Trip of a lifetime to Ghana

The Adventure to Ghana began with 16 of us (including our driver) packing into a van like sardines with all of our gear strapped on to the top of the roof (true African style) at 4:30am Thursday morning. We knew our main obstacle would be the traffic (hence leaving so early) and crossing the border patrols. We smoothly made our way through Togo, stopping many times to sort our visas and passports and then the journey through Togo began. We went a particular route as we were heading towards a village called Wli, known for its amazing waterfalls, located just on the border between Togo and Ghana. I was in my element as we drove across the beautiful lush green countryside through small remote villages where the children screamed with excitement when they saw us and ran after our van to get another glimpse of the "Yovo's".

After 12hours in a warm, cramped rather uncomfortable van we were relieved to arrive in the village of Wli. The motel we stayed at was run by a lovely Ghanian couple who a few of the boys knew quite well from previous trips to Ghana and their hospitality was incredible.

After unpacking our van, we prepared to go camping and as we walked through the village with our packs loaded on our backs we recieved many stares. As we arrived at the start of the track I was very amused to see a crowd of thirty villagers sitting around staring intently at a television they had set up (one of the few in the village I believe).

With our guide Alfonz and his brother (who kindly carried our heavy tent on his head) we started off up into the beautiful hills of Ghana, a steep trek which lead us to the top of a hill that overlooked the village below and the incredible waterfall nearby. We set our tents up as the sun was setting and then gathered around the fire Alfonz had made us, for dinner and marshmallow toasting. My Australian friend, Sarah and I decided to sleep under the stars protected by a mosquito net-it was a warm night and I fell asleep to the faint sound of African drums from the village below, the waterfall and the baboons grunting in the forest (don't worry they didnt come anywhere near us!).

After breakfast in the morning we headed back down to the village passing woman who were washing clothing in the river (a bit different from our washing machines hehe) and were greeted by children wanting me to take their photos and give them piggyback rides; a lot of fun and laughter was had. It was really nice being able to communicate with the people of Ghana since they speak English unlike Benin and Togo who speak French. After a bit of relaxing and lunch we set off to the lower waterfall which took an hour of gentle walking through the bush by which time we were ready for a swim. Due to it being rainy season the falls have a lot of water coming down which made it hilarious and very heavy when you were under them, you could hardly see the person next to you when you were under them and it was a fantastic experience to stand behind the waterfall. As I walked out of the waterfall I looked up to see hundreds of bats circling overhead as they nest on the rockface above, I was glad they were high above us:)


In Africa when someone dies or gets married it is an expensive affair and quite common for the family to spend all of their money on the event therefore leaving them bankrupt. This often means that couples will wait until they have the money to marry and they will freeze the body of the deceased person until they have enough money for the wake; a tradition they are trying to discourage as it costs families so much of their savings and results in more poverty. The weekend we were in Wli they were burying three of the village elders and when Africans have a funeral they party for three days straight; it was amazing and the music never ceased. Although at times it kept us awake and meant less sleep I thoroughly enjoyed the music and the dancing and the vibrancy of the village:)

That night we all sat down to a delicious meal of traditional African food, at first I was not so sure about the food here however I now love it. I was rather adventurous and tried quite a few different meals which were very nice; they eat a lot of chicken, goat and have a lot of great fish here aswell. There is a type of savoury banana that they cook called Plantan which at first I was sure I would never touch and now I request it frequently:)

The next morning Alfonz lead us up over mountains through the African bush for 5 hours along a track (using a macheti to clear parts of the path at certain points) to the top waterfall; I enjoyed every moment of it (even the steep parts!). The top waterfall was powerful and an incredible sight and well worth the walk and hard work to get there. After a swim and some lunch we began the descent down to the lower waterfall which was very steep in parts and most of the way we could hear loud music and commotion going on below. We were all joking about what we would find when we got there but were unprepared for the sight that greeted us as we approached the lower waterfall. There was over a thousand people dancing and swimming and having a wonderful time with the DJ pumping out African music over the speakers that were run by generators, we gladly brought fizzy drinks that were sitting cooling in the water. I was soon dragged into the dancing by one of the local African men who taught me some dance moves, at that moment it really dawned on me what amazing dancers these people are.


We returned to our motel to find more lovely African food awaiting us for dinner and ready for bed after a long day of hiking through the bush. Sunday it was back through the borders, across Togo and we arrived back in Benin 12 hours later. It was an awesome adventure, the best I have had so far. It was so much fun to spend the weekend away with 14 other people from all over the world-everyone here has a story and I love hearing how people have got here. It is also an honor to share about how I have arrived in West Africa and all of the people who have helped to get me here, I know that without the financial support and everyones kind words of encouragment I could not be here.

Hope this finds you all well wherever you are, you are with me often in my thoughts and prayers :)

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.

The Rain Season

The rain season has arrived in Benin-it only takes a few downpours and the streets and houses quickly become flooded, I am still in disbelief that the people here can live in these conditions.
Last week I went running with friend in the afternoon-we were dodging puddles the whole time, making the run a lot more fun and interesting:) However we soon came to a street where a lake had formed and a few people on the side of the road began to laugh at us (we joined them in doing so) and began to turn back. One of the men then motioned that we could get across and before I realised what was happening he had rolled up his trousers, taken off his shoes and the next thing you know I was being carried across on his back!There was a lot of laughter all around-especially from the small children who thought it was a great joke! The African people really dislike the rain and the streets are very quiet during this time, it is not uncommon to see people who are out wearing shower caps...I'm not joking:) there is a use for everything here, which is why we have to be very careful with our rubbish-especially the hospital waste-I have heard of the drapes we use to cover the patients in operations being used as tablecloths therefore you can understand the importance of making sure anything with blood on is disposed of correctly...

Recently I spent the day with friends adventuring to a nearby village called Ouidah. Ouidah was one the most important slave trade ports from the 17th to 19th centuries where millions of African people were sold into slavery. The main religion here in Benin is Voodoo which stemmed from these times and its roots are found in the Dahomey Kingdom. In the center of the town of Ouidah there is a tree, which we were told is where the African people were made to walk around in a Voodoo ritual with the belief that this practice would wipe their memory of their past before being sold into slavery. We walked along a beach that was the single most highly-trafficked embarkation point for West African slaves headed over the Atlantic to the Americas, many were transported to Haiti and Brazil. This photo is a monument just before the beach called "The Gate Of No Return" where millions of African people were taken and sent as slaves throughout the world. Nearby was the Temple of Pythons where they have hundreds of snakes, which they let out at night and collect in the morning-I did not venture near the place!It was an interesting experience and also very moving.

Last week had its challenges, we did some major Paediatric general surgery with the Spanish Surgeon (who I have been working with for the last four weeks) and they were long days. On the Thursday a baby that we had performed two operations on died post-operatively and I felt a sense of discouragement to say the least. Sunday morning I attended the Ward church service and the music, the patients dancing and rejoicing was lovely. I felt my spirits lift when I looked around me and realised I was surrounded by children and small babies that we had operated on throughout the week. It was such a special moment when each of the mothers placed their babies in my arms to carry to theatre-it dawned on me how hard it must be to place your child into the arms of someone you have never met before and trust that you will look after their baby-afterall we are "The Yovo's in the Big white boat".

One of the hard aspects of living in community with 450 other people is that there are always people departing; it can be very hard to watch friends leave. However there are a lot of people who are here long term and I just have to remember there are always people arriving who will no doubt soon become good friends:) Have I mentioned how delicious the food here is?Many of you joked that I would not be eating very well, however we are very fortunate to have fantastic chefs who keep the menu fresh and with a lot of variety. Of course there are days where you wish you could make exactly what you feel like however I am very grateful for the lovely food that we are served daily:)

I am missing you all a lot,
You are in my thoughts often,
Take care& until next time
Auf Wiedersehen....

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.

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.

Luggage and Languages :)

Time for another Benin update:)
Well the good news is that my luggage finally arrived 5days after I got here!After being shown to a big room filled with lost luggage and claiming it-I had to go through the security check (which consisted of two men dressed up in Army costumes, they looked rather amusing-especially when they put their surgical masks and gloves on:) usually they poke at your bag however I must have looked suspicious since they asked me to open mine up so they could have a look inside. Unfortunately I had forgotten my padlock combination!They looked very unimpressed when I motioned that I could not open it-I managed to get the lady who was with me to come in and talk to them; she rattled off in French that I was a Mercy Ships volunteer, thankfully their very stern faces soon broke into smiles&I was so relieved when they let me take my bag:) It was like Christmas to have all of my own gear again!

The 6 theatres are amazing and have been really well organised-the equipment is all first world which makes it a lot easier for me as I already know how to work alot of it:) So far I have been in the Maxofacial theatre working with a lovely surgeon who has been here for 23 years, he came for 3 weeks originally and never left!Last week I worked in the General theatre with a Spanish Surgeon, I am learning both Spanish and French rather quickly as he asks for instruments and attempts to communicate with me in both languages! I am seeing amazing operations in theatre and learning alot, I asked one woman who was having a Throidectomy (a very disfiguring growth on the front of her neck) how she was feeling and she responded with a big smile "excited", it left me a bit speechless since I am so used to people saying "nervous"!The communication barrier is hard at times, however I have found it amazing how a smile and a hug can go so far!we also have translators to help us with the pre-operation check and when we pray with each patient before they go into the Operating room, it is really nice:)

The poverty here is still shocking me, the conditions that the people live in is quite devastating and also so humbling- it all makes me realise how very blessed I am to have grown up in New Zealand:) The housing here is a combination of basic huts made out of anything from tin, concrete and palm tree leaves. Most of the people dress in bright colours and outfits though which brightens up the place a lot!Five minutes out of Contonou (the capital) the roads are covered with potholes and their petrol stations consist of bottles filled up on the side of the road with funnels coming out of them, quite a site! This weekend I went with a group of people on a boat out to Stilt Village, it is a village of 20,000 people who live in houses that are propped up on stilts and their transportation are wooden canoes. It was amazing to see their market which consisted of women sitting in their boats with all of their produce around them that they were selling!The waterstation (where they were filling up their drums with safe water) was also a very busy spot:) The village was a 18kl boat ride from Contonou.

I am oncall a few times a week and you have to stay onboard all day. On sunday I was oncall so I attended the church service on the ward, what an experience!There was so much passion, the drums were going and the patients that could stand were up dancing with joy during the worship, their voices are beautiful-I did a lot of laughing, it was a very fun morning:)

You will understand how pleased I am that there are many people who are keen on running so I get to go out most mornings with a group of people-the warm Australian climate was great preparation for running here-even at 6am it is HOT!:) I look forward to the day I will run in fresh air again...the smells here are quite strong at times&I cannot believe some of the conditions people live in, I guess it doesn't always come down to choice though. We are often looked at with much interest and I hear the word "Yovo" being called out often, which means "white person" :)

I hope this finds you all well....
Missing everyone...
Will update you again soon on my West African Adventures :)

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.

The Beginning of West Africa :)

Well after 28 hours of flying I arrived in West Africa, sadly my luggage did not...um temporarily lost, however for some reason I was not suprised to hear it&was almost expecting I would not find it when I got there...silly I know...I am hoping it will arrive tomorrow when the next flight comes in. The beginning of the culture shock began in Brazzaville, Congo where we stopped on the way to Benin-the plane was very empty and a few people got off and within seconds it filled to the brim with African people-I was one of the 5 white people onboard&it was so strange to be in the minority but also very refreshing:) I spent the next 3 hours with my personal space being invaded by the lady next to me, who was actually a man...the beard was a slight give-a-way despite his/her layers of makeup!

Everyone onboard this ship is so lovely&friendly, I have made a good friend already called Beth who is South African&a real laugh-we ventured into town on saturday-it was very hot&overwhelming!The people of Benin are lovely&friendly-they are drawn to my hair I think-haha-we went to a phone shop to try and get a SIM card&the security guard took us in and treated us like royalty taking us to the front of the queue, it was very embarassing!I was a little nervous as there were people approaching us constantly but it was fine-I recieved my first marriage proposal from an old Benin man at the markets, told him I would consider it-think I'm going to wait for a better offer-see if they are willing to throw in some goats or furniture:)

The orientation of the ship has been really great&I am so humbled to see people who have flown across the world to come onboard to serve food, cook, clean toilets etc-there are so many roles yet they are all so important.

The ship has 8 levels& is quite amazing!They have everything here it seems-an internet cafe, library,a small gym, a Starbucks (the Americans cannot live without it!),a pool on the top deck!There are SO many activities!!!running groups (hooray!), french classes (which i have signed up for), and there always seems to be a party going on or a celebration for someones Birthday. There are 5 other people in my cabin-it is fine- people are leaving and arriving all the time its crazy!!!Getting used to the ships rocking...its is only slight but the higher up the ship you go the more you notice it!Great for sleeping:) 450 People from all over the world here...American, Canadia, Dutch, German, Sweddish, Australia, Nz the list goes on!

I will be starting in the Operating Theatres tomorrow-the OR Manager is lovely&they are so blown away that i am staying for 6months, most theatre nurses only stay for 2 weeks!

This morning I went to a local church-it was absolutely AMAZING!!!even the drive there was mindblowing-everyone here rides scooters&you don't need a license so you can imagine the chaos!They don't have to wear helmets either&there is no limit to how many people you can carry-the most I've seen is 5 people on one, an entire family:) Do not worry, I would not hop on one if you paid me!The church we attended took about 15 minutes to drive too from the ship-Mercy Ships has about 10 4wheel drives with their name on it so as soon as people recognise it they greet you instantly-they are so grateful for the work being done here&even in town they look out for you&make sure no-one is bothering you!The poverty here is astounding-the church was down a backroad&I am not joking when I tell you that to get to the building we had to cross stepping stones through a river that was running through the street!The church was basically a roof& the seats were planks on bricks-we were given deck chairs though to sit on at the front of the church!I think this was because we were visitors but also because the section where we would normally sit had a pool of water in it...haha yes there was a small pond in the middle of the church, the floor was dirt. Their worship was breathtaking, I've never seen such passion before in church-they were dancing and when the drums got going the atmosphere was electric! The woman were all dressed up in bright vibrant dresses with headgear-the children were my favourite-they kept falling asleep throughout the service:)

Well this is the beginning and I shall keep you updated:)

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.