Living our Ghanaian Adventure
December 28, 2009
We have been here over 3 weeks now and have (and still are) adapting to the vastly different culture of Ghana. We are living with a host family in Ho, the capital town of the eastern most Volta region. Ho has a population of approximately 7000 people (however, this number is sure to be grossly inaccurate given what we have seen regarding the recording of births and deaths, and in fact any medical information for that matter!). The streets are slum-like; most people live in derelict mud or corrugated iron huts with access to running water, although no local can seem to explain the piping/sanitation system of Ho to us! Its probably best not to think about it! We are very lucky in that we are living in a host family that has a toilet which flushes as well as a shower! This disappointed us initially, as we wanted to experience the whole rustic experience of squatting over a drop toilet and washing with a bucket of water which we fetched out of a well, but our days at the hospital battling the great heat and humidity leave us tired and grateful for the luxuries which we have.
The hospital experience so far has been immensely challenging, confronting, amazing, horrifying, saddening all rolled into one! We have seen heart-breaking cases which have really tested us emotionally. One 30 year-old woman was tied up by her father to prevent her from going to a festival which he forbid. However he left the ropes on her hands for just under 12 hours, resulting in this woman having to have multiple finger amputations! We have witnessed a patient die in the waiting room. It was the very 1st time i have experienced the emotion of looking into a patients eyes and seeing fixed, dilated pupils ( indicative of death). We have participated in the HIV-aids clinic, seen mothers who have transmitted their infections to their newborns. We have witnessed patients being told they have HIV, showing no emotion, shedding no tears. Because in Ghana, death is a constant, people die of Malaria after suffering for 2 days. HIV is considered a "mild" illness in comparison, given that the average age of death after diagnosis is 12 years.
Despite all of these confronting experiences, we are facing a lot of hospital bureaucracy in terms of getting the hospital staff to allow us to DO rather than just observe. In spite of this, the things we are experiencing through pure observation have been amazing learning opportunities, ones which we will bring home with us.
Despite the struggle for everyday survival, Ghanaian's seem to be constantly smiling. They see death as an inevitable part of life and they find comfort in religion. They do what they can to get by each day and they are content with that. They live day by day, hour by hour. They don't "sweat the small stuff" here, and thats certainly a lesson that we will bring home with us.
The hospital experience so far has been immensely challenging, confronting, amazing, horrifying, saddening all rolled into one! We have seen heart-breaking cases which have really tested us emotionally. One 30 year-old woman was tied up by her father to prevent her from going to a festival which he forbid. However he left the ropes on her hands for just under 12 hours, resulting in this woman having to have multiple finger amputations! We have witnessed a patient die in the waiting room. It was the very 1st time i have experienced the emotion of looking into a patients eyes and seeing fixed, dilated pupils ( indicative of death). We have participated in the HIV-aids clinic, seen mothers who have transmitted their infections to their newborns. We have witnessed patients being told they have HIV, showing no emotion, shedding no tears. Because in Ghana, death is a constant, people die of Malaria after suffering for 2 days. HIV is considered a "mild" illness in comparison, given that the average age of death after diagnosis is 12 years.
Despite all of these confronting experiences, we are facing a lot of hospital bureaucracy in terms of getting the hospital staff to allow us to DO rather than just observe. In spite of this, the things we are experiencing through pure observation have been amazing learning opportunities, ones which we will bring home with us.
Despite the struggle for everyday survival, Ghanaian's seem to be constantly smiling. They see death as an inevitable part of life and they find comfort in religion. They do what they can to get by each day and they are content with that. They live day by day, hour by hour. They don't "sweat the small stuff" here, and thats certainly a lesson that we will bring home with us.
Posted by Claire Sharpin.
