Fishing, Dancing and Reality...

I am in disbelief that I have now been in West Africa for 5 weeks-I still have days where I have to remind myself of where I am-a dream come true-I am still soaking it all in and loving being here.

A few weekends ago I went away with 15 other girls to a rural village an hour and a half away called Possatome , which is one of 45 villages situated around a lake there. We went fishing with local fishermen-who taught us how to throw nets out to catch the fish-the graceful way they throw the nets makes it look so easy, however this is not the case I promise you!Townsville, Australia prepared me for the weather here, the heat and humidity is incredible-when it got too much we all jumped overboard to cool off:) The village people were so friendly, it was a nice change as the people of Contonou (where the ship is docked) are slightly more reserved. On the Sunday I went with two friends for a walk along the road to the nearby villages-meeting people all the way along-the kids are adorable and yell out "Yovo Yovo" which means "white person" in French, I am learning quite a bit of French already and my weekly French lessons are also helping!In the third village we met some children walking home from church carrying drums and instruments-I asked them to play for us&soon we had a big crowd and I managed to get everyone dancing-only afterwards did I realise that the entire village was watching!By the time we returned to our village we were very hungry so we attempted to ask a lady at a small mud hut (her shop) where we could find somewhere to eat food. She called her sons and they walked us through the village to a place where they joined us for lunch, they ordered us some African food which took an hour to arrive (African time) it was well worth the wait though. We had some hilarious conversations with our guides with the little english they knew; we had so much fun and a great day!

Last weekend I went along and spent the morning playing with children in an orphanage that Mercy Ships supports and visits every week. Our time there started off with dancing and singing followed by storytime and finishing with playdough-I felt like a kid again, it was alot of fun!There were 20 children there who are looked after by one lady and they are all so beautiful, for the entire 3 hours I had a little boy called Terri attached to me who was not happy if any of the other children tried to sit on my lap!I am looking forward to spending alot more time there in the next 5 months:)

Much to my dissapointment the Orthopaedic surgery for this year has come to an end due to some of the surgeons cancelling their trips-it makes me so sad to think that so many operations and club feet will not be operated on, however there are still other operations that are also equally important that will be done so I just have to remember that:) I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Orthopaedic theatre, the nurses I worked with were a lot of fun and the surgeons were very supportive. It was amazing to see patients hobbling into the Operating theatre on their severely deformed legs and the re-alignment happening before our eyes as the surgeons set to work, such a privilege to be apart of it all.

This month we have a theatre for Vesico Vaginal Fistual surgery; which is for woman who have had complications in childbirth. As a result of these complications and prolonged labour a hole in the bladder and vaginal wall is formed and they constantly leak urine. Sadly because of this condition they are left childless (due to the baby dying at childbirth) and they are often abandoned by their husbands, friends and family. Most of these woman travelled from the neighbouring country of Togo, they have the most amazing stories and some have suffered with leaking urine constantly for fifteen years or longer.

This week I witnessed a surgeon removing a tumour from a three month year baby's neck, which was the same size as the baby's head, it was very intense surgery and action packed however the tumour was removed successfully and the child is recovering well. Everyone on the ship is rejoicing as the baby was going to die without the operation and it was a very high risk procedure. It is moments like those that I realise this is all worth it, especially on the days when I am really tired:)

Of the 450 crew onboard there are many who are off the ship daily braving the heat (which I am sure I could not handle) involved in many different projects with the primary focus to mobilise the people of Benin and encouraging them to improve their own standards of living. We regularly have Doctors visiting from the local hospitals (and from all parts of Benin) who are being taught different procedures and nurses who come daily to work onboard. After the patients are well enough to leave the wards and go back into their community they go daily to a Hospitality centre (an old Warehouse that has being restored by Mercy Ships) where they have checkups and their wound dressings attended to. There is a Eye Specialist team and a Dental team that goes out daily to a clinic located in town. Over the 10 months that the ship is in Benin there are many programmes that are currently running which have been set up to help and equip the people of Benin in different areas; such as Agricultural, Adminstration in the Hospital, Biomedical Training and many more. There are weekly ministries that any of the crew can participate and join that include visiting the Orphanages, the Mental Hospital, and the Prison; a great opportunity to connect with the local people. I am really impressed and inspired by all the projects and ministries I have found out about lately and relieved to know that we are not just here to simply try and put a band-aid over the poverty here, but also hopefully help equip the people so they can help themselves in the future when the ship has left.

Today was a heartbreaking day as a second screening day which was scheduled to take place sadly was unable to go ahead. Due to surgeons cancelling their trips and there not being enough surgery space just over 1000 people had to be turned away, Mercy Ships tried to get the message out however the people did not believe the news and came from all over Benin (and neighbouring countries) in hope of having surgery. There was a very somber mood onboard, it was hard day for all of those who had to go and give the news to the hundreds who lined up for hours in the hot sun; there is so much need here and the reality of it is very sad.

The Port the ship is residing in is the 5th busiest in Africa so depending on how many boats are entering each day results in how much rocking we endure...it has been a rocky week I feel and there have been moments I have had to hold onto my sterile table so it does not end up across the room... don't worry we have brakes on the tables also:) Usually it is not that bad...anyway I hope this finds you all well, sorry it was quite a long blog...but until next time....Thanks for reading:)


Disclaimer: I serve with Mercy Ships. Everything here, however, is my personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships.