CLEANING!!!!

These past two weeks we have been cleaning and doing more cleaning. The hospital closed a week and a half ago and now we are cleaning EVERYTHING!! We have to double bleach everything imaginable. It is very tedious and makes me thankful that I don't have to clean for a living.

AGLA and Zion Bar

Sunday, November 29th

On Sunday morning, I went back to AGLA which is a Pentacostal church, which I have attended to before and have enjoyed.

It was the same as my prior experience but the sermon was about do not worry. The pastor said do not worry about what you are going to eat after this service. That is a reality here. Most people here are fed and I haven't seen anyone starving like you see in photos. My experience here is that Africans live day to day and they are happy. I haven't met an unhappy African. Their lives are hard here but they are joyous. I am sure it is different in war torn counties and countries that have less amount of money but they are happy.

The church has wooden benches, dirt floor, three walls, a roof and that is it. But these people come and worship and dance and they sit through the 4 hour service without fans.

There is always a women who walks around and makes sure people stay awake. She taps on someone if they have fallen asleep. It makes me laugh every time i see this.

There was one boy there who I didn't see last time and he had orange hair which is due to protein deficiency. It made me said to see him and he looked said. He didn't smile like the other children, it broke my heart.

After the service, the pastor invited all of us over to his house for lunch. I was excited but was thinking I am going to get sick.

There was about 15 of us from Mercy Ships there. They had prepared for us to come. There were metal plates all set out for us and they were excited to have us. I saw one of the day volunteers there and she was so excited to see me. I haven't gotten that warm of welcome in a long time. It made me smile.

We entered his house and it was nice. They had tile floor and everything seemed to be clean and there was windows with shutters. The food was still cooked outside but it was overall nice.

We sat down and they brought out the appetizer (for a lack of a better word). It was a baguette and some bean soup that had some animal parts in it. I managed to stay clear of the animal parts and eat the beans and tit was good.

For the main meal, they served us fish (skin, fin and bones) in this red sauce. It was served with dried yams that are turned into a flour mixtures and boiled with water. I am unsure how to describe the texture but it doesn't have much flavor - it is a stomach filler. This is a typical meal here.

The food wasn't too bad but it was hard to eat this fish with the bones still in it. One of the bones got stuck in the roof of my mouth.

After we all ate, the pastor had hired a photographer to take a group photo because it was the last time that we will be able to go to the church because the ship is leaving.

FYI- I didn't get sick

In the afternoon, Christina and I, met up with the translators again. This time they took us to a reggae bar on the beach. When we arrived we saw other yovos (white people) which was strange and they weren't people we knew. I think it is odd to see other foreigners here. There was some older gentlemen who were with younger African women and it was obvious that the women were prostitutes or escorts or both.

We just sat around, had a drink and talked. We watched the sunset which was beautiful against the ocean. Then I got to see stars! I will miss seeing the sky from here. There is no light pollution to block you from seeing the stars.

My birthday!

For my birthday some friends and I went out to get drinks for my birthday. One of my friends, Maaike made me a chocolate cake. My friends sung me happy birthday. The owner noticed that I didn't have a candle so he came over and stuck a large candle on there and lit it for me. It was nice of him

We just sat around and talked and had a great time. The restaurant was located by the shore. So we could here the waves but you just had to ignore the sewage breeze every now and then.

Obama Beach

On Saturday, November 28th, I went to Obama Beach. This beach was obviously not always named after Obama but they changed the name after he became president. There is a huge poster of Obama's face and an American flag when you enter the beach.

Christina and I went to the beach to meet up with the hospital translators as a goodbye party. The translators had coordinated it.

Once everyone arrived, they went around and said what was their greatest experience on the ship. They didn't talk about the negative stuff at all which is not like the western way. Then they brought food and shared it with everyone. One of the women had brought African food that she had cooked. It was casava and fish. It was good but spicy.

After a while they started to play football and then a crowd came and others joined in. Spontaneously dancing happened. There was music playing from another party and somehow a dance party occured. The men did most of the dancing!! They love to dance here and they are good. It was a lot of fun.

AFter being all sweaty about half of the translators jumped into the ocean. Christina wanted to jump in so we both jumped in fully clothed and got soaked. It was fun.

We went back to the beach and all the translators sung me happy birthday. It was one of the most memorable moments here. I was standing on a beach and all these Africans who I know and worked with sung me happy birthday - it meant a lot to me. Afterwards they all went around and said what they wished for me for this next year. Most of them were very nice but one of them was funny and said he wished for me an African husband. All of them roared in laughter.

We hung out there for while, danced some more and then went home. It was a great day!

Grand Popo

On November 21st, I traveled to Grand Popo with a group of people from Mercy Ships. Grand Popo is a beach village. It is a few miles from the Togo-Benin border. It is about 2.5 hour drive from Cotonou.

12 of us crammed into a van and head out. We realized quickly that the driver didn't know how to get to Grand Popo. We started to laugh and said this is Africa. Luckily one of the women with us had been to Grand Popo and gave the driver directions.

After a hot 2.5 hour drive we arrived! It was beautiful. There was a hotel there, named Awala Place and we stayed there for the day. They had chairs on the beach and a hut for drinks.

The ocean rip tides are really strong here and it is evident when you place your feet in the water. When we ventured in the water, a guy from the hotel came rushing over to watch out for us. I could tell he was nervous that we were in the water. He was the unsaid lifeguard.

We relaxed in the sun and enjoyed being in peace and quiet. It was nice to be able to hear the ocean and that is it.

In the evening we all had dinner together. They ran out of chicken so the majority of us had to get fish. I had a white fish with this cream sauce and capers. It was actually pretty good.

Afterwards we watched the sunset and then headed back to Cotonou. The drive back is always interesting. There are huge pot holes in the road and the road isn't very wide. So we did a lot of weaving in and out and just praying we made it back in one piece, which we did! thankfully

Danotkpa Market

I went back to Danotkpa market to take some photos and show some other people the market.

This time though I did get hit by a man pulling a cart of goods. The roads are narrow and he came from behind me with cart and hit my right side of my body. He didn't even notice that he hit me and he kept going. I was fine but it was annoying.

I did see a lot more of the market this time. I saw where they were selling more live animals. I even saw puppies and kittens which i was surprised by.

it is tricky here with cameras. you have to try to be the least obvious as possible. they typically don't like cameras here.

Dryers

Maaike, Kate and I decided that we would have a good time playing in the hospital dryers at midnight! It was a good laugh!

Presidential Dinner

The president of Benin invited Mercy Ships to have dinner at their offices. They canceled on MS 3 times and finally on the 4th time it happened! This is Africa.

Everyone was all excited. Everyone got dressed up in their African outfits or nice clothes. People were taking pictures, it felt like prom.

We were told to be ready by 530pm. The government had to transport almost 400 people from the ship to the offices. They brought vans not buses. I didn't get there until almost 7pm and I wasn't the last person there. We passed through the gates to offices and you could see these military tanks, men in uniform and regular civilians. I wouldn't be surprised if the tanks that were in the grounds were the only ones that Benin had. There were about 4.

We unload from the van and we had to be checked my the military men.

We arrive is this waiting room which is large. At first you think it is nice but then you start to look. They had plastic chairs but not enough for everyone. At one point they brought out more plastic chairs but the chairs had the plastic wrapping on them and they didn't even bother to take the plastic off.

After about an hour of standing there, they served drinks. However they ran out of drinks. There wasn't even enough cokes for people for half the group.

There were huge wholes in the ceiling. The details were lacking as it commonly does in my experience here.

Around 830pm we get moved to another room where we are going to eat dinner. We have to go through a metal detector but it beeps for everyone so who knows if it actually worked. So we walk into this large room and it is decorated in orange and white. There were pillars that were partially wrapped in white plastic and had a orange bow on top.

The table had wrinkled white table clothes. The napkins were plastic, the plates were plastic and didn't match. All the tables had different candle center pieces. Some of our dinner ware was dirty.

Once we all got in the room, there wasn't enough seating. After about 20 minutes they came u with another table and placed some dinnerware there.

We sat there for another 30 minutes waiting for things to start. The president finally comes out and makes a speech about how much Mercy Ships has done for Benin and how grateful they are. We stand for this 30 minute speech.

Then we go stand in line for dinner. It was buffet style. By the time I got up there, they were out of meat and some of the other sides. The food was typical African food and it wasn't bad what I was served.

During dinner they had traditional Benin entertainment in the form of song and dancing. It was great to see. There was this one point though where these dancers came out dressed in the voodoo saucer outfits and it freaked me out. There is power behind those outfits. I felt very uneasy about it. Besides that the dancers were great. I saw two of the dancers giving necklaces from one dancer who was done to another.

Side note - I wore flip flops to the dinner.

The dinner and the experience was an experience that I would normally never get. It was just amazing to see even at the Presidential level how much of Africa is still there. It makes me think how far off Africa is from the Western world. The simple things of drinks, places settings, food, etc. The fact that we ate 3 hours the time we were suppose to. Don't get me wrong, they did the best that they knew how to and that is commendable. It was just eye opening.

Betetekoukou

The Sunday after Dassa we went to Betetekoukou. We traveled to this village because we wanted to see hippos. The road there could barely be called a road. It was a dirt road with huge wholes everywhere.

The interesting part was that we got to see a lot of villages along the way. This was rural Africa. No running water or electricity. All there homes were made out of mud and their roofs were grass.

When we got to the village we got a local guide to take us on a "boat". Our boat was a carved out old tree and our guide was paddling. We were out on the water for about 2 hours but didn't see a hippo. In some way I was glad that we didn't because if we did and the hippo came close, then it wouldn't be a good situation. Hippos kill more humans than do crocodiles.

After there we needed to head back to Cotonou. Our driver had got directions from another local and for a good 2 hours i thought we were lost and that we were not making it back. The dirt road was going on for days and there are no signs. I was sitting in the front seat and I could tell the driver was not 100% sure of where he was going. The moment that we ended on paved road I was so relieved. We made it back in one piece.

Dassa

A group of us went to Dassa-Zhomey on the weekend of November 7-8th. It was Kate, Jenna, Kimberely and I who went.

We left early on Saturday morning. It was a 4 hour drive from Cotonou. However getting out of Cotonou took an hour. Traffic everywhere! Only the big main roads are paved and the rest of dirt roads that have big pot-holes in them.

We made it out of Cotonou and once we were a little ways out, the traffic started to clear up. every now and then we would drive through a town and usually a market was going on. There were women lined up at the side of road selling anything and everything. We would come along strips of people selling the same thing, like charcoal or tapioca, and I was wondering how they make money if so many people are selling the same thing within a foot of you.

The main highway had huge pot holes that would pop up in the middle of no where. also there are no lines on the "high way" and passing is always a little dangerous. needless to say there were moments when I was scared but I survived , as is Africa.

When we were close to Dassa the landscape started to change. there were hills and open land. It was beautiful. Dassa is known to have 41 hills. They may not have 41 but Africans still claim that.

On the way into the city, we stopped at the catholic basillica. It was huge. I was amazed they built anything that size in Africa, especially a church. There was a main church building but there was also an altar outside as well.

Then our next task was to find a hotel. We tried the "nice" hotel first but it was all booked up. Our next option was the hotel with no running water, which I was prepared for. However we found another hotel that had one room for the four of us. This hotel had running water! However one of us had to sleep on the floor, which Jenna volunteered for.

We set out to go climb the hills. We went back to the church and found a local guide. The reason for the guide was because some of the hills are used for voodoo sacrifice. Our guide had a to pay a man to go up the hill. It was a pretty good hike up but once we got up there and looked out upon Dassa, I couldn't believe my eyes. So amazing.

After that we went walking around the town. Dassa is so much calmer and quieter then Cotonou. It was just nice walking around and not worrying about being run over.

We came across a Fan Milk store. Fan Milk is their "ice cream" or frozen juices here. Typically guys walk around with carts or on bikes selling it. They are not too bad and you can't beat anything cold when it is hot outside.

Also along our walk we came upon women gathering water out of a well. So we went over and we asked if we could try and they let us. So we all took turns gathering the water and we really had a good time. What impressed me the most was that these women lift ups these huge buckets of water and then put them on their heads and walk with them without spilling them.

A funny incident happened. One of the women was motioning to me that she wanted my shirt, I dont know why, the one I was wearing. So I lifted my shirt up a little bit to sure her I couldn't because my stomach is so pale and she screamed! I started to laugh.

We walked to a hotel for dinner. I had chicken and french fries which is typical option on menus. There wasn't much chicken there because the animals here are small. The strange thing about this hotel was that they had ostrich in the back of the hotel. I have no clue why but they had 4 of them. They were caged up with not very good wire but there was some sort of fence there.

VVF

VVF stands for vesicovaginal fisutla and is women have a whole between the bladder and vagina, which results in this women leaking urine all the time. This is typically caused by prolonged labor, usually days, and the result is usually a still birth. On rare occasion, rape can also cause VVF.

This does ever occur in the states, and if it does it is very rare, and the reason for that is because we have health care, c-sections, diagnostic test, etc. This occurs here typically in remote villages where there is little to no health care.

Often times this women become abandoned and their husbands kick them out of the house. The women are usually from remote villages in the northern parts on Benin or surrounding countries and they have travel hundred of miles to make it to the ship Keep in mind these women are very poor and transportation here is nothing like back home. Driving 10 miles can take an hour.

To make the situation more complicated, the surgery does not always fix the problem. Some women require multiple surgeries (which has to happen over many months to years) and even then some women can't be fixed. This is due to many variables, such as the tissue that the surgeon has to work with, the number of fistulas there are , the size of them, etc. Also it can't be just any surgeon the surgeon has to be especially trained in this. So the surgeon has typically had to work in Africa and get trained.

So Mercy Ships is performed 20 surgeries over the past 2 weeks for these women. These women take many weeks to heal and their post operative care is long and involved.

I was not particularly looking forward to caring for them and I thought I wouldn't have to because I am a pediatric nurse. I was wrong. So last night was my first night to work with these women and I was a little nervous because I didn't know how to properly care for them at first. I asked a lot of questions and became comfortable. During the night, I started reading their charts for their medical and social history and my heart became heavy. We ask if these women were left by their husbands, if they had any kids, can they read or write, etc. Most of these women were left by their spouse, most cant read or write and they will probably never have children again. It just broke me inside. The fact that I even take for granted that I educated enough to be able to communicate and I have the ability to learn whatever I want to. Also that I have healthcare where this doesn't happen and it shouldn't have to happen in the year 2009.

I am really glad I ended up with this ward with these women. They have been through more pain then I will ever know. They have been outcasted and they leak urine all the time. Many for decades or more.

I could go on and on but I have to go to work. I will see what tonight brings.

Dantkopa Market

Today I went to the biggest market in West Africa, the Dantkopa Marche, with Kate. They sell everything there: goats, crabs, fish, clothes, soap, jewelry, dishes, prepared food, etc. There are people everywhere and navigating through the traffic is difficult but not as difficult as the African women balancing things on their head and walking through the crowds. We saw a women carrying a plate with a rim and the rim had clothes on hangers on it. She was a walking clothes rack. Goats were tied up together. I saw live crabs. You could live chickens. Any sort of meat you could as for. Then you can also shop for any apparel that you would want.

I wasn't able to take photos in the market because it was so crowded and I would stand out more then I already do.

Questions on Top of Questions

I have almost been here 5 weeks and my stay is almost half way done, which is hard to imagine. It has been a huge transition here to Africa and to the ship. I have fallen into a routine and now I have begun questioning.

When we are back home we know that Africa has a lot of need and that things are bad over here but you have no idea how massive it is until you get here. When I first got here you see the surface problems but after awhile you see how deep the issues go. I have begun questioning why are we helping a nation or maybe the continent that doesn't want to help itself? Benin isn't all poor, well at least in Cotonou. There are some, granted it is very few in comparison to the whole population, that have a lot of money. There are some buisnessmen who drive BMW and have western style houses. Why aren't they helping their own people?

Also are we doing any good at all? I believe that all NGOs do both harm and good and you just hope the good out weighs the bad. I know that we are performing so very life saving surgeries here. There are many people here that have tumors that are slowly suffocated them or making them starve because their tumor is pressing on their esophagus or trachea. Also there are other surgeries that restore large wholes that are missing out of people's faces. This all being the case, are we making a lasting impact or we just helping individuals have a better life and if so is that what Africa needs?

There have been a lot of books that have written recently discussing that foreign aid is not helping africa and in fact that is harming the continent, which I believe. The USA, World Bank and UN, all have good intentions but they are giving massive amount of money to Africa and it going into the hands of the corrupt and it is not making a difference. So what does Africa need then? I am a big supporter of micro-financing is that the answer?

When did all this poverty in Africa start? This is a vast continent that has a wealth of resources but it is so far behind the rest of the world?

I have also noticed that life is a lot more expendable here. In Benin the average life span is 55, which isn't too bad. However there is no fear of death here. Death is common. I have seen many mothers who are disconnected from her child and it is often due to the child having a defect and some are as little as a cleft lip or cleft palate. I try to look at it through the women eyes and I guess when there is no form of both control and you have a lot of babies and many of them die I guess it is easy for that to happen, I am not sure. Then the question arises how do you teach someone that the child or person has value because they have life in them?

There are so many questions and I will have ton more. I don't regret coming here or helping out Africa but I will still continue to question. Maybe I will know the answers one day when I got to heaven, maybe.

Bab's Doc

On Saturday I went to Bab's Doc with a few friends. Bab's Doc is a doc that is located on a lagoon. It was so nice, peaceful and quiet. The best part of the trip was that I was able to escape from the noise, pollution and the poverty of Cotonou. I never realized until being here how important that is to decompress.

I went kayaking and swam in the water. However most importantly, I just relaxed!

For lunch I had beef kabobs, which was surprisingly good. It was nice to have a good piece of beef.

Bab's Doc is owned by a man and woman from Belgium.

Engine Room

My friend Gray, who is from Ghana, took Lotte and I down to the engine room which is located on Deck 2. Deck 2 is completely underwater. When I got down there I was amazed at the size of the room and anyone can keep everything straight. It is very noisy , with lots of alarms going off. Gray took us around an explained everything to us.

He showed us the back up generators and explained why Mercy Ships has to go to dry dock in South Africa. The back up generator causes the ship to move too much so if we needed to use it then no surgeries could be performed. So in South Africa they are cutting a huge whole in the side of the ship to take out the old generator and put in a smaller one. The cost them about $6 million to do this.

October 15: Porto Nov"

On October 15th, some friends and I went to Porto Novo for the day. Porto Novo is the capital of Benin but is not the main city of the country. Porto Novo has the more "culture and arts" in comparison to Cotonou but all the main business is done in Cotonou.

When we arrived it was a dramatic difference from Cotonou. The streets weren't as crowded. There wasn't as much pollution and there were a lot fewer new/modern buildings. It was nice to be out of the noisy city.

We went to a museum which use to be an old palace of some lineage of kings. There are a lot of kings still present in Benin even though the government here is a democracy.

The museum here is nothing like back home. It is pretty much the old palace with some random "artifacts" that aren't well kept up. It was interesting to see where the kings lived and had all their 41 wives. Furthermore, all the kings were buried in the palace as well.

Afterwards we walked to the botanical gardens, where we had lunch. The lunch was actually very good. I had a chicken sandwich which was fresh with onions and other vegetables. It was a nice change of pace from the food on the ship. The botanical garden was very simple, mostly trees with some labels. Some the trees were very impressive, I have no idea what they are called and I have never seen them before. Also in the botanical gardens there were monkeys! We had bought bananas beforehand so we fed them to the monkeys, it was great to be so close to them! They were very friendly.

work on the ward

Working on Mercy Ships is different from back home. Things are busy and we get really sick patients sometimes but we have a good time working. Managers and fellow staff are always supportive. Everyone here is on a first name basis. The physicians are always willing to teach and are appreciative of the nurses.

The picutres are from out cancer awareness day and we wore pink. We put on patient gowns and wore them for the whole shift!