Nalerigu Day 19 with pics

Baskets, Baskets and more baskets….

Today was a wonderful day. I would classify today as hot, not hotter thanks to the rains yesterday. Call was MUCH better than my last with many admissions, but no deaths. I am very thankful. We finished pm rounds around 1130 and headed to bed only to be awoken twice through the night. The first awakening was around 530am when a motorbike parked directly outside our window started honking. I jumped (literally jumped) out of bed, went to the door to find one of our wonderful nurses in the men’s ward smiling at me. He was looking for some anti-venom to give a patient with a snake bite. The anti-venom is stored in the refrigerator of the house next to us as refrigeration at the hospital isn’t really an option. I sent them down to the next house to obtain their needed supplies. Around 630 am, I heard “doctor, doctor” outside my window. It was the exact same story, except this time it was one of my favorite sister nurses from the peds ward. I again sent them to the house next door. That was then end of my call.
After our usual morning routine we headed to the hospital for am rounds. The peds ward had a few more children in it after the admissions from the clinic day prior, but wasn’t too overwhelming. I was able to discharge several children and all were still alive from the day before. The baby with Down Syndrome is doing very well. He still has trouble breast feeding, but will take expressed breast milk without difficulty. Immediately after rounds were finished we had a 7 month old patient who chewed on a small amount of the family’s very acidic soap. The child developed sores in the mouth and had a moderate amount of pain. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do for this here. Thankfully, it was only a small amount. We are maintaining pain control and hoping for the best. Since this was a VERY short day of medical work, I’ll make toxic ingestion my disease of the day. Children are children and can get into anything, even here in Northern Ghana.

After rounds, most of the volunteer women got ready and headed off with Esahaku (our driver) to Bolgatonga again for a little shopping. We had gone to Bolga last week but spent the majority of our day at the crocodile pond and slave camp, so didn’t get much of a chance to see the city. The major attraction of the day was the baskets. This city has a warehouse area (mainly just little buildings side by side) where all of the baskets made by the women of the villages nearby are taken to be sold to stores in Europe or the US. There are tens of thousands of baskets in this small area. It was incredible. I must say, that I wasn’t very excited about the idea of basket shopping initially as baskets and bows have never really been my “thing”. This all changed today. The baskets here are phenomenal. Not only is it wonderful to know that they were handmade in the villages we pass by during our trip, but they are unbelievably beautiful with not one basket being exactly like another. The colors and the weave patterns were amazing. My task for the day was to find a basket for mom. It wasn’t difficult. I saw a basket right off the bat that I thought would be perfect for her, but I was concerned that it might be a little big to fit in my suitcase. I continued on through all of the stores, but there wasn’t a single basket that was as perfect as this one which is navy blue and tan with a little lid on the top. It is just perfect for carrying some quilting supplies. Regardless of the size, I bought it and will figure out a way to get it home. Incidentally, I also found two very colorful baskets for myself and two baskets for friends back home. I bought a total of five baskets which was pretty good considering some of my friends here have over 30 baskets themselves between our two trips to Bolga. They are that wonderful!

Some of you may be curious about how much a basket like these would cost. My baskets ranged from 4 Cedis (around 2 US dollars) to 18 Cedis (around 12 US dollars). My largest basket would have cost $60-100 at home. The baskets are beautiful and will certainly be enjoyed, but will never compensate for the joy that I feel in the work that we are doing here and the people we have met.

After returning home, I was pleased to find that Joyce had finished making my two skirts. I love them! She really did a great job and I am so excited to have some dress that is more Ghana appropriate (colorful and less bland). I then put on one of my new skirts, headed over to the other guest house for dinner and after dinner over to Dr. Dickens home for some dessert. The women here really know how to make delicious desserts! It was wonderful! I’m now back at home, finishing my blog before I head to bed. I need a little better sleep tonight before a hard day of clinic tomorrow.

Just a quick note before I sign out. I was doing some reading last night before bed and came across this most appropriate Bible verse I’d like to share from James 2: 14-17.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, it is dead.

There are people here EVERY day, most commonly children, who are naked and lack daily food. There are children who die because they are not fed. The pictures on National Geographic are not just pictures. The stories on the Discovery Channel are not just stories. They are real people. They are friends, parents, brothers, sisters and children. They are individuals that have more spirit, more strength, more hope than I have ever seen before though they have nothing of the material world. In some way, we all can help. We just need to take a little time out of our busy day to care.

Today, I’m thankful for the hope that the Ghanian people have given me. Hope that overcomes adversity, poverty and death.

What are you thankful for today?

Jill