Today I picked up a five year old boy for surgery called Santigo I was overwhelmed with joy as he threw his balloon at my face and burst into laughter and then continued to climb all over me and attempt to tickle me. I hardly noticed that he his right leg was not complete and from the knee joint his lower leg branched into a fork shape. The left leg was underdeveloped and his foot was gnarled into a club foot, curved underwards preventing him from walking on it.
When it came time to take him to the Operating Room he began to resist the idea until I offered a piggyback ride and then he was clambering aboard quite happily and we set off down the corridor.
Once in Theatre we began to prepare for surgery and as I did this I asked our day volunteer Jonathon what he thought of this child's condition and what the people of Sierra Leone believe. Jonathon is a smart man, he does not have a high education but he has an eager mind that is willing and keen to learn and is constantly asking me medical questions which I delight in answering. He is also a pastor and usually on Fridays we discuss what he will speak to his church about on Sundays.
His response amazed me “Before you people came, before the ship arrived I would have seen a person like this child with a deformity and believed that they are possessed by a bad spirit-many people believe this-but now that you have come I can now see that this is not true”. It was so good to hear, this belief of a “bad spirit” is what leads people to kill their children who are born with abnormalities or anything unusual here. I told him that where I come from people there are also born sometimes with abnormalities and he was so suprized and I saw a deeper understanding creep over his face.
Access to clean and adequate water in Sierra Leone has been a huge challenge so far. Once obtained it is has to go through a process of being treated by our water team onboard and being a crew of 450 people (and a hospital) we consume/need a lot. A few weeks ago we reached dire straights and they had to shut down our personal supply which meant that no-one was allowed to shower or do laundry. Since then we have managed to source more however it looks like it will be an ongoing battle.
Ontop of this sickness onboard is reported to be the worst it has ever been. Being a small community, bugs tend to travel fairly quickly however this year entire cabins are being wiped out (mine included) resulting in low moral and heavy workloads for many. The staff in the hospital is under a lot of stress and the leadership are working hard to find the reason behind all the sickness.
I thought I had left the "trapped" feeling of Togo behind and Sierra Leone would hold more Freedom. This is not sadly the case in Freetown (the capital and port city of Sierra Leone) and more than ever I feel a sense of claustrophia and sacrifice to be here. I'm very grateful for wonderful friends and the amazing community onboard the ship however the traffic is the limiting factor in Freetown, where there are too many people and not enough space. A few weeks ago for the first time in three months we went out for dinner to celebrate my cabinmates birthday. It took us two and a half hours to make it ten kilometres to the restaurant!
It was with great delight that I escaped for some rest and refreshment on Banana Island (a twenty minute boat ride away) with good friends over the Easter weekend. We stayed in very basic accomodation which had no electricity and just candles (I also shared my room with a bat one night and I have to admit I let out quite a scream when I discovered him hanging from the ceiling!). It was an amazing weekend and we enjoyed fresh fish, swimming all day long, bonfires on the beach and a time of reflection and fellowship.
love it! Thanks for sharing friend :) it's like i'm there with you again :) xoxo
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