A Visit to the Minister of Health

Several weeks ago, an announcement was made to the crew that the Minister of Health of Sierra Leone had invited a group of us to come to her village for a Saturday. We had absolutely no idea what we were signing up for - which made it more fun! We left bright and early at 8 AM in a UN bus that the Minister of Health sent to pick us up. However it was quite packed with people. I believe it was meant to hold about 24 people, and we fit over 30! We traveled about 3 1/2 hours to her village of Yoni Bana. The drive was beautiful as we left the smog and crowds of Freetown and headed out to the provinces. Many small villages are situated along that main road that we took. I saw women spreading rice out on the side of the road to dry because rice is in season. In front of their homes I saw many women pounding fufu, cooking over a fire, preparing food for the day. We drove down a dirt road for about half an hour...what a bumpy ride. I had forgotten that most of the roads here are dirt roads. Since we are mostly in the city, the roads there are paved. At one point we hit a bump so big it threw us up off our seats. We were so relieved once we finally arrived at her home.

Thanks to Jeff Quick for taking most of these pictures.

The current President of Sierra Leone, Earnest Koroma.

The preferred method of fixing a car is in the middle of the road. Why not?

One of the many villages that we drove through...

Apparently this event was such a big deal that we needed a "film crew." This man, from Sierra Leone Broadcasting, filmed almost out entire day! Who knows...maybe we were on the news.

 As we pulled up to the home of the Minister of Health, she lead the children in singing songs of welcome for us. I was told that she takes care of these 50+ children and feeds them often. 

We got into the singing...before long we were clapping, dancing, and praising God along with the kids. :)

A short video clip so you can hear them!

The Minister of Health then introduced herself to us, and proceeded to thank us on behalf of Sierra Leone and President Koroma for the work of Mercy Ships. It was quite emotional to realize what a huge task she has because of the nearly non-existent healthcare in Sierra Leone. She was so grateful for all that Mercy Ships has done. 

After that, she led us around her village so that we could see firsthand what it is like. The people were all so friendly, and didn't mind us unexpectedly walking in front of their homes.

:D

Panorama of everyone enjoying a VERY African lunch. I say very because it was by far the spiciest food I've ever tasted!

The Mercy Ships delegation. 

That's me - right in the middle! The ride home was a bit harder. We were all squished together and tired from the long day. I can take being squished, but after 3 hours it becomes quite unpleasant. I must admit though that this bus had air conditioning, which is almost unheard of here!

We made a stop on the way home. Apparently this is where any travelers stop for food/ fuel. As soon as we pulled over, a large crowd of people selling goods came running over to us. They sell anything from fresh bananas, oranges, coconut (love it), to plantain chips and sesame bars (which I bought)! I am REALLY going to miss this once I get home. 

What 2 things are wrong with this photo?? We watched this truck as it hit a large bump and - you guessed it - the goat went flying in the air! Thankfully he was tied so he couldn't go too far. This is Africa.

And this is Africa! You catch a ride however you can here. These guys were grinning as we drove by and they saw us taking pictures of them.

Thanks for reading. There is so much more to say...but I hope that the pictures speak for themselves. It always seems like such a challenge to put what I've experienced into words. My next post will be about a royal visit to the Africa Mercy!

Winding Down

The ship is now in a state of transition as we prepare to sail to Ghana in a few weeks. All of the surgeries are finished. The wards are slowly emptying, and the Hope Center has closed down. I am really missing the Hope Center - I usually visited the patients there several times a week, so I won't know what to do in the evenings now. Last week I was able to visit on the last few nights before the patients left. There is one little girl in particular, Kadiatu, who became my little buddy. That is her on the left. She looks very serious, but all it took was a little tickling to get her giggling. The woman on the right is Kadie. She doesn't speak English or even Krio, so it is hard for us to communicate. The night after I took this photo, I printed it out and took it to her. She was SO thankful for the picture! You would have thought I had given her 100 dollars. She kept thanking me and hugged me several times. Patients like Kadie who weren't quite ready to go home have been transferred back to the ship for a few more days. This has been great because I've been able to see her several times in the ward.

Out of everything that I have been able to do with Mercy Ships, visiting the Hope Center has been the most life-changing. Getting to know the patients, paint their nails, and play games with them has really impacted me. I still remember the first few times I went. I felt so uncomfortable because I didn't know how to act around people/children who are severely deformed in one way or another. Since then, I've learned to look them in the eye instead of looking at their tumor, cleft lip, burns, etc. I also didn't know how to react to the children who are so needy for love that they cling to you. You can tell that a child has been neglected and/or abused by the way that they are desperate for attention. One little boy, Isheika, was an example of this. He had no left ear, and an infection had disfigured his face so that he had no nose. I always went out of my way to play with him and pick him up. In the moments that he wasn't receiving attention, he would hit or pinch until he was noticed.

Lately, I have also been getting to know the patients who are down in the wards of the hospital. A wonderful lady, Rosie, who worked in the Hospital Laundry room told me how she would go down to the ward several times a week and rub lotion on the patients hands and feet to share God's love with them. I thought this was a great idea, and my friend Phebe and I kept this going once Rosie left a month ago. Like many experiences here, this has been equally challenging and rewarding. The first time that I  gave a woman a foot massage, I have to admit I was a bit uncomfortable. I have never seen feet in such a  bad condition before. These women have never been pampered with lotion or nail polish before. The tops of their feet are very wrinkled, and the bottom is SO hard and dry. The only shoes that they wear are cheap flip flops that offer no support. So most of them have no arch in their foot, and their feet are spread out wide. Occasionally someone will be very ticklish, so while I am rubbing their feet they start laughing, which makes me laugh too. Sometimes they will ask for extra lotion on their hands, and will then rub it up their arms and all over their face! One woman turned with her back to me, lifted up her shirt, and pointed to her back. She wanted a back rub! This has been such a humbling experience, and the men and women are always so thankful. They say "Tenki Tenki!" with a great big smile.

Some of my friends in the ward (they were SO happy when I gave them these pictures)!

My roommate, Dorike, who has been down to the ward with me.

 I cannot believe that I have less than 4 weeks left on the ship! Time is flying by so fast, and I'm enjoying every day. My next post about this weekend will be coming soon. God bless.

Meet Wata

This is my new friend Wata.  The way that I met her is quite unique. About 6 weeks ago, I had the opportunity to observe four different surgeries in the OR of the hospital. The order was: hernia repair, cataract removal, syndactyly release (separating fingers) and a facial reconstruction. Three of them were small, minor surgeries, then the last one was a major surgery. I believe it lasted 5 hours, but I was only allowed to stay for the first 2 hours. The woman in the surgery was Wata, but I didn't know her at the time.

I wish that I could show you the before picture so that you could see the transformation that has taken place. Wata is only around 40 years old, even though she appears much older. As a child, she contracted a flesh-eating infection called NOMA. This infection severely disfigured her mouth so that she had no upper lip, her few bottom teeth jutted out of her mouth, and her jaw was locked into place. Wata could not chew food, so she could only squeeze bits of mushed food through her teeth in order to stay alive. Wata is a complete miracle to be alive. Why? Because 9 out of 10 children who have NOMA die from it. She was most likely 6 years old or younger when she was infected, which means she has lived 35 years without the ability to talk or eat real food. 

The surgery was fascinating to watch. I must admit that I couldn't watch all of it...but I tried! At one point the surgeons pulled out what looked like a chisel and hammer and used them to break her jaw. They then used part of a bone from her hip to replace what was missing from her jaw. She now has partial movement of her jaw so that she can chew! They then cut part of her bottom lip and used it to create an upper lip. Watching the surgery felt very surreal. 

Then, this past week, I went for a regular visit to the Hope Center. I had looked for Wata when I visited the Ward, but had not seen her. I had given up and figured that she had already gone home. At the Hope Center, I was walking around greeting all the adults and learning their names when I came to her. We shook hands, and I didn't recognize her at first. When I asked her "How da body?" Her response came out garbled and hard to understand due to the fact that she has no teeth. That's when I looked at her mouth and recognized her. I felt so excited when I realized that I had seen this life-changing surgery, and now was able to meet her! I could only imagine what it must feel like for the doctors and nurses who are the ones performing the surgeries - I was only watching! I have been planning to return to college for nursing when I get home, but now I am REALLY interested in working in the OR. Anyway, Wata asked me if I had any "pekins" or children, to which I replied no, I'm not even married. Her and several other ladies just thought that was hilarious! I asked Wata if she had any pekins, and she said she has 4. I asked if they were all grown, and she said that they range from little to grown. So this woman who could barely feed and care for herself is still raising children! I was blown away when she told me that. I am planning to visit her again tomorrow, and she really wants that photo of me and her. She'll be angry if I don't bring it, so I'm going to print it off tonight! :)

This is a new buddy of mine, Foday. He's such a cutie. He is here to have a surgery on his legs which are slightly deformed.

My friend, Sheika, and I. Just last week he had a tumor removed from the back of his head. A nurse described it to me as "another head." eek! He is so relieved it's gone. I wish you could see his joyful smile!

My roommate, Dorike, and I with the little munchkins. These kids are all getting ready to have orthopedic surgery for bowed legs or similar problems. 

I wish you all could have the chance to visit the Hope Center for a day. Spending time with these patients has been such a blessing to me. I return to the ship sweaty and very dirty, but it never seems to matter. Thanks for reading, and God bless!

A Sunday to Remember

What a day this has been! Definitely a Sunday I will never forget. This morning Maree and I set out for Life of Light Church. We had been there before, and were planning to meet our friend Nancy who used to be a day volunteer on the ship. After walking up to the main road, Kissy St., we tried to catch a taxi unsuccessfully. Each one that passed seemed to be full of people. We had joked about taking okadas (motorcycles) since Maree has never ridden one, but I didn't want to because I was wearing a skirt. Sure enough, two guys on okadas stopped right beside us to offer a ride. We were already running late, and I knew this would be the quickest option. We asked them if they knew where the New England Police Station was, and we haggled the price - 5,000 Le (around $1.25) I reminded Maree to ask for directions if her driver got lost (which happens often). And we were off! 

I quickly realized that my calf-length skirt was much shorter while sitting on an okada. I felt so immodest with my white knees jutting out while we were flying down the road. There was nothing I could do at that point. In african culture, a woman's knees are viewed in the same way that us Westerners view breasts. A woman is considered promiscuous for showing her knees. So as a white woman wearing an african dress while riding an okada...I was getting unwanted attention from pedestrians and other drivers. I had to laugh at how ridiculous it was. And it was odd to realize that back home I would never think twice about showing above my knees, and today I was blushing about it! Anyway, I was holding onto the metal bar behind me with one hand, and my water bottle with the other. I get so nervous when the driver gets to an open stretch of road and floors the bike. There are so many things that could go wrong!   Thankfully, Maree and I reached our destination safely at the same time, even though we had split up for most of the ride.

Today's theme at church was Lev. 19:29 - "Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute." Some of the topics at church are things that we rarely if ever talk about at home. Of course, issues like prostitution may not be as common at home as they are in countries like Sierra Leone. The youth choir sang a song that was basically that verse repeated over, and over, and over. :) Thankfully, the sermon today didn't revolve around this topic, but around the Pentateuch, God's holiness, and our responsibility as Christians. Brother Charley Nelson who preached is a professor at Fourah Bay College, and he did a wonderful job speaking the Word! Honestly, I was more challenged and convicted today than I have been at any service here. Brother Charley reminded us that there's a difference in going to church and being a Christian. He said that "a position in the church does not give you a position in Christ's kingdom!" He wasn't afraid to step on anyone's toes for speaking the truth. It was so encouraging to hear this, because many of the messages I've heard here have been lacking depth, focused on success and blessings. 

The only negative today was that the church service lasted 4 1/2 hours. I am not complaining, because those hours were full of worship and encouragement. Still, I think after hour 3 my attention began to wane. Add to this that the heat was stifling, and I sweated until I physically couldn't sweat any more. I will never complain again about a church's air con/heating or lack thereof. 

Maree and were directed to sit on the right side of the church, near the speakers. During the music, and especially the preaching (which involves a lot of yelling) I really felt like I was going deaf. I kept putting my hand up on that side to plug my ear; hopefully it wasn't too noticeable. Well, at the end of the service, there was a big "unveiling" of something new that the church had purchased. This was a BIG deal to everyone. Once they took off the covering, I saw what it was. Two huge new speakers to make their sound system even louder! I laughed at the irony of it.

After the service, we went with Nancy to her aunt's home where she had cooked plantains for us. This was so sweet of her, because she knows how much we like the african food. We have plans for the coming weekend to travel to Bo where she lives, which is about 4 hours away. I'm sure this will be another adventure!

Two of Nancy's cute cousins.

Once we left, Nancy took us back to the main road, where we once again took okadas. Since I knew that  Maree was nervous about it, I let her ride on the newer, slightly safer-looking bike. The one I was on seemed quite old. This was confirmed first when the engine started revving up for no reason, causing the bike to jerk forward and nearly throw me off. Then the bike began to cut off when we were slowing down in traffic. It can be pretty dangerous to have your bike turn off when you are in the middle of the road. Then, add to this that my driver took a side road that was very rocky. I had to get off the bike at one point so he could get over some large rocks. I offered to find another (safer) bike, but he wouldn't have it. Believe me, I was praying hard! Although my knees were once again showing, I was focused on getting back to the ship in one piece. Whenever he sped up a lot, I reminded him to go "slow slow" which is sometimes ignored, but thankfully he did slow down. I was so relieved to arrive at the gate to the port, and see that Maree had also arrived. 

All this to say that today was great. I was so blessed by the church service, and I even enjoyed our okada rides. I will really miss Sierra Leone when we sail in December. Until next time...

Fambul Tok

Well, this has been quite a weekend! Every six weeks, we have a ship holiday on a Friday so that the crew can have a three-day weekend. This gives nearly everyone a much needed break to rest or get off the ship. So this weekend has been a restful one for me. Still, I was able to get off the ship several times. I will try to summarize what I've been up to.

First off, I had the rare opportunity to attend a book launching and movie screening right here in Freetown. When a friend of mine, James, was flying here, he struck up conversation with the man sitting beside him. This man, John Caulker, is from Sierra Leone, and has started a non-profit organization called Fambul Tok International. Fambul Tok means "family talk" in Krio. This organization seeks to bring community led reconciliation to post-war Sierra Leone. There is a huge need for reconciliation and forgiveness here in Sierra Leone. Since the war ended, many of the rebels who committed unthinkable acts against their own countrymen have moved right back into the villages they came from. This has created a lot of anger and bitterness, and people have avoided talking about what happened in the war. 

Take Nyumah and Sahr (above) for example. The two used to be best friends before the war. They stood to testify before the village bonfire in Gbekedu as a part of one of the first community ceremonies in the Fambul Tok process. Boyhood friends, the two were barely teenagers when the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) invaded their villages, which are located near the Liberian border. Sahr and his father fled into the bush, only to be captured by RUF soldiers. At the bonfire that night, Sahr spoke of how the rebels ordered him to kill his father and of his repeated refusal.  His close friend, Nyumah, had also been taken by the rebels and was there in the bush, Sahr testified. The rebels ordered Nyumah to beat his friend, under threat of death, for defying their orders to kill his father. Nyumah complied, beating his friend so severely that even today Sahr’s body remains misshapen, and he is able to walk only with great difficulty, supported by a cane.  The rebels then forced Nyumah to take the knife and slit the throat of Sahr’s father.

Living since the end of the war in villages just a mile or so apart, the former friends had not spoken about these events until the bonfire. Acknowledging what he had done, bowing in a deep gesture of deference and apology, Nyumah asked his friend for forgiveness—which Sahr immediately gave. As was the case with each pair of testifiers that evening, villagers broke into song as the young men embraced and danced around the bonfire.

There are many other stories like this one of forgiveness that have been taking place in villages all over Sierra Leone. So John Caulker sent James (their pic is below) an invitation to the launching of the book Fambul Tok and the showing of the documentary based on the book. He said that James could bring friends, so he did - 10 of us! 

 While we waited outside of the British High Council, we had a lovely view overlooking the city. This is Rhoda, Emma, and I.

The next day I went with a group of ladies to visit Christ's Evangelical Church. A friend of mine, Rosie, recently attended there, and learned that this church really tries to reach out into the community. On weekdays they have a school for children who are orphaned or don't have the funds to pay for schooling. They also have a vocational/technical school to teach trades to women who were abused or raped during the civil war. This includes teaching them tailoring, cooking, and how to use computers. The church has almost nothing as far as buildings or finances, but I was so impressed with how well they are doing. 

This photo is in the church building (one room). What is extraordinary is that there were FOUR separate classes going on at the same time, ranging from kindergarten children to middle school. I was so impressed by how well the children paid attention to their teacher. 

Don't you just want to take him home?

The women learn how to braid hair, which is a very popular trade.

We told the women that we wanted to put lotion on their hands and paint their nails to show them Jesus' love. So they brought in as many benches as they could find and lined up to be pampered! It was such a unique, humbling experience for me. The weather was scorching hot, so as I was painting nails, sweat was just dripping from my head onto their hands. It was so sweet when a woman beside me took a cloth she had and wiped my head so that I could see to keep going. I'm sure they wondered what was wrong with us, because they were barely sweating at all. One lady pointed to her toes to ask if I could paint them. I did, and soon several other ladies wanted that also. They were so kind, and couldn't believe that I would sit on the ground and dirty my clothes to paint their nails! A woman went up to Pastor Richard afterward and said "I didn't know they loved us this much!" As I painted their nails (which didn't have a trace of polish on them) I felt so much love for them. I cannot fathom the abuse that they endured during the war, or from men since then. But I knew that I could make a small difference by showing love in this tangible way. 

That is Pastor Richard in the brown suit. They were so glad to have us visit. We are excited to go back to visit. We took up an offering on the ship a week ago, and raised enough money to fix the roof on the school, buy several sewing machines (they only have one) and help out in several other ways. I feel so blessed to be able to help out the ministry of this church! 

Well, there are so many other things I want to talk about...but sleep is more important. :) Keep me in your prayers, and God bless.

Giving a Hand-Up

Yesterday was was my favorite day in Africa so far! On Saturday I had the chance to go with 8 people from Mercy Ships to help a family in need. A friend of mine, Rosie, told me about the Bangura family a week ago, and she began to plan a trip out to their home. Rosie told several friends back in the US about this family's situation, and donations began to pour in. Because of this, she is helping the Bangura family start a business of selling frozen water and various vegetables. The family has already received a generator and freezer for the water. We are hoping this will be more of a hand-up out of poverty than a hand-out. 

This family has been through a lot recently.

The mother in the home died a year ago. The aunt, Sally, is now raising her sister's children. However Sally has recently had fibroid issues and is currently in the hospital after being operated on. So this has left Sally's elderly mother to take care of several grandchildren and great grandchildren. One of the granddaughters who is 16 years old has been pregnant, and we found out that the night before we came she went into labor and the baby died. We wished that their friend, James, who works on the ship would have called the ship. One of our doctors could have come to help. Knowing that this had happened on Friday night put us in a somber mood for part of the day.

The house was quite small for about 10 people living there, but compared to many of the shacks here in the city, it was actually large. It had 3 rooms and was made out of mud bricks. Recently, stucco has been placed over the bricks so that we could paint the walls. 

One of the grandsons, Usman, is only 20 years old and has been crippled for a year. There is something wrong with his hips - we guessed it may be a disease like polio. So when we walked into the house and into the room on the right, he was sitting on a mat on the floor. This is where he spends most of his days because he can't walk/stand without assistance. At one point, someone brought in a can for him to urinate in since he can't walk outside. We are planning to go back to the house later this week - a guy from our group knows how to make bed frames, so he is going to make one for Usman. This will allow him to get up by himself once we take him a walker. 

Here are several photos from our day:

This is the home that we painted - you can see that a ton of neighbor children came to watch us working. :)

This is Usman. He was very nice, and we are planning to return to help him get a raised bed and a walker so he can be a little independent.

This sweet little girl did the cutest song and dance for us. Only afterward a lady told me that she does the song for neighbors to beg for food when there is none.

I loved the kids! The girl on the right was wearing a santa claus style dress...made me laugh.

 Painting!

See the Santa dress? :D

This was an impromptu puppet show put on by Jenny and Mourad. The kids loved it, even though the puppets were made out of shirts!

This was just some of them watching the puppet show.

Next, Jenny and Mourad led the kids in some goofy dance routines (marching?) and a game of "Simon Says."

We walked to a neighbor's house, and they took us to the back where they have a bakery. It was neat to watch them pounding the bread dough and rolling it through this machine. Seemed like a lot of work! They also had a large clay oven to cook the bread in.

It turns out beautifully!

We walked down to the river, and apparently Saturdays are wash days! It seemed like the whole community of women and children were there. The women were working hard scrubbing clothes while the kids had fun jumping in the river. Many of the kids who walked down there with us just threw off their clothes and jumped in the water!

This is where they come to get water, and the women or kids carry it in large, heavy buckets on their heads.

Walking back up from the river - the kids just loved walking with me and holding my hands. At one point I counted 6 kids holding on to me wherever they could! There were two in each hand, one holding on to the back of my shirt, and one holding onto the flap of my back pocket. The children here have really captured my heart.

This is us sitting on a rooftop that overlooks the valley where the river runs. It was a beautiful view, but a little scary to look down!

This was a chunky great-grandchild, eating mushed plantains.

Don't you just want to take him home?

It is very common to see kids who are only 4-5 years old carrying babies around on their backs.

 This is the main method of drying clothes...

But it doesn't work well when it rains like this! When it started pouring, we all gathered in the house and kept painting. Because the roof is tin, I have never heard such a loud roar from rain before!

This is the grandmother who is running the home while her daughter is in the hospital. I believe the boy is her great grandson. 

She broke out in song thanking God. The main line is "Tell Papa God Tanki" which means thank you. We all joined in singing with her. After that she began to cry loudly, and kept saying "Don't forget me...don't forget me!" Rosie told her that we had come to help them because Jesus sent us, and that even though we were leaving, they still had Jesus. 

When we drove off, several of the kids ran after us as far as they could...waving and smiling!

We were sweaty and tired...but very blessed.