COUNTRY: Ghana
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Community Health Work
WRITTEN BY: Becky Nelson
Well, here ends our four weeks here in Ghana (except for Mel, who has 3 more weeks left before leaving for safari in South Africa). I'm currently at the airport, being the first to go on Saturday, with the others flying out at various times and to various locations throughout the world, and australia tomorrow.
In our last week in Ghana we all felt very confident in our everyday lives. I did 4 days placement at casualty in the hospital, and met 2 german volunteers, as well as a Brazilian. It was great meeting a whole bunch of new people and experiencing a heap of crazy events together. The staff all received their "Christmas bonus" this week, which consisted of: 5kg of rice, 2 cans of tomatoes, a bottle of cooking oil, and one live chicken!! There were chickens in cardboard boxes, being carried in black plastic bags, and just held by the wings! It was hilarious and unexpected. One of the German volunteers, Lisa, had been there for a few months and was able to receive a chicken, so we picked up hers so she could go set it free!
In casualty (emergency department), it is not staffed with any doctors. There is a nurse practitioner who does the consulting side, and a nurse 'in charge' (like our NUMs) who does suturing and the likes. I quickly found myself leading decision making and treatments (like how to best suture a couple of deep lacerations, making a sling out of a shirt, diagnosing a stroke and ordering IV fluids, teats and creating a treatment plan), and even found myself in consulting rooms and acting as GP! It was somewhat scary at times, but an amazing opportunity and experience. My most rewarding moments, however, came from attending to the patient's and their families, emotional needs, and being able to give them some support and comfort, where they otherwise would have been neglected.
Alex visited kids ward for a day, and then joined me for the rest of the week in casualty.
Cam and Mel finished up at the school, with the kids finishing up for Christmas holidays. They've had an incredible time, gaining a huge insight into the education system (and its issues) here in Ghana, but have especially enjoyed building loving relationships with the kids there, who will be deeply missed by them both.
Angus finished up at the Salvation Army, where he was pretty much thrown into the deep end from day one, acting as the solo physio, mainly treating children with cerebral palsy, and having to learn a whole heap of commands in the local language.
Gee (and Antonia) had to say goodbye to her beloved kids at the orphanage, and has already planned to come back and visit them in the future! A few of us went out to buy a few things for the orphanage (from the beautiful people who donated to myself prior to heading over here - thank you so much). We bought new shoes, towels, spoons and bowls for all the kids, got some bins, a water purifier/tap and plenty of washing baskets. We were also able to drop off a heap of face washers and drawstring bags that I bought over, and some random bits and piece from Alex. We also received a quote and have building plans in place to stop water flooding the rooms when it rains, as well as a big permanent bin, that will have the rubbish collected each month (rubbish is a big problem in Ghana, with not a lot of bins and sanitation in place). Most of the crew headed over to the orphanage for one last time on Thursday and hung out with all the kids - big cuddles to the little guys and soccer with the older kids. Always a wonderful time.
On Friday, we all headed back over to the hostel in Accra, and went out in the afternoon to coco biti (beach - to big milly's) for dinner and one last hang out and wrap up.
It's been an amazing month (which went so quickly) and I've made so many amazing memories, with amazing people. It is exciting to be coming home for Christmas though, see you soon Australia!
For one last time, thanks for reading.
- Beck
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