Ships log # 13
Sunday (last week)
Church today involved dressing for the occasion with my new African outfit again and walking 20 min in the humid heat to the Amour du dieu l'eclise (Love of God church) once again for the final time. This church is evangelical pentacostal and the service is full of praise of the lord, singing and dancing and helluluyahs. Today the service was prolonged by over an hour (total 3hr 45min) due to it being Mother's day here in Guinea and many blessings being bestowed on Mercy Ships as everybody is aware of our imminent departure within a week. I had to stand up for the special prayers for mothers which was quite something amongst all the local women - got lots of knowing smiles all around me.
Soon after our return to the ship over 30 departing crew gathered alongside the remaining approx 250 crew members (who were to sail to the Canary islands) for fond farewells. Emotion flowed and many emails were exchanged. It has been surprising how easily one forms relationships with people you live and work alongside in such a short period of time. I have more people to visit in the UK now as well as Geneva, Ireland and France - oh boy what a busy few years may be coming for me!! As part of the remaining crew we formed a waving line of honour for the departing vehicles heading for the airport - many of these crew members had been in Guinea during the entire outreach (or longer) - a full 10mth of living and breathing this mission in west Africa.
Monday (last week)
I started in my reassigned position today - that of crew services - they are a very pleasant bunch and I have been "taught" how to clean toilets and mop floors properly !! A bit like teaching your grandmother to suck eggs I guess when one is a mother and OR nurse already !! I have however learnt a few more tricks of the trade :)
These past few days many amazing stories have emerged from farewell and final worship events - here are just a few:
- some Guinea day workers associated with the Physio department were taken on a day trip to a local island within sight of the port for a thankyou picnic lunch as they had never been there before, didn't know how to swim, nor enjoyed relaxed time at a beach
- previously nationally known soccer (football) player who has been a patient on Mercy Ships to have a major disfigurement corrected, was recognised in a local restaurant by a teenage boy - the patient had been out of public life for more than 5 yr due to the increasing disfigurement - he of course was very humbled and the event promoted his self esteem beyond all measure
- one of the OR trained day workers will begin work this week at the main Conakry hospital, Donka, in OR cleaning services and plans to instigate a rubbish disposal program to prevent bodily wastes, etc going into communal rubbish, much of which is regularly foraged thru by the general population to see if there is anything useful
- a taxi driver who delivered an elderly woman to the Mercy Ships screening day over 10mth ago has taken this woman back into his house upon dishcarge (she had a large facial tumour) because her family didn't want her back because they thought she was cursed
- an infant was secreted away from his extended family by his father and brought to Mercy Ships for surgery for his cleft lip and palate - his mother had become very unwell and the local "doctor" thought that if they sacrificed (literally) the baby - who was obviously had a demon in him - the mother would be cured.
Tuesday (last week)
Accompanied a couple of crew mates to the local market after work today to buy an African man's shirt (young French chap wanted one) and have another one made by a tailor (UK nurse wanted one to match her skirt for her father to wear !!). While we were in the tailors (a large building above the markets with a mezzanine floor full of busy seamstresses which is open to the air on both sides) a storm arrived and the wind blew thru - the horizontal rain accompanied it shortly after and there was a mad scampering to cover material and machines. This was yet another pre-rainy season storm with gale force winds and torrential rain which blew off stall roofs and flimsy window shutters. We were instructed to sit and wait it out under cover - we huddled on hastily offered stools watching the seamstresses continuing their work in virtually darkness (the power had of course gone off) peddling at their ancient Singer sewing machines with the light from their cellphones to assist. It was only about 6pm (sun set due around 7pm) but the clouds had completely covered the sun so the little daylight was useless in these surroundings. We waited in this setting admiring the womens' work and exchanging pleasantries and admiration in our limited french. Fortunately the young man accompanying us was from France so I was able to ask quite a lot about the dresses that were being fashioned before my eyes - they are amazingly clever making each garment unique with imbelishments and design but they NEVER do any internal finishing - guess it saves a lot of time.
Once the rain started to ease we decided to risk walking back to the ship. Hailing a taxi was a waste of time as traffic was gridlocked with the roads flooded and impassable in places. The drainage system is so blocked and the amount of rain in such a short period of time was more than most systems could cope with anyway. We finally returned to the ship thoroughly drenched but still warm. The temperature however had dropped from a balmy 35 deg C to around 22 deg C but the humidity had dramatically risen. This is also apparently a phenomenon of pre-rainy season. Due to the filthy roads (and hence water) and rubbish lying around I went straight into the shower on my return - shoes and all - and scrubbed everything to within an inch of its life !!
Wednesday (last week)
Today we were invited to a very significant event for Guinea. They put on a thankyou concert for Mercy Ships at the Peoples Palace which is a huge conference/event centre in downtown Conakry. President Conde and his wife were in attendence along with several ministers. They gave out certificates of appreciation to key Mercy Ships personnel and there were many speeches in french (very little of it was translated unfortunately) but once that was over we (the entire crew) settled back to enjoy the best Guinea has to offer:
- there was an amazing 12 piece women's rock band which had one woman rolling on the floor playing an electric guitar - all were in the commonly worn long skirt and top attire and their songs were in french but the sound and rythmn was infectious
- acrobats and juggles to rival le circ de soleil then performed with no safety mechanisms or appropriate flooring - they balanced from great heights and contorted bodies until it made us feel sick to watch
- a very clever robotic Michael Jackson inspired group of 5 young men continued to amaze and delight with their movements and characterisations which involved hats and shoes coming off and on amongst group members - very clever
- an Englsih speaking pop band had us singing in with known songs with the auditorium shaking with the stamping and loud singing we generated
- traditional African drummers and dancers completed the program with a rousing rendition of continued beating of drums of all sorts (continuously for at least 20 min I estimated) with men and women dancing at the same time - truly amazing feat of fitness all with a broad smiles on therir faces - this was the best performance I thought
- we came away exhausted and amazed at their technical expertise and were escorted back on our buses thru the back stage area - being able to thank them personally which was both a delight to us and to them. We were escorted to the venue and returned by presidental assigned security and armed forces - traffic being stopped or diverted for our benefit with flashing lights before us and aft - this honour shows the regard they have for Mercy Ships and are hoping they will return very soon. What an absolute treat to be part of this event.
Thursday (last week)
Have managed (survived) nearly a week of cleaning toilets and mopping floors - feel like Sadie the cleaning lady in my head scarf and scrubs - one friendly crew member likened me to Hilda Ogden - but what a shame I forgot to bring my curlers !! It is an interesting exercise being part of crew services (very glorified name I feel). While I work around the ship cleaning floors, toilets, stairs and office spaces other crew members that pass me are either very polite, sometimes complementing me on a lovely clean window, somtimes stopping for a chat, but usually pass me with a hurried "Sorry" as they step over my mop or place their hand on my freshly cleaned door handle. I announce to the office workers (many of which I know quite well now) that I am "room service" (with a smile). To which all have responded by welcoming me in to empty their trash cans and exiting the cramped office to allow for vacuuming. I feel sometimes that I am just part of the environment and of no importance but then someone will say that I am being very thorough and so efficient with attention to detail - once an OR nurse always an OR nurse I guess, or maybe thats some of motherly attention to detail coming thru.
Friday (last week)
This night saw us going out to town for a meal for the last time - chose a Turkish restaurant selling Shawarma which is similar to the Turkish kebabs we have at home but much more yummy - we had a starter of hummus which was to die for - so creamy and served with pita bread and gherkins - yum yum :) We have advised that the plan is to sail from Conakry on Saturday but all exact security and departure details have been withheld for obvious reasons of Security (!!) - there have numerous attempts by stowaways at this port and placment of contraband to be picked up by unknowns in the European port of our destination. We have been going thru numerous impromptu at sea drills this week and been advised to take all measures to ensure our own and Mercy Ships safetly and security by doing several random stowaway checks of the entire ship. The sign up sheet for stowaway watch during our last few days was rapidly filled and as turned out was of great benefit as an attempt was made during this last night in port.
Sunday (last week)
Church today involved dressing for the occasion with my new African outfit again and walking 20 min in the humid heat to the Amour du dieu l'eclise (Love of God church) once again for the final time. This church is evangelical pentacostal and the service is full of praise of the lord, singing and dancing and helluluyahs. Today the service was prolonged by over an hour (total 3hr 45min) due to it being Mother's day here in Guinea and many blessings being bestowed on Mercy Ships as everybody is aware of our imminent departure within a week. I had to stand up for the special prayers for mothers which was quite something amongst all the local women - got lots of knowing smiles all around me.
Soon after our return to the ship over 30 departing crew gathered alongside the remaining approx 250 crew members (who were to sail to the Canary islands) for fond farewells. Emotion flowed and many emails were exchanged. It has been surprising how easily one forms relationships with people you live and work alongside in such a short period of time. I have more people to visit in the UK now as well as Geneva, Ireland and France - oh boy what a busy few years may be coming for me!! As part of the remaining crew we formed a waving line of honour for the departing vehicles heading for the airport - many of these crew members had been in Guinea during the entire outreach (or longer) - a full 10mth of living and breathing this mission in west Africa.
Monday (last week)
I started in my reassigned position today - that of crew services - they are a very pleasant bunch and I have been "taught" how to clean toilets and mop floors properly !! A bit like teaching your grandmother to suck eggs I guess when one is a mother and OR nurse already !! I have however learnt a few more tricks of the trade :)
These past few days many amazing stories have emerged from farewell and final worship events - here are just a few:
- some Guinea day workers associated with the Physio department were taken on a day trip to a local island within sight of the port for a thankyou picnic lunch as they had never been there before, didn't know how to swim, nor enjoyed relaxed time at a beach
- previously nationally known soccer (football) player who has been a patient on Mercy Ships to have a major disfigurement corrected, was recognised in a local restaurant by a teenage boy - the patient had been out of public life for more than 5 yr due to the increasing disfigurement - he of course was very humbled and the event promoted his self esteem beyond all measure
- one of the OR trained day workers will begin work this week at the main Conakry hospital, Donka, in OR cleaning services and plans to instigate a rubbish disposal program to prevent bodily wastes, etc going into communal rubbish, much of which is regularly foraged thru by the general population to see if there is anything useful
- a taxi driver who delivered an elderly woman to the Mercy Ships screening day over 10mth ago has taken this woman back into his house upon dishcarge (she had a large facial tumour) because her family didn't want her back because they thought she was cursed
- an infant was secreted away from his extended family by his father and brought to Mercy Ships for surgery for his cleft lip and palate - his mother had become very unwell and the local "doctor" thought that if they sacrificed (literally) the baby - who was obviously had a demon in him - the mother would be cured.
Tuesday (last week)
Accompanied a couple of crew mates to the local market after work today to buy an African man's shirt (young French chap wanted one) and have another one made by a tailor (UK nurse wanted one to match her skirt for her father to wear !!). While we were in the tailors (a large building above the markets with a mezzanine floor full of busy seamstresses which is open to the air on both sides) a storm arrived and the wind blew thru - the horizontal rain accompanied it shortly after and there was a mad scampering to cover material and machines. This was yet another pre-rainy season storm with gale force winds and torrential rain which blew off stall roofs and flimsy window shutters. We were instructed to sit and wait it out under cover - we huddled on hastily offered stools watching the seamstresses continuing their work in virtually darkness (the power had of course gone off) peddling at their ancient Singer sewing machines with the light from their cellphones to assist. It was only about 6pm (sun set due around 7pm) but the clouds had completely covered the sun so the little daylight was useless in these surroundings. We waited in this setting admiring the womens' work and exchanging pleasantries and admiration in our limited french. Fortunately the young man accompanying us was from France so I was able to ask quite a lot about the dresses that were being fashioned before my eyes - they are amazingly clever making each garment unique with imbelishments and design but they NEVER do any internal finishing - guess it saves a lot of time.
Once the rain started to ease we decided to risk walking back to the ship. Hailing a taxi was a waste of time as traffic was gridlocked with the roads flooded and impassable in places. The drainage system is so blocked and the amount of rain in such a short period of time was more than most systems could cope with anyway. We finally returned to the ship thoroughly drenched but still warm. The temperature however had dropped from a balmy 35 deg C to around 22 deg C but the humidity had dramatically risen. This is also apparently a phenomenon of pre-rainy season. Due to the filthy roads (and hence water) and rubbish lying around I went straight into the shower on my return - shoes and all - and scrubbed everything to within an inch of its life !!
Wednesday (last week)
Today we were invited to a very significant event for Guinea. They put on a thankyou concert for Mercy Ships at the Peoples Palace which is a huge conference/event centre in downtown Conakry. President Conde and his wife were in attendence along with several ministers. They gave out certificates of appreciation to key Mercy Ships personnel and there were many speeches in french (very little of it was translated unfortunately) but once that was over we (the entire crew) settled back to enjoy the best Guinea has to offer:
- there was an amazing 12 piece women's rock band which had one woman rolling on the floor playing an electric guitar - all were in the commonly worn long skirt and top attire and their songs were in french but the sound and rythmn was infectious
- acrobats and juggles to rival le circ de soleil then performed with no safety mechanisms or appropriate flooring - they balanced from great heights and contorted bodies until it made us feel sick to watch
- a very clever robotic Michael Jackson inspired group of 5 young men continued to amaze and delight with their movements and characterisations which involved hats and shoes coming off and on amongst group members - very clever
- an Englsih speaking pop band had us singing in with known songs with the auditorium shaking with the stamping and loud singing we generated
- traditional African drummers and dancers completed the program with a rousing rendition of continued beating of drums of all sorts (continuously for at least 20 min I estimated) with men and women dancing at the same time - truly amazing feat of fitness all with a broad smiles on therir faces - this was the best performance I thought
- we came away exhausted and amazed at their technical expertise and were escorted back on our buses thru the back stage area - being able to thank them personally which was both a delight to us and to them. We were escorted to the venue and returned by presidental assigned security and armed forces - traffic being stopped or diverted for our benefit with flashing lights before us and aft - this honour shows the regard they have for Mercy Ships and are hoping they will return very soon. What an absolute treat to be part of this event.
Thursday (last week)
Have managed (survived) nearly a week of cleaning toilets and mopping floors - feel like Sadie the cleaning lady in my head scarf and scrubs - one friendly crew member likened me to Hilda Ogden - but what a shame I forgot to bring my curlers !! It is an interesting exercise being part of crew services (very glorified name I feel). While I work around the ship cleaning floors, toilets, stairs and office spaces other crew members that pass me are either very polite, sometimes complementing me on a lovely clean window, somtimes stopping for a chat, but usually pass me with a hurried "Sorry" as they step over my mop or place their hand on my freshly cleaned door handle. I announce to the office workers (many of which I know quite well now) that I am "room service" (with a smile). To which all have responded by welcoming me in to empty their trash cans and exiting the cramped office to allow for vacuuming. I feel sometimes that I am just part of the environment and of no importance but then someone will say that I am being very thorough and so efficient with attention to detail - once an OR nurse always an OR nurse I guess, or maybe thats some of motherly attention to detail coming thru.
Friday (last week)
This night saw us going out to town for a meal for the last time - chose a Turkish restaurant selling Shawarma which is similar to the Turkish kebabs we have at home but much more yummy - we had a starter of hummus which was to die for - so creamy and served with pita bread and gherkins - yum yum :) We have advised that the plan is to sail from Conakry on Saturday but all exact security and departure details have been withheld for obvious reasons of Security (!!) - there have numerous attempts by stowaways at this port and placment of contraband to be picked up by unknowns in the European port of our destination. We have been going thru numerous impromptu at sea drills this week and been advised to take all measures to ensure our own and Mercy Ships safetly and security by doing several random stowaway checks of the entire ship. The sign up sheet for stowaway watch during our last few days was rapidly filled and as turned out was of great benefit as an attempt was made during this last night in port.
