Initial 10 days in Ghana

Well, it's hard to know where to begin. . .

I guess the fact that we are so very glad to be here. And the amount of work to be done is unbelievable! ! ! The reception is humbling. . . from EVERY being we have had contact with. And believe me, when I tell you how many that is, it's hard to believe we have not even been here a full 2 weeks.

It is a true honor and miracle to be part of the whole-the tiniest detail to the enormous responsibility. There WILL be HOSPICE IN GHANA. Thanks to Fr Benson, who is a true visionary, and to HBTS and all those who will contribute, we will all be part of something awe-inspiring and amazing. Just pray that the electric won't go off as it has already for an hour while we were at Fr's house to send email. . .

That's a frequent occurrence, just as we have been without running water at our house for 4 days, because our big tank was emptied. That meant we had plenty of water, but we had to fetch it from a smaller tank (right next to the kitchen) by bucketfuls for bathing, the kitchen, and to flush the toilets. . .

We are very grateful for the two lovely people that live with us-23 yo Akosua, a Ghanian university grad, and Michael, a 24 yo pre-med student from Rhode Island. Both have marvelous dispositions and senses of humor! We have all learned enormous amounts from each other already.

If anyone feels adventurous when they come and want a real exchange sort of experience, I would strongly invite you to join us. It is a little compound Fr B uses to train chaplains of all faiths in the care of the sick. They are only there part of the year. We have spent a lot of time, and had some help, to scrub and clean and organize. I scrubbed down 2 toilets, and Michael 1. By the time YOU come, it should be in good shape. Silvia does most of the cooking, but everyone helps a lot! And we have eaten a lot of the Ghanian food as well. . . Different, but doable.

Right now the weather is hot, I imagine 90 plus. We have only been one place with A/C, and that was a lecture attended by the Archbishop, and government officials. Other than that, there are ceiling fans available, including in each room in our "home". Most of our time however, is spent outside under canopies and seeking shade. . . When you come Fr B WILL have a facility, I'm absolutely sure, that will be more comfortable. Matthew 25 house is about the size of Paula's office. That is the main floor and meeting room. Upstairs, there are 3 or 4 small counseling rooms. . . Then outside, they cover the open space with a canopy.

And it is there, outside in 90 degree weather under a very hot canopy, that we have taught or will teach approx 200 + this week and last. We did discussion tables of 8-12 or more, about self-love and self-care, physically, mentally, sexually, and spiritually. The spiritual was the only one that was pretty cut and dried. The other subjects were WIDE-OPEN!!! Akosua and Michael and two others from Matthew 25 were involved, because we needed an interpreter. 2 days were women, one was men only, and the other was mixed, because it was the day for PLs (persons living with HIV). Two more days left. . .

Silvia and I developed the outline, then adapted it with Akos who told us what happens here. Men feel "entitled" to have a wife (farm) and then he is more of a man the more other women he has (gardens). If a woman tries to say no, she either gets beaten or thrown out and has no means of support. Fr B warned us ahead that these were "street people" meaning they earn their living on the street (not homeless). A lot of sex for money, because it is a way a woman or girl can earn money if they have no trade, etc.

About 1/3 of the women could NOT WRITE THEIR NAME. Just their name, never mind literacy. . . Most men could write their name, but not much more. We had apprentices around 16-18 yo to "madames" (shop owners) along with auto mechanics, pastors, dressmakers, etc. It was so EXCITING! They paid CLOSE ATTENTION, asked so many questions, and laughed a lot. We talked about HIV, STDs (symptoms, having sex with, and treatment of). Also discussed was one person forcing another, domestic violence (there are laws, but when the man gets out he goes after the woman), trusting friends (it doesn't exist), and positive thinking, getting medical care right away for any symptoms (Nat'l health Ins is $12 per year here, per a new law, but some don't even have that much).

We ended each session with stickers on 1/2 of a 3x5 card. They had either stars or hearts- we didn't think the men would use them, but they didn't hesitate 10 seconds. And they preferred hearts!!! Thank goodness, I had just picked up some for Valentine's Day, I wasn't sure why. . . Then we also had a big packet of colored markers and every single one of the people used so many colors! Father and Michael were so surprised! In a way I was surprised also, but the way we approached it and their responses, I knew we had hit a nerve.

In between trying to help with the St Valentine's day education program, we have been on a whirlwind parade. Fr B really had to wait until he knew someone was really coming, and then he's off and running. I'll try to list our meetings so far and future plans.

Mother Superior, Sister Brigitte, and Sister Cecilia, a nurse-midwife who runs a clinic.

Archbishop of Accra, Bishop and priests of K'dua

Head of Health Ministry for all of the Eastern Region (K'dua is the capital).

A nurse who is like the Head of nurses for the Health Ministry of the Easter Region (It's like Ghana is the country, the Eastern Region is the whole state, and K'dua is the capital of the state.)

Nancy, an ENT nurse who runs a clinic

Seven architectural students who are going to compete to design the first hospice building of the country! Fr is looking for a more economical building that would nevertheless serve the purpose.

The Asst Dir of Nurses of the biggest public hospital in K'dua, with another senior nurse-We are scheduled to go tomorrow and Wed to observe and ask questions-

The Head Dir of all the Catholic schools in the region and

We are supposed to meet today or tomorrow, the Headmistress (Nun) of the local Catholic school, that is the probable site of the Ghana Camp Good Grief. Fr B wants Silvia to teach a few classes there as an exchange. . . So Silvia will be the center of attention. We have arts & crafts stuff, and kid's music. We already had an art table with the kids with HIV or parents +. The school has some of the most modern buildings and facilities we have seen.

Now, from ALL these people and the many more we have met formally and informally, there has been a unanimous welcome of both the two of us and MOST OF ALL the hospice philosophy. About a week ago there was a big meeting agreeing that Ghana needed hospice and they needed to find someone to help. And we are already here! Thanks to Fr B's and HBTS's vision.

Now that we have the blog set up, please email questions or comments! We will try very hard to keep up with everything! We're going to bed around 9 or 10 at the latest. At least we're now sleeping well, despite the heat and the roosters and the noise from a revival church that can go on all night.

HBTS team, please keep us informed of any happenings. Fund raising, whether you have your vaccinations yet, and plans. They are looking forward to you all, Dr R, social workers, nurses, chaplain, volunteers.

The head of the health Ministry started to say he wanted us to go to 74 institutions, including nursing schools, public health visiting nurse system, hospitals, churches, health asst training centers, etc. Fr B repeated the "train-the trainer" approach. So he, (the health minister), said he will quickly form a committe of doctors, nurses, etc, to help organize before you come. He wants "EVERYONE" to be informed eventually. Apparently 2 years ago a group came to give lectures on palliative care and he and the nurses we spoke to attended and remember. But when that group left, it was hard to start anything definite, because there was no reference source. . . They are SO willing and happy to have us come now, and that Sil & I will be staying after the initial lectures, and that more of a team might come later. . . There is a nurse in each of 28? areas, like counties, and he feels they absolutely must learn. And the hospitals are full of dying people and close to dying. . .

I have repeated the basics that "Hospice is a philosophy, not a place" and approx "400 pts are with HBTS, but the care center only holds 30", "Most pts stay home", and of course, "The CC is only for temporary sx management, not just the place to sign up for hospice and go there until you die. . .", that Silvia and Michael are both able to give the 15 minute hospice intro! And they listen and appreciate. . . And then they think some more and ask more questions.

We (Sil & I) are being scheduled to go to the monthly meeting of 24 docotors on the hospital staff and give them the intro as well. They do not seem to mind, at least initially, that I am a woman or "just" a nurse, although I have said Dr R will be coming and they appreciate that as well. . .

So work hard, my friends, and hold on to your hat. This is amazing! Groundbreaking, worldshaking, person-to-person stuff!