message from Ghana

It is five days ago already that I arrived in Bolgatanga, northern Ghana. What I thought was to  be a small village seems a town with 80.000 inhabitants. I come here on behalf of a PUM project to teach midwifes on cervical cancer screening, a totally different job from the obstetrics I did before. First day I met John, the organiser. He found  me a reasonable hotel opposite the building where the workshop is given. I have trained 13 midwifes for three intensive days and today we started practicing. In the regional hospital-which looked amazingly clean to me, but the minister of health was visiting…..-we had a room and two beds. With some improvising we saw over 40 women How much one can learn in a few days.There is a great difference between these midwifes, some pick up very fast, others will have to prctice for a long time before I would trust the mto do the test. But they are all nice.  Laughing a lot. So these have been very intensive and tiring days.

The note where I stay, looks nice , but......

one of the midwifes on her motorcycle

Another midwife even with a child on the motorcycle!

practicing as grandma, Ghanaian grandchild?

village behind the hotel

 But I did get some time to see some of the town. I walked behind the hotel, you come in a simple village with beautiful baobab trees. Although a lot is cut down for cooking! Very nice = non begging children! With one of the midwifes I went to the local market, buzy and colourful as ever. Of course also the crafts market was visited, baskets, cotton, leather… too much

Temperature is very high here and it is humid. Even if you go out at night it is warm. Yesterdy I went with a PUM colleague to a restaurant  where they had a outside screening of the footballmatch england / urugay. A very pleasant evening!

In spite of the heat and the moderate hotel I am enjoying the stay here.

Tomorrow training again and sunday I am off!