Sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you. Last I wrote, I was preparing to head out to our first official screening day for the outreach here in Togo. What can I say about it? It went well. Not a lot of people came, which is awesome, since that is what we were praying for. We did, however, get surgeries booked, x-ray and CT scan appointments booked, as well as casting for club feet. As it stands, screening has been pretty successful, new process and all. By the end of last week, I think that they had screened over 2,500 people. Please continue praying for the remaining screening days!
Since screening and now...we've had two open houses for the Oak Foundation Hospital (the name of the hospital here on the Africa Mercy). The first open house took place this past Thursday, where medical staff from all over Togo were invited to come aboard, see the hospital, meet the staff, and learn a bit of what we do and why. All of the hospital
staff were required to participate in putting on the open house. All the wards and departments were open so that they could ask questions and get more information. We also worked as hosts/hostess, servers, and parking attendants (my job for the night). It was a blast, but a long night - and I hope that we represented ourselves well. I promise to put up a picture tour of the hospital for you soon!
The second open house was held last Friday (yup, back to back open houses)...but, this time, the hospital was opened up to non-medical crew. It was a fun-filled night. The ward nurses set up different stations for people to go through that taught them about inserting IVs, feeding tubes, and a chance to be in their shoes. All the operating rooms were open, with games revolving around some of the surgeries that they do - VVF, ophthalmic, general, etc. Even the kids on the ship were able to get involved, as they got dressed up in the OR to operate on a monkey, and learned how to stitch things up from our surgeons.
This weekend marked the beginning of hopefully many outings to come. What ended up being a group of 17 of us from here on the ship took a weekend trip out to a town called, Kpalimé. It was about a 2.5-3 hour ride northwest of the port here in Lomé. It was uncomfortably amusing having 19 people squish into the taxi-van/bus (originally intended to carry 15 passengers). I was lucky enough to be sitting not too far from an open window, and it was amazing watching the landscape pass me by. There is no way that I could describe to you the beauty that I had seen. It was awesome passing by the African villages and seeing the thatched huts and the people busy, going about their day.
It was a fun...although not completely relaxing weekend. We ended up having 5 hotel rooms to divvy up between the 17 of us. Our group then split off with a few of them going to see waterfalls and the other group (me included) heading to the market. The market was very lively and full of color. As we walked through the streets, you could hear children singing. They sing this song that I have grown to love and sing along with them. Basically, they sing it any time that they see a white person.
Since screening and now...we've had two open houses for the Oak Foundation Hospital (the name of the hospital here on the Africa Mercy). The first open house took place this past Thursday, where medical staff from all over Togo were invited to come aboard, see the hospital, meet the staff, and learn a bit of what we do and why. All of the hospital
staff were required to participate in putting on the open house. All the wards and departments were open so that they could ask questions and get more information. We also worked as hosts/hostess, servers, and parking attendants (my job for the night). It was a blast, but a long night - and I hope that we represented ourselves well. I promise to put up a picture tour of the hospital for you soon!The second open house was held last Friday (yup, back to back open houses)...but, this time, the hospital was opened up to non-medical crew. It was a fun-filled night. The ward nurses set up different stations for people to go through that taught them about inserting IVs, feeding tubes, and a chance to be in their shoes. All the operating rooms were open, with games revolving around some of the surgeries that they do - VVF, ophthalmic, general, etc. Even the kids on the ship were able to get involved, as they got dressed up in the OR to operate on a monkey, and learned how to stitch things up from our surgeons.
This weekend marked the beginning of hopefully many outings to come. What ended up being a group of 17 of us from here on the ship took a weekend trip out to a town called, Kpalimé. It was about a 2.5-3 hour ride northwest of the port here in Lomé. It was uncomfortably amusing having 19 people squish into the taxi-van/bus (originally intended to carry 15 passengers). I was lucky enough to be sitting not too far from an open window, and it was amazing watching the landscape pass me by. There is no way that I could describe to you the beauty that I had seen. It was awesome passing by the African villages and seeing the thatched huts and the people busy, going about their day.
It was a fun...although not completely relaxing weekend. We ended up having 5 hotel rooms to divvy up between the 17 of us. Our group then split off with a few of them going to see waterfalls and the other group (me included) heading to the market. The market was very lively and full of color. As we walked through the streets, you could hear children singing. They sing this song that I have grown to love and sing along with them. Basically, they sing it any time that they see a white person.
"Yovo, Yovo,
Bonsoir.
Ca va bien,
Merci."
Bonsoir.
Ca va bien,
Merci."
It essentially says, "White person, White person. Good evening. It goes well (or I am well.). Thank you."
On Sunday, we all went for a hike up to the tallest mountain peak in all of Togo, Mount Agou. It stands about 986 meters (3234 ft.) tall. I never knew that I could sweat so much until yesterday. I also developed a healthy appreciation for water and keeping hydrated. Thankfully, it had rained enough the night before so the air was cooler than it normally would've been, yet the path wasn't all that muddy. We had a guide take us up the mountain, and he showed us various things...like how the locals get different dyes from the plants in the forest, as well as little tidbits about the area...like how it was one of the first areas to develop fruit.
As we made our way to the top, there were various villages built into the mountain side that we passed through. So very interesting to see how other people live and thrive. I was, and continue to be, astounded. We seemed to hit each village on our way up as they were having church. So, as we walked along the path, you could hear the drums being beaten to a tune of worship, even if it was unfamiliar to me. In one village, as soon as the worship music stopped, you could hear the music of the children's voices, saying, "Yovo! Yovo!" and then breaking out into song. At one of the villages, the children were outside the church and even came up to get a closer look at us. I love putting my hand out, and having their tiny palms smack mine...and then wander around my hand, amazed at the feel of my brown skin. They are just adorable, and they make my heart ache for my little ones back home.
When we reached the top of the mountain...we had a bit of a relaxed celebration, complete with human pyramid, jumping photos, spelling photos...and one of me being tossed in the air. I am sure that the guards were wondering just exactly what it was that we were doing.
On the way back down, we passed a village just as we met up with the road that winded back down the mountain we just climbed. We figured that this was a great place to take a break and wait for the rest of the group to catch up. As I was sitting on a log, resting, a littl
e girl came towards us with a baby. As I watched her walking our way, I saw that she was intent on walking up to someone in particular - me! With a big smile on her face, she handed me the baby. And as soon as the baby was in my arms, the people from the village across the way erupted into laughter. I looked at the little girl, pointed to myself and said, "Je m'appelle Tatiana." She then proceeded to tell me that her name was Florence, and that the baby I held in my arms was named Emil. :-) Eventually, I returned the baby, even though Jens was trying to convince the little girl to let us pack the baby in our backpacks to come back with us. Thanks to Micah for taking this photo as evidence for me!
We had just enough time to head back to the hotel, take a quick dip in the pool to cool off, and then catch our taxi-van/bus to head back to the port. Walking back into the Africa Mercy, we were greeted by one of our Gurkhas with a big smile, and the cooling rush of air conditioning to meet us. As fun as it was to get away for the weekend and explore...it was sure nice to be back.
This week, we are preparing for the official open of the hospital. Our patients start to come in on Wednesday, 24 February and our first official operation is to commence on Thursday, the 25th. I am going to be spending the next few days before we open stocking the wards and the operating room. Everyday, it's starting to look more and more like a hospital...and even though I know that there is tons of work ahead of us...I can't help but be excited.
On Sunday, we all went for a hike up to the tallest mountain peak in all of Togo, Mount Agou. It stands about 986 meters (3234 ft.) tall. I never knew that I could sweat so much until yesterday. I also developed a healthy appreciation for water and keeping hydrated. Thankfully, it had rained enough the night before so the air was cooler than it normally would've been, yet the path wasn't all that muddy. We had a guide take us up the mountain, and he showed us various things...like how the locals get different dyes from the plants in the forest, as well as little tidbits about the area...like how it was one of the first areas to develop fruit.
As we made our way to the top, there were various villages built into the mountain side that we passed through. So very interesting to see how other people live and thrive. I was, and continue to be, astounded. We seemed to hit each village on our way up as they were having church. So, as we walked along the path, you could hear the drums being beaten to a tune of worship, even if it was unfamiliar to me. In one village, as soon as the worship music stopped, you could hear the music of the children's voices, saying, "Yovo! Yovo!" and then breaking out into song. At one of the villages, the children were outside the church and even came up to get a closer look at us. I love putting my hand out, and having their tiny palms smack mine...and then wander around my hand, amazed at the feel of my brown skin. They are just adorable, and they make my heart ache for my little ones back home.
When we reached the top of the mountain...we had a bit of a relaxed celebration, complete with human pyramid, jumping photos, spelling photos...and one of me being tossed in the air. I am sure that the guards were wondering just exactly what it was that we were doing.
On the way back down, we passed a village just as we met up with the road that winded back down the mountain we just climbed. We figured that this was a great place to take a break and wait for the rest of the group to catch up. As I was sitting on a log, resting, a littl
e girl came towards us with a baby. As I watched her walking our way, I saw that she was intent on walking up to someone in particular - me! With a big smile on her face, she handed me the baby. And as soon as the baby was in my arms, the people from the village across the way erupted into laughter. I looked at the little girl, pointed to myself and said, "Je m'appelle Tatiana." She then proceeded to tell me that her name was Florence, and that the baby I held in my arms was named Emil. :-) Eventually, I returned the baby, even though Jens was trying to convince the little girl to let us pack the baby in our backpacks to come back with us. Thanks to Micah for taking this photo as evidence for me!We had just enough time to head back to the hotel, take a quick dip in the pool to cool off, and then catch our taxi-van/bus to head back to the port. Walking back into the Africa Mercy, we were greeted by one of our Gurkhas with a big smile, and the cooling rush of air conditioning to meet us. As fun as it was to get away for the weekend and explore...it was sure nice to be back.
This week, we are preparing for the official open of the hospital. Our patients start to come in on Wednesday, 24 February and our first official operation is to commence on Thursday, the 25th. I am going to be spending the next few days before we open stocking the wards and the operating room. Everyday, it's starting to look more and more like a hospital...and even though I know that there is tons of work ahead of us...I can't help but be excited.
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