goodbye Ghana

 Before I leave tonight back to the Netherlands I want to share with you my last adventures. The past few days we have been practicing and seeing patients. All midwifes have been able to perform one cryotherapy, and I feel confident about them. Yesterday (Thursday) as we were kind of preparing for the certificate ceremony, I was suddenly called by the local PUM representative that I should go by night bus to Accra instead of flying Friday(today) from Tamale. Due to the hamatan many local flights are cancelled, and she did not want to take the risk I would miss my KLM flight today. So the bus was going to leave at 7pm.  10 minutes later I was called it was 5 pm!!! I had to hurry and could not even give the certificates. I had ½ an hour to pack!!We managed to get on time at the bus station; Paul had bought me a ticket. This is quite a chaotic experience. Many people crowding around the bus with a lot of luggage. I was the only one with a suitcase, the rest was boxes and those big plastic bags they call here “Ghana must go “ bags, from the time Ghanaians had to leave Nigeria. While we were standing and waiting Paul saw another, more luxurious bus which was about to leave. As the ticket was only 50 GHC=12 euro, I agreed to buy a ticket for that one. But it was quite something to get through the crowd with my luggage to that other bus. Soon we left, to set off for what was going to be my longest bus trip ever. It supposed to take 12 hours to Accra, it took us 16 hrs. But it was kind of interesting experience. Next to me was a student who’s parents live in Amsterdam!. We stopped several times, for I don’t know what reason, there are a lot of police road blocks, and one time we were stopped by army people. These night buses are supposed to drive in convoy, but this driver had decide to go on his own. He got a fine from this very stern army man and the bus had to wait for a convoy (about ½ hr)   At that time I heard that this was done because of many robberies taking place during the night on thes buses, professional groups, “you loose everything……” That scared me a little, but we made it safely.

During the drive there was loud music from the speaker. right above me. It seems Ghanaian cannot be without sound or music. People were sleeping, but I had a problem.

last lunch with the midwifes, got used to local food

entering  in the morning

So I was very happy to arrive in the hotel in Accra, where they booked me a dayroom. After a rest I am now enjoying my las warm afternoon, outside in the hotel garden.  Tonight back to the cold again

it works!!!!

workshop welder

next to the workshop people repair cars

Monday evening, 17.30 hrs, just before dark we managed to make the cryo machine work!!!! The cylinder arrived sunday early morning, but did not fit the equipment After a long day traveling up and down by cab from the health centre to the welding place and still leaking I decided to bring the whole thing to the workshop

It is a very heavy cylinder, but we were going to use it in town anyway if it would work. So there we were in this place in a back alley with our brand new machine, but finally it worked! In Africa they can repair everything goes the saying. well it is true. So tomorrow we can start screening and treating finally . Today we practiced on chicken.

practicing with the chicken

John is sometimes very unpractical, he bought a life chicken, was going to look for someone to kill and clean it around the hospital. But the midwifes decided we better buy a thigh from the butcher. So the chicken was on a rope outside the place where we worked and he took it home in the end, invited me to come to eat it tomorrow in his house. This morning he came to pick me up at the hotel , you should see the taxi:  Everything we need for the procedure was in and on the car, the examination table included.  We were a sight when we arrived, even with a chicken, at the hospital where we were going to train. In the end all went well.

On these days I am sitting inside all the time, so I am happy I can make walks behind the hotel. I usually do that early morning, waking up at six. It is a nice landscape. . and all are very friendly. Most people speak English, as it is the official language in Ghana, so communication is good.  This morning I met a man who really spoke impeccable English. There is a small pond, with birds- even a bright coloured kingfisher, lotus flowers and of course the beautiful trees again. The baobab is having small fruits now. These walks remind me so much of Mota and even Nepal. People herding goats, watering the fields, going to school in uniform

beautiful light because of the hamatan, but very dusty 

 people on the market

The people in the hotel are also very kind , and many of them have a university degree (English, business, ICT) but cannot find proper jobs. So they work here as a cook at the reception, or even security. The stay is much more comfortable compared to last summer. And time flies, only a few more days…….

neem uw winkel op en wandel

amazing experience

Letitia with her son

Weekend seems to last forever. Since my project manager, John, decided to go searching for a gas cylinder  by himself we cannot do much. He left Thursday morning, was supposed to return yesterday evening, today Saturday afternoon still no news. It is almost getting critical. He told me this morning by phone he would be back early afternoon, but now early evening still no contact. He wanted to go tomorrow I(Sunday) after church, but I gather  the midwifes don’t like this idea, we will see……Meanwhile I try to enjoy my stay here, luckily the sweet midwife Letitia is taking care of me, always taking her little boy Ferdinand with her.  Yesterday we were supposed to meet Peter Bafoe, a gynaecologist who just finished his MPH in the KIT in Amsterdam. At 2 pm he was not in his office. We went walking over the market,  I waited in a nice restaurant, and just when I gave up and got a shared cab he called. So I got out and walked back. We had a nice evening, interesting man. Albert, the guy from the ultrasound last year, also passed by.

This morning when I heard John was not back yet, I decided to sit and read and do some Internet at the reception. Then Letitia came and we decide to go to Tongo, her hometown, what we had planned for tomorrow.

Here I had one of the most incredible experiences I ever had in my life…

Behind Tongo, in the hills is a small village called Tengzug there is a holy shrine.

the village Tengzug

one of the tombs

It is an animistic village. The village itself is interesting; there is a chief’s palace, old tombs, and round stone houses. After a steep climb uphill we went to the shrine. The last 10 meters before the actual shrine I had to remove all my cloths. They had explained something like that down the hill, I thought I had to cover myself, but it was uncovering!!!

the priest climbing up

In contrary to the mosques and churches. Trouser may stay on, but knees must be bare. There I was with some also almost naked man!!!! I felt totally safe. Letitia could not climb this with the little baby on her back. So on bare feet and with bare  breasts I climbed the last few meters. There was a big cave with many offerings in it. An old man, the priest welcomed me. Of course no pictures there. They explained me all about their beliefs, it was a peaceful meeting,and I was very happy I did it.

These last two days we have had hard wind, the Hamatan from the Sahara with a lot of sand. That is a pity, because of that the view from the top of the hill was very hazy.

So after I thought this would be a lost day again it became a very interesting and fantastic day! One has to go with the flow…….

Dear family and friends,

First to all of you a happy new year.  My new year has started with a the project in Ghana. 4th January I left for Accra. There I spent the night to fly to Bolgatanga early next morning. But that flight was cancelled, the next one 2 hours later so I decide to stay at the airport. This is the local airport, only a coca-cola automat, in the tent in front of the check-in.

waiting area airport Accra

For a few hours OK, but than the next flight was delayed, so I spent hours there and finished reading my book. Also the consequence was that I could not visit the clinic in Tamale, where they also do cervical cancer screening. But before dark I arrived in Bolga. So nice to come back to the same place. On the road these typical African pictures: a colourful woman with a baby on her back on a motor cycle, children playing with bottles, women walking with water on the head, the beautiful baobab trees, etc.

That same evening I met with John gain, the head of the screening project.  He had bad news, there was a leakage in the gascylinder we have to use for the freezing. It has been quite a project to get that cylinder here, he kept it in his house until the evening before my arrival. Than he moved it to the clinic with a taxi. Apparently the taxi driver did something wrong(?) and the handle broke off. He has ordered a new one, which has to come from Kumasi. This was of course a problem I had foreseen, but not on the first day.

Half a year ago I went to teach for the screening of the cervical cancer. With some subsidy I bought a cryo- instrument for freezing the cervix, so that they can do the see and treat procedure. And that is what I am going to train the coming two weeks. From the 20 midwifes before, 5 are getting this second training. They have seen almost 1000 women the past months and the positive tested ones will return in these weeks. The first two days of theory have past now. As soon as the new cylinder arrives, we hope tomorrow, we will start. Tomorrow morning I am off and will go to the market with one of the midwifes. This time of the year is very dusty and dry, not so green as in july.

But also it is cooler, this morning I had a nice walk behind the hotel, it was really fresh. People here find it cold!  In the morning 20 , at midday almost 30 degrees! 

with John waiting for the taxi

John has started a own clinic in the outskirts of Bolgatanga. He has refurbished it, has done a lot the past months. I had told him last time to put signs on the road, so that people can easily find the place. They were not here yet. Aftre I commented on that he asked a local guy to paint the name of the clinic on the wall : Mabia HC, cervical screening. This was the result. The guy seemed to be drunk and was immediately fired

the drunk painters