Bible Study

On Tuesday nights (of most weeks) we have been going to a Bible study run by international students (mostly Americans). This has been a neat experience to get to know students from other countries and to fellowship. A few Ghanaian students have started coming and it has been amazing to see their passion. One guy named Edward was sharing with me last night about how privileged he feels to share the gospel of Christ with others. It seems that the mindset of some is so different and unique here in Ghana. Passionate is the only word that I can use to describe it. Some mornings, we will wake up to a ‘preacher’ in our front yard. There is one guy who will stand out in the parking lot literally shouting his message, if only he would share it in English! I still haven’t learned enough Twi.

Laurie and I have also started a Bible study for our group. We have met twice now and are going through a study guide on the book of John, which is focusing on getting to know Jesus. It has been wonderful to get together with others in our group and learn more about each other and where each is at in their spiritual life. Everyone comes from such different backgrounds. Please pray for us as we continue to meet.

I can definitely say that in being out of my comfort zone and seeing and experiencing so many difficult things, I am being challenged and tested in my faith. God has been showing me things that I need to change or work towards. He has also been showing me more of Himself and His character. There is so much to learn, but it is definitely a continual process. Praise the Lord for the good work He is doing!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

For the Love of Food!

Escargot anyone? We were offered snails when visiting the market in Akosombo.

However, this is about as close as one got to my mouth!

Food has been an interesting topic here in Ghana. While the new flavors and smells did not sit well for the first couples weeks, it has not taken long to adjust and I have been enjoying Ghanaian food ever since! Common dishes found in Ghana are fufu (mashed cassava and plantain) and kenkey or banku (fermented maize) which are served in a soup with meat. Other dishes include rice (plain, jollof, or watchi), plantains, and red red (bean stew). You can also find a meat pie and other pastries anywhere you go!

Erin and I have been trying to cook on our shared hot plate in our room as much as possible. We also go to the market often, where we can get a meal of rice, sauce and plantains or meat for about 1 Cede (less than a $1). Fruit has definitely been the food group of choice while in Accra. Fresh pineapple, mango, bananas, papaya, watermelon and oranges are in abundance. There is also a lady, Louisa, who sits on the sidewalk selling desserts. Banana pie, mango pie, pineapple pie, banana chocolate chip muffins, etc. Her treats are not at all the versions you would find at home, but nevertheless hit the spot!

One thing we always look forward to is Friday Seminar, where we gather at our instructor Bev's apartment and prepare a scrumptous breakfast together. Favorites have been banana pancakes and french toast. Fruit is always in abundance.

Saturday morning breakfast with the team. French toast made with fresh baguettes, cinnamon, vanilla and icing sugar. And more fruit!

Last week, Erin and I were invited to go her friend, Angela’s place for fufu. Angela, is a grad nurse working at Military 37, and lives with her sister Patricia in the army barracks behind the hospital, a small but cozy place. We arrived around 2 in the afternoon and found out that we had missed much of the work, as preparing fufu takes most of the day. It begins with peeling and then boiling cassava and plantains until soft. After this the plantains and cassava are mashed with a giant mortar and pestle. As I cut up the plantains and cassava, Erin attempted to help with the mashing, but was quickly dismissed, as she could not do it fast enough. Haha, I didn’t even try as I can’t keep a beat let alone pound with the pestle without smashing Patricia’s fingers.

Meanwhile, a soup is made, which has peppers, garden eggs, tomato paste, spices, etc. Meat is often included, and Ben has shared stories of ordering fufu with beef and receiving not only the meat, but the hide and intestines as well! It’s common to have it with fish as well (the whole fish, eyes and all). We had goat, which was amazingly tasty. Erin and I generously saved Angela’s favorite parts for her – the hide!

When the fufu is ready, it was put in a bowl with the soup and meat. I can’t say that fufu is my favorite, or that I will ever have it again, but the experience was more than worth it. The best part, was hanging out with Angela, her sister and their friends. However different our cultures may be, girls are still girls!

Angela preparing the soup.

Smashed plantains.

More smashing!

Erin's giving it her best shot!

FUFU!!

True to Ghanaian style, we ate with our right hands, Erin and I sharing a bowl - as a married couple would do in Ghana. Haha

Red Red with Plantains

The Night Market. Always a busy and popular spot for a quick bite to eat.

Heather and Sarah enjoying one of our favorite indulgences: Iced Coffee at Frankie's.

While the food has been overall delicious (or “tantalizing” as Louisa describes), I am definitely looking forward to being able to cook and bake in a full kitchen when I get home!

Osu Children's Home

For the past two weeks, our group has been going in pairs to the Osu Children’s Home, a government run orphanage. Caitlin and I spent Monday and Tuesday there. Throughout our time there the manager was very busy so we weren’t able to find out very much about the Home. As far as I know, it is a home for children who were abandoned, whose parents died or are keeping them there until they are able to fully care for them. Apparently they take in about 2 children per month, and are able to facilitate about 2-3 adopters per month. The orphanage is not staffed well and often depends on volunteers for help (which can be sporadic at best).

We spent the first day at the nursery, which was home to about 40 infants and toddlers, 0-3 years. Their daily schedule was something like, wake up, eat, toilet, bath, play outside (if old enough) until lunch, then eat, toilet, bath, nap…and so on. The toilet time consists of lining up all of the toddlers on their own little pot or bowl until they have gone. Very efficient!

I found it absolutely heartbreaking, while all of the physical needs of the children were met (adequate food, clothing and shelter), they were only lacking love and affection…and a family. The toddlers were not at their appropriate developmental stage and many were not well with respiratory illnesses. Probably the most difficult part was seeing the children who were around the same age as my niece and nephews. While Tyller is crawling around, a girl about the same age hasn’t even rolled over yet. I expected these toddlers to be running around but many of the children would sit there aimlessly playing with a toy or lying on the cement. It seemed they just wanted to be held. They wouldn’t even respond to tickling, but were just content to sit on my lap and be held close.

The next day we went to the school for children aged 3 to about 6. This was a lot of fun as we watched their assembly, full of praying, singing, marching and clapping. It was exciting to see the potential for the kids in the nursery. We also spent some time at a seminar for social workers on HIV and Aids Counseling (which was being hosted at the Children’s Home).

I think the experience at the Children’s Home has had a significant impact on our entire group. It was easy to pick out the challenges at the orphanage, and of course as nurses we are always looking at health and wellness of individuals, but overall we could see that the ladies there are doing their best and running it as well as possible with what resources they had.

Volta Region

Wli Falls

Last weekend we took a trip out to the eastern region of Ghana. I left on Saturday with Ben and Sarah to meet up with a group who had left the afternoon before. We left the U of Ghana around 5:30 am to catch a tro in Madina. We found one and went straight to HoHae, where we caught another one to go to the tiny village of Wli (pronounced Vlee). On this last tro I think we broke another record, counting 26 inside, plus two foul (haha – a couple chickens one guys bought and held on his lap)! We met up with the rest of our group in Wli and went on a hike to the Upper Wli Falls.

The guidebook told us that it would be about a 1 ½ hour hike, which only took us 45 minutes, including many stops to catch our breath!! The hike was more of a steady uphill climb through the jungle, very challenging. While we were all panting, our Ghanaian guide barely broke a sweat as he made it look like a walk in the park, wearing only flip flops.

The Upper Falls were amazing and well worth the hike. We were the only ones there – making it a relaxing getaway. Again, I am amazed at God’s creation and the diversity of plants, vines, trees, etc. Gorgeous!

Taking a break...one of many!

We made it!

A view along the hike.

A picture of the treacherous hike.

This little girl from the village of Wli came up and asked us to take her picture!

The next day we met up with our instructor and a few others from the University of Ghana and Military 37 in Akosombo. This town is located on the south end of Volta Lake, the world’s largest artificial lake (3283 square miles). It was made for the Akosombo Dam, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, which has the potential to provide power for all of Ghana. We went on the Dodi Princess a boat which gives a 5 hour ride on the lake, taking passengers to the Dodi Island and back. This was a nice and relaxing way to spend the day, with a live band, barbeque, and some reading and sun-tanning (which is seemingly a recurrent weekend theme).

What would be a cruise on the Volta Lake without a game of Dutch Blitz??

Sarah and I catching some rays!

One the way home to Accra. Sarah and Sarah (aka - Sally Mensah - Leftenant Colonel and our contact at Military 37 - a very amazing and compassionate woman. It has been a privilege to get to know her).

Hello Trauma

The staff on Yebuah - maternity and labor and delivery.

A wonderful and fun bunch to work with.

The Sister of Yebuah ward - Leftenet Colonel Kanadu, working hard!

A few weeks ago I said goodbye to Yebuah ward and the pregnant women and babies and went to Trauma Emergency. This has been an interesting switch and I have definitely felt more at ease with my nursing skills in Emergency. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the single most common cause of trauma in Ghana is road traffic accidents (RTAs). I have seen this to be very true as a great majority of patients who come into Trauma Emerg are there because of an RTA.

After working a few shifts in Truama I suddenly became very aware of the risks associated with crossing the street. While normally I love an adrenaline rush…after seeing first-hand the injuries associated with an RTA, it’s not so enticing to run across three lanes of traffic. A lot of the accidents involve pedestrians, as it is a very dangerous business to be a pedestrian in Accra. While there are some cross-walks if you choose to use them you still take a big risk as the cars do not slow down, only honk their horn!

One case was particularly interesting, as a man and woman came in after an RTA. The man had been driving his motorbike and somehow hit the woman who was walking on the sidewalk (see even the sidewalks are not safe!). The man suffered minor injuries to his face and was quickly cleaned up and released. The woman had some abrasions and lacerations but nothing too serious. After the doctor had finishing suturing a deeper laceration, they were ready to discharge the woman, but as she got off the table, we noticed a fair amount of blood left on the table.

Lifting up her skirt to expose her thigh, we were horrified to see a massive hole in the woman’s thigh, with a severed tendon hanging out. I think a golf ball could have fit flush inside this hole. All over her thigh and skirt were little chunks of flesh and tissue. For those of you who are health care personnel and are wondering why this woman wasn’t “exposed” in the ABC’s of trauma…the woman absolutely had refused to have her clothing removed, and as there happened to be a shortage of sheets the nurse did not make her.

The craziest thing about the whole situation was that the woman gave no indication that she might have any such injury. She had moved herself from the wheelchair to the bed and back. She did not complain of any pain. This is probably due to shock, but may also have cultural implications. The doctor explained that this woman was from northern Ghana, where it is expected that an individual does not show response to pain. As we have been adjusting to working in the Ghanaian culture, I am constantly amazed at the differences.

Another observation we’ve made is that if a fracture is queried, you can count on there actually being a fracture, and a complex one at that. It seems in Canada, that we take a lot of x-rays to rule out fractures and generally find that there is no such injury. In Accra, it seems that due to the mechanism of injury, complex and ugly fractures are common. The cases involving children have been the hardest for me to work with, as it is terrible to see such trauma and injury to such young children.

Overall Trauma Emerg has been very interesting. I have two days left and next we move on to the Mamprobi Polyclinic (and I will share details on that when we find them out!). You can check out Erin’s blog for more Trauma Emergency stories.

I have had the opportunity to work with my friend Ginger on the ward, which has been such a blessing. It is so wonderful to have someone who can understand and relate to what I am going through.

Rasta

In an attempt to become more Ghanaian, Laurie and I went to get our hair done in twists (aka rasta) last week! As if the color of our skin did not make us stand out enough, I think we get even more attention with our hair in twists now! We went to Madina, a district in Accra about a half-hours tro ride north of where we are staying, which has a very busy and interesting market. We found the Anointed Ladies Salon, where it took 4 to 5 (anointed) ladies about three hours to twists in my hair. It took about the same for Laurie’s head with about 6 women.

They kept asking ayewah (is it painful?)…and thankfully we didn't find it too bad. Overall, it was a neat experience…and amazing as Laurie had the opportunity to share Jesus with a Muslim girl, who was working on her hair. We are looking forward to returning to the same shop to have it taken out (which for me will be sooner than later!).

About to begin the long process...see the plastic add-in hair they're holding? Yes I get to pack that around on my head! It was a somewhat traumatic experience to have five ladies pulling my hair in every direction, speaking a language I can't understand, and laughing saying obruni, obruni! Haha!

The finished product!! Laurie and I are now both about five pounds heavier!