery and getting my life stabilized again, my thoughts turn to Kyekyewere daily. Friends have come and gone to Ghana this summer. How I wish I could have joined them. Friends from Ghana call and wonder where I am, but I don’t think they quite understand how sick I really was. Sister Irene and Sister Laurene are here for the summer, and will be going back soon. And so will I. The doctors have given me clearance to go, providing I get some gamma globulin and carry a stock of antibiotics. Water…well, a little bleach in the bathing water should kill the bacteria or maybe just not shave at all! There is much to do there, so I plan on spending almost 2 months overseeing on the clinic building and getting legal papers taken care of.

On the last trip, Nana, the Chief of Kyekyewere, titled over the land for the Clinic to the Walbridge Settlement Foundation. I was able, through your generous donations, to purchase a block making machine and the last I heard over 2000 blocks for the clinic have been made. Sand and cement and labor from your donations made these blocks. I went to Barclays Bank to get papers to open an account there. A trip to Tamale in North Ghana gave me insight to a beautiful health compound Dr. David has established for the HIV/AIDS patients. He also brings in lepers from the East for care. It was an amazing visit…so clean, patients so well taken care of, so orderly. A goal to reach for. Seeing the round huts for patients and family to stay in, peeking into the operating room, visiting with some of the patients, and a very nice (and very tired) nurse spending an hour showing us around are just examples of the orderliness and generosity of the people there.

So you can see why my thoughts turn to Kyekyewere daily. There is much to be done which necessitates a longer visit. But I am anxious to return. Anxious to see Nana, his wife, Daniel and Naomi, Lydia, Sisters Irene and Laurene, my new friend Emelia in Tamale, Sydney in Tamale also. Mercy in Accra, Edward, Emmanuel and Joseph my drivers and dear friends. Anxious to see how the children have grown and what new babes have been born. Anxious to spend time in the heat, (yes, that too), see what new adventures await, get some stakes out for the building, meet with Nana and his Elders….so much. And maybe even an ice cold Star beer!

Things are moving along. This past 15 months has given me time to reflect on plans, develop goals, think about what is important to teach the people. Your help will be needed. Any donations will be more than appreciated. Money for the building primarily, but also some medications to purchase while there. A donor has given me a microscope to take this time. Various donors have contributed almost $3000 for the building…this will go a long way. And anonymous donor has given $2500…can we meet that? The people are so grateful. They have enjoyed pictures I have taken of various donors. The people in the Village can see a face from across the world that has given up a couple of lattés, or a piece of clothing…for them! They are grateful.

Keep you posted on the plans. Medase!