First Impressions

After 24 hours of flying, driving and boat rides we have arrived safely in Sierra Leone, Freetown. We arrived to the Stadium Hotel at midnight where I am handed two candles and some matches with a message that the lights in our room don't work, I feel exhausted and all I can do is smile. It turns out nobody's lights work as the power is out that night, a common occurrence here (at least once a day). Our beds are very thin mattresses on a piece of wood and the bathroom is a picture. Thankfully our room has air conditioning which works most of the time which is such a blessing! In the morning I step out of my room to look down upon a massive graveyard and observe a few Africans are casually lounging over tombstones (where they have clearly slept the night). I look up to the lovely hills of Freetown that frames the city and notice a smoky haze that hangs overhead (all day long) from the open fires the people cook their food on. The smell of Africa invades all of my senses and I love it. I will be honest not all the smells are pleasant yet so many of them hold wonderful memories for me. I felt a peace as soon as we arrived and walked out of the airport, which is located a twenty minute boat ride from Sierra Leone's capital port city, Freetown. I am with a team of thirty two people from all over the world who will also serve onboard the ship this year. While we are here we will be working for three weeks with an Orphanage that is for Handicapped, Crippled and children that have suffered the pain of the disease Polio (which interfers with your nerves therefore causing grosteque and extreme contracture). We have formulated a Children's programme based upon the seven fruits of the spirit (Peace, Love, Joy, Kindness, Patience, Self-control, Goodness, Faithfulness and Gentleness) from the Bible that God teaches us to live by and love others with. They are an incredible bunch of kids and our programme requires lot of crafts which they thoroughly enjoy. We are also helping to paint all their buildings and do some repairs for them. The advance team for Mercy Ships arrives in the country the ship is headed to four months before the ship does. This year has been very hard for them as there has been a lot of work required. They play a huge role in preparation for the ship-building relationships with the people is a big task, organising all the immigration paperwork for the ship, scouting out the country, sorting the ship berth that we will occupy for eleven months. The team also has to find a hospitality centre-a place where patients can come to after they have left the ward on the ship yet still require support and post-operative care. The centre also provides a bed for those who are travelling from all over the country after their surgery. We have been given the responsible for converting an old warehouse into our hospitality centre. It will have one air conditioned ward in it and two other rooms where patients can recover once they have left the ship. It is so encouraging to know that this is where our patients will stay and just this very thought helps us stay focused throughout the days. It is hard work as we are constructing the walls, doing all the electrical work, painting and cleaning up the whole place. The main obstacle is the heat, despite the lovely cool sea breeze that occasionally washes over us-it zaps our strength up leaving us feeling exhausted by late afternoon. The traffic here is diabolical, it is so crowded and we are in a van that can seat eighteen. It is African transport and so the people we pass on the street wear shocked expressions as we fly by them all squished in like sardines travelling just as they do. As we weave through the market place selling all the junk the western world sends here I am never bored and often grinning from ear to ear at the entertainment and the children that wave us on. The people here describe themselves as “happy faced” compared to the “straight-faced” people of Benin and Togo. I immediately understand what they are saying as they are a smiling, friendly open faced people, especially compared to other West African countries I have visited. When I look around at the people I am in disimbelief that Civil War occurred just nine years ago. It began in 1992 and ended in 2002 yet still there are affects here. In these early days I find myself very aware as I look around the market place and realise that any person over ten years old has experienced war, has lost someone and still has the memories from it. The cause of the war is very hard to pinpoint and also complex however I know that Charles Taylor in Liberia had an influence in the Civil War here and helped to stir up and encourage the rebels. The main weapon in this war was terror and innocent civilians were the victims of devastating atrocities committed against them, I have decided not to write them in my blog as they are too disturbing. The famous movie “Blood Diamond” was a key in shedding light upon the suffering Sierra Leone has endured in history and opened the eyes to the Western World of the “child soldiers” and the sad realities of the war. The war was not about the diamonds however the smuggling did aid in funding the war and the weapons. I find it so helpful to gain knowledge about the history of this country so I can better understand the people here that we will be be working with and alongside this year. The ship will arrive in ten days time and we are anticipating its arrival. After living “on land” I now see what luxury it is to have the Africa Mercy, to flick the light switch and not even think twice about it not turning on:) When the ship arrives end of February we will be busy working hard to get the ship ready for patients and screening. The main screening of all the people will take place March the 7th where thousands of people from all over Sierra Leone and neighbouring countries will travel and gather to find out whether we can help them through surgery. I know this will be a very long day-especially emotionally as there will be people that we cannot help. Until next time, Godbless:)

Freezing in Texas

During our chilly time in Texas we had to undergo Basic Safety Training, which is training required by marine law for anyone who lives onboard a ship for long period of time. It included firefighting, First Aid and Water Safety and was quite challenging. On the day we put out fires with exstinguishers and fire hoses (oxygen masks and all) it was negative 15 degrees with windchill! The day we had to do water safety, which involved practising righting a flipped raft; there was snow on the ground outside! So much of the teaching was interesting and I feel like I learned a lot for survival (especially at sea). Some might think this is not important when the Africa Mercy is docked for 10 months at a time in each West African country we are serving; however there is always the sailing to each country that has to be undertaken and I do hope to be apart of someday :) At present our thoughts and prayers are with the crew as they sail from South Africa (where the repairs have finally and miraculously finished) and are on there way to Sierra Leone, we are all so excited for their arrival! Hope you enjoy the photos :)