My Final Ghanaian Words...
We had a great trip to the coast, starting at Takoradi where we spent the day on the beach. We relaxed in the sun, and I finally look as if I have spent time in Africa! The beach was gorgeous, with just a few small resorts. The next day, we traveled to Elmina and Cape Coast, where we toured the slave castles that were used during the 1500-1800's. We stood in the dark, hot, chambers, where thousands of African people were held and many died while awaiting to board the slave ships. They were kept for two months without bathing or toilet facilities, piled into the chambers like they were animals. Anyone who resisted, known as the Freedom Fighters, were taken to a small, isolated, dark room with no windows where they would die or would be killed. If a person could survive the horrible conditions for two months, they were considered "fit" enough to survive the trip across the sea to the New World. Millions of African people were taken from their native lands to be enslaved in Europe and the Americas, which hugely contributed to the wealth of these countries today. Meanwhile, Africa is still a struggling, developing continent. It is impossible for me to understand how people could treat their fellow human beings like this, and it wasn't all that long ago, as the slave trade was finally abolished in the mid-1800's.
We were a bit adventurous, too. We visited Kakum National Park, near Cape Coast, a preserved rainforest. I swallowed my fear of heights and walked the 350-meter suspended canopy walk. It is a walking bridge, suspended 50 meters by cables and rope between 7 tall trees. As we walked, we looked down onto the canopy of the forest, where we saw many birds and butterflies. There are chimpanzees and forest elephants, too, none of which we caught a glimpse. The bridge would wobble with every step we took, and more than once I wanted to vomit. But our guide, Emmanuel, assured me that there have been no casualites since the bridge was built, as he proceeded to RUN down the bridge. I had to be strong and finish so he wouldn't laugh at me!
In our last week here, we have spent time finishing things up at the hospital. We replaced the hard, rusty, broken labor beds with newer, clean, mechanical beds with thick soft mattresses. As soon as we rolled them into the room, a laboring woman came right in to use one. It makes a huge difference in the room's appearance, and I know the women will appreciate the comfort of the new beds. We also finished sorting the donated supplies, distributing hundreds of needles and syringes to all the wards. Because they were donations, the patients should receive them for free, which will make a big difference, believe it or not.
And our final project, which we will finish today, is an educational effort for the nurses. We are creating a teaching sheet to encourage the nurses to keep their patients informed of their diagnosis, medicines, treatment plan, and discharge instructions. These things are just the basic things that a patient should always be taught, but often patients here don't even know why they are even in the hospital. We hope to teach the nurses and leave them with this information, hoping to make a lasting impression.
As we look back on our few months here in Ghana, we have many mixed emotions. It seems so long ago that we started our work here, as we have seen and experienced so many things since. It has been more difficult than we expected, but we have learned so many things. We know that we have accomplished many things, but we can't help but feel disappointed that we were unable to do more. We have grown to appreciate a simpler way of living, and we know that we will be forever changed after living here. We look forward to returning to our comfortable lives, at the same time feeling guilty for wanting to go home. Anne and I are already talking about our next trip to Ghana, to work again with SVG, so we definitely haven't finished our work here for good. It will be a tough transition when we get home, probably involving a lot of tears, but we hope that our stories can influence others to become involved.
A lot of people have emailed and asked how they can help. So I'm going to put an idea out there for those of you who are excited about doing something. There is a very reputable organization called "Compassion International", which Anne and I have been involved with for a few years. Through Compassion, you can sponsor a child in a developing country for $32 per month, which pays for education, healthcare, and bible school . Anne and I have sponsored Geovany, a boy in Ecuador for three years, and we've watched him grow and learn more every year. I also sponsor a 5-year-old boy in Honduras, named Mainor, who will be starting school soon. The children will send letters and drawings, and you can write letters as often as you'd like. It makes the children and their families feel so special to know that someone cares about them, and they love learning about the United States too. I know that $32 is not a small amount of money for any of us, but I also know that our money goes a lot further in developing countries, and that these children need our help. Please, if you have time, check out the Compassion website, which is on my list of links here on this blog page. And if this isn't something that you can do, then please become involved at church, school, or in the community. There are so many things that you can do to support our work, whether it is in Africa, America, or next door.
Anne and I thank you all for sticking with us, for emailing us with encouraging words, for sending packages, for donating medicines, for reading this blog. It was invaluable knowing that we had people who cared and supported us from home, and we needed every bit of it. Only three more days until we arrive in Chicago!
We were a bit adventurous, too. We visited Kakum National Park, near Cape Coast, a preserved rainforest. I swallowed my fear of heights and walked the 350-meter suspended canopy walk. It is a walking bridge, suspended 50 meters by cables and rope between 7 tall trees. As we walked, we looked down onto the canopy of the forest, where we saw many birds and butterflies. There are chimpanzees and forest elephants, too, none of which we caught a glimpse. The bridge would wobble with every step we took, and more than once I wanted to vomit. But our guide, Emmanuel, assured me that there have been no casualites since the bridge was built, as he proceeded to RUN down the bridge. I had to be strong and finish so he wouldn't laugh at me!
In our last week here, we have spent time finishing things up at the hospital. We replaced the hard, rusty, broken labor beds with newer, clean, mechanical beds with thick soft mattresses. As soon as we rolled them into the room, a laboring woman came right in to use one. It makes a huge difference in the room's appearance, and I know the women will appreciate the comfort of the new beds. We also finished sorting the donated supplies, distributing hundreds of needles and syringes to all the wards. Because they were donations, the patients should receive them for free, which will make a big difference, believe it or not.
And our final project, which we will finish today, is an educational effort for the nurses. We are creating a teaching sheet to encourage the nurses to keep their patients informed of their diagnosis, medicines, treatment plan, and discharge instructions. These things are just the basic things that a patient should always be taught, but often patients here don't even know why they are even in the hospital. We hope to teach the nurses and leave them with this information, hoping to make a lasting impression.
As we look back on our few months here in Ghana, we have many mixed emotions. It seems so long ago that we started our work here, as we have seen and experienced so many things since. It has been more difficult than we expected, but we have learned so many things. We know that we have accomplished many things, but we can't help but feel disappointed that we were unable to do more. We have grown to appreciate a simpler way of living, and we know that we will be forever changed after living here. We look forward to returning to our comfortable lives, at the same time feeling guilty for wanting to go home. Anne and I are already talking about our next trip to Ghana, to work again with SVG, so we definitely haven't finished our work here for good. It will be a tough transition when we get home, probably involving a lot of tears, but we hope that our stories can influence others to become involved.
A lot of people have emailed and asked how they can help. So I'm going to put an idea out there for those of you who are excited about doing something. There is a very reputable organization called "Compassion International", which Anne and I have been involved with for a few years. Through Compassion, you can sponsor a child in a developing country for $32 per month, which pays for education, healthcare, and bible school . Anne and I have sponsored Geovany, a boy in Ecuador for three years, and we've watched him grow and learn more every year. I also sponsor a 5-year-old boy in Honduras, named Mainor, who will be starting school soon. The children will send letters and drawings, and you can write letters as often as you'd like. It makes the children and their families feel so special to know that someone cares about them, and they love learning about the United States too. I know that $32 is not a small amount of money for any of us, but I also know that our money goes a lot further in developing countries, and that these children need our help. Please, if you have time, check out the Compassion website, which is on my list of links here on this blog page. And if this isn't something that you can do, then please become involved at church, school, or in the community. There are so many things that you can do to support our work, whether it is in Africa, America, or next door.
Anne and I thank you all for sticking with us, for emailing us with encouraging words, for sending packages, for donating medicines, for reading this blog. It was invaluable knowing that we had people who cared and supported us from home, and we needed every bit of it. Only three more days until we arrive in Chicago!
posted by Sarah @ 1:52 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home