Ships log # 12
The previous week continues ...

Saturday (last week)
Up early today for a visit to a local orphange which is part of another Mercy ministry taken on by members of the crew.  Traffic was very heavy this morning due to unrest in the part of the city which was thru the most direct route.  We took nearly 3hr to get there instead of the usually 45-60 min.  Our return journey fortunately took just 40 min.  Needless to say we were very hot, tired and extremely hungry when we finally returned to the Africa Mercy.

The orpahange is run by the the very kind Mr Lazares and houses about 25 children ranging from toddles to 10 year olds.  Mercy Ship personnel have visited on a weekly basis since Aug 2012 offering support for playtimes, the emotional needs of individual children, and sometimes gifts of excess food and supplies. We  waited patiently for the children who were initially shy at the new faces but then keen to interact once their tummies were fill (morning tea time). 

 

We brought balloons and whistle blowers - both of which were an interesting phenomenon for the children. Balloons intrigued them and with no wind and heavy humidity they stayed down nearer ground level so could be enjoyed by all ages.

 This wee girl was thoroughly engrossed in her balloon and followed it all over the courtyard despite the limitation of a leg in plaster.

The whistle blowers (typically seen at small children's birthday parties) were a great hit initially but as the extendable tube became crumpled, damp and didn't recoil nicely the children tired of them and wanted a new one. So typical of any child worldwide, but the older children soon discovered that the whistle actually blew louder without the extension so they were rapidly torn off and several of the remaining mouth pieces were stacked together to make a very piercing noise - especially by the boys !!

It was actually quite fortunate that we were delayed in returning to the ship because the ships engines were getting a bit of major maintenance done and there was to be a full shut down of power for at least 4 hr, possibly longer.  It was all sorted come our return. and the movie night  proceeded as planned showing the "The Great Escape" - we can't be too fussy here with regards available movies and it was just as intertaining 2nd time around.

Also what was fortunate about the slow traffic this morning to the orphange (I try to be the one  to find the positives) as we literally crawled at a little slower than walking pace thru the outskirts of Conakry seeing even more of the real Guinea than I have seen before.

The industry occurring on the side of the road continues to amaze me... heres just some of what I have seen...



 ... an electrical supply stall, selling peeled lemonds as well,

 ...concrete tile manufacture and sale,

 ...plumbing and bathroom fittings,

 ...oversized lounge suites (not sure how many people actually had houses that would fit these chairs ?)

 ...cigarette and telephone card stall,

 .... green vegetable stall (note the woman carrying the bowl of produce on her head also has a baby strapped to her back - denoted by the two socked feet sticking out from each side of her waist),

....jandal/thong stall,

 ...wrought iron manufacture  (especially gates and railings),

...fruit (with lots of mangoes but have discovered gorgeous avocado that are big and of a finer texture than at home) and coconut stall,

...and reinforcing iron sales (these hugely unmagable bundles were often carried by a single man  along the road to the required building site),

.. as well as activities of daily living that go on around me that includes children of all ages involved in contributing to essential chores, often appearing way beyond their capabilites, eg. carrying loads on their heads from the market to their homes.

Some typical  suburban street scenes here in Conakry include dirt roads anywhere off the main thoroughfares, and transport of produce from house to house (see eggs below) atop heads.

My general impressions of life here is one of shanty towns (often made of tauparlins, old wrought iron, and recycled wood) dirt, mud, and piles of rubbish that are integrated into living and cooking areas, colourful attire worn by both men and women whether they be christian or muslim (approx 95%), beggers, pleaders of health care (eg. for blindness) or just for food.  Vendors are VERY keen to sell to you and offer higher than normal prices - one must bargain furiously with them and everyone of us has been had by paying way more than the locals would have.  It has been quite a challenge and uncomfotable at times.

Ships log # 11

This posting is going to be over several designated days as there is just so much happening that I have had no time to get to the computer and have just been writing frantically in a notebook each night !!



Thursday (last week)

This evenings community meeting took a different format and was in fact the graduation ceremony for the seniors of the on board high school.  The 3 graduants were all girls of long term crew members, one who had been living on the ship (or the previous model the Anastasis) her entire life.  It was a very special event for the ship as a whole as they hadn't had any school leavers for a couple of years and of course rather emotional I imagine for their individual families as they are all the eldest in their family and are planning to further their education somewhere other than on the ship.  It was much like a university graduation as they wore clokes and mortar boards and deceived a diploma.  They were given the honour of walking out under a shower of bubble blowing as confetti was deemed impractical (not least to say annoying for the domestic staff !!)

I had picked up my African outfit during the afternoon so was well set to dress for the formal occasion ....

.... and have had a chance to wear it 3 times since (Friday's dayworker farewell, church on Sunday and Tuesday evening's Guinea farewell celebrations in the town centre).  I must say I am extremely pleased with how it came out and it is very comfortable to wear.  The top and skirt can be worn seperately. 

Friday (last week)

This crazy fun day began with completion of checking of the first aid kits with the humidity suddenly going thru the roof  !!  I was out on the dock and realised my nose was dripping, then my skin was beading with perspiration and my eyesight was becoming blurred due to the moisture dripping from my forehead onto my glasses.  My scrubs were rapidly becoming damp in ever increasing patches...which you may notice on my back from this pic...do I look like I am melting ?

My colleague, Thorhild from the Farrel Islands (Denmark), and I rapidly completed our task and high tailed it back up the gang plank and relief of the air con on the ship PHEW !! Following a cold shower and change of scrubs we retreated to Starbucks for a Friday hot waffle and a chai latte. 

Eating waffles on a Friday has not been a regular pastime of mine due to work commitments but everything is a bit laid back here in some respects - long lunches and breaks - as we have discharged the last patient but there is plenty to do to pack up the ship in readiness for the sail.

Lunchtime saw me done my new African outfit again and be part of the thanks and celebrations for our day workers.  These wonderful local people have keenly come to work on the ship (they are paid) to assist with translation, taken on many of the domestic, galley, deck and engineering tasks and generally been the daily connection with the Guinean people.

There was a lot of emtionally charged farewells especially between the long term crew, who had been here for the entire out reach, and the day workers, who had started on the Africa Mercy way back in August 2012.  Many of them do not have another job to go on to.  They have all received certificates and records of commendation from Mercy Ships which I am assured will greatly assist their future job prospects.  They will have learnt new skills and had an opportunity to be part of a cooperative workplace environment.

Here we gather together in the dinning room  for lunch before the farewell ceremony...

... and final goodbyes on the dock...



(L-R) Umu, Tina (OR educator), and Fatumata

The evening saw me invited out with the dental team to a local night club - complete with coconut palm trees, lighting effects (African style) and a 6 piece jazz band in an outdoor setting.  The saxophonist resembled Louis Armstrong and played the soprano, alto and tenor sax, there was also a pianist, African drummer on the djembe (which is a wonderful sounding hour glass shaped instrument held firmly between the knees), electric guitarist with an instrument that resembled a bulbous banjo, and 3 vocalists (one of which was a Bob Marley look-a-like).  We jived the night away with numerous other Mercy Shippers, as it was a popular fairly local venue.  Just as we departed the building in order to be home by the 10.30pm curfew, the power failed in the street - but we could still hear the drummer playing on !!  As out taxi drew away the power returned - they were lucky tonight as power outages are a common occurence where electricity has to be shared between suburbs on a daily basis.

Ships log # 10
Well the pack up and the goodbyes have begun - went out a couple of nights ago to a local Italian restaurant with the cabin mates as one of our number leaves on Saturday (the rest of us sail to the Canary Islands) and there have been or will be numerous ceremonies aboard ship for the local Mercy Ministrys' personnel and  the many local paid day workers who help in the running of ship and of course with translation for patients. There are at least 5 dialects, including French that are common throughout Guinea.  The OR day workers are predominately locally trained  RNs and one is a doctor who has been studying in France (as there is no training in Guinea) but to further his career he needs more funds to go back overseas. 

During our usual Friday morning devotions and staff meeting  (always combined) last week these friendly, relaxed and humble people I have had the pleasure to work alongside recieved leaving certificates and records of service as they have trained on the Africa Mercy to become OR nurses and leave with a much broader understanding of asepsis and surgery.

L-R : Moise, Umu, Fatumata, Dr Fara

** Just a note her - for those who have read the previous blog and there were gaps in the totals of surgical proceedures - they are not complete :)

You may have noticed at this point that they have not the usual attire on their heads - this was just an excuse to have another crazy scrubs day as the lst one was so enjoyed by all such that the whole team got into the act again... !!
Our esteemed leader Dr Gary Parker (maxilofacial surgeon and head of surgery), Maryka (Maxfax team leader) and Melanie (NZ) chose to stay in sensible attire - but you may notice that Gary has elephants on his scrub trousers ... :)

Pack up in the OR involves wrapping  everything securely in locked cupboards  or secure shelf units that convert to cages once doors are added - very ingenious...

...the remainder equipment needs to be jammed together, secured with bungies and strong magnets to the walls and floors and cushioned with mattresses from the wards - as the last of the patients are discharged.

What an exercise..... PHEW !!...which has to be undone when we get to Congo :)


But now mostly complete....YEH !!

...and just to emphasise the UN nature of my colleagues (L-R) Australia (Barbara), US (Allison), Sth Africa (Maryka), Germany (Michel) and married to NZ (Melanie) !!

I have busied myself ensuring all the emergency sets - crash cart, malignant hypothermia box, etc - are checked , cleaned and up to date, and today have the job of doing the same for all the first aid kits from the ships vehicles - 25 in number I believe !!

Last night I joined the ukele club at their beach venue windup - have been meaning to go to the class for the past 3wks but they say it is never to late to learn - and was able to join in by learning 2 chords which set me right for ALL the songs !! Band master Sean (anaesthetist) in the blue shirt on the left of the tables continued playing and singing long after the rest had given up. I think he would rather do that all day than do anesthetics. He and his wife, who is a gynae surgeon, are shortly off to Rwanda with their childen to assist in training medical personnel for a further year in Africa (originally from the US).  I continue to be amazed at what colleagues have done in this country or been involved in other missionary exercises worldwide.  I am less than a novice but very keen to learn and take part.

Cabin mates (L-R) Kathy and Carolyn, and Frances from across the hallway were there to enjoy the sun and music.

The local beach is not one you would swim at due to the pollution but the venue is fun filled with many men/boys playing soccer and pizza available from a local truck.  We dined well and were there til after 9pm.

The highlight of the evening, however, was the sunset ..... but the photo definitely does not do it justice :)

The day has begun and I must desist from gazing out the window at the ocean - first aid kits await - Au revoir and bon jour xo

Ships log # 9
What a great week it has been - full on with surgery as we come to the end of this out reach in Guinea where 482 maxillofacial, 162 cleft lip or palate repairs, 99  reconstructive, 116 orthopaedic, 63 gynaecological, 1617  eye, and 297 general operations have been performed over a 10 mth period, along with 51 club foot corrections using a non surgical (Ponseti) method.  An unquantifible number of connections have been made with local people and organisations - which include orphanages, churches, schools, womens' and mens' prison as well as  local missionaries and their children, who have enjoyed a mutual combined group activity each week with the children on board the Africa Mercy.

I visited the paediatric ward at the local hospital on Tuesday night (this being a weekly occurence from Mercy Ships personnel) and played games with the children and also helped keep the parents (who are required to care for their children on a fulltime basis) entertained.  We played Jenga (block stacking game), blowed bubbles, coloured in pictures, threaded some bead necklaces and kicked a balloon around.  My basic french (improving all the time) came in useful again and I managed to engage everybody with something I said or did !!

Friday night I accompanied another group of crew after work to set up a projector  at an outside community area showing a movie of the classic story of Jesus.  We attracted between 200-300 people (I estimated) in an open space adjacent to their meagre dwellings, many of which were quite young childern who insisted on climbing on our knees on a rotational basis - some fell asleep before mothers could locate them in the rapidly dimming light. The movie was a translation in Fula (one of the local dialects) with the local pastor contributing to the meaning of the story in French during the crucification scene which was also translated into Fula. The pastor utilised Mercy Ships personnel to spread the word about the meaning of christianity and to model the love of Jesus. We finally got home a little after 10.30pm after a most enlightening and enjoyable evening.

Today I made yet another trip to the local market but this time with a focus on buying some material to have a top and skirt made - Sundays is less crazy at the market and it is easier to make decisions and keep a clear head for bargaining !!  I managed to get some suitable material and even locate the tailor and choose suitable adornements - I don't want to give anymore details at this stage as even I don't know exactly what the finished product may look like - but I hope to attach a photo on the next blog as it will be finished in 2 days.  All the women use tailors here to make the gorgeous outfits that they wear and they are all so unique ...and mine will be just that :)

This next week is pack up week in the OR where everything needs to be either bolted to the floor, cling wrapped or fully secured in cupboards in readiness for sailing to the Canary Islands.  Following that my final 2 wks will see me employed in crew services (??) .....my duties are yet to be divulged but if it involves cleaning the public toilets then I know where there is a good supply of gloves !!

Since it is my usual laundry slot time the drier awaits - and then a good book on the deck - and am actually starting to miss not cooking my own food but do you see me complaining - No not all :)

Ships log #8
It feels vey calm living here on the the Africa Mercy - the christian community feel is very pleasing to the soul and helps me to contemplate life in a peaceful and rational manner despite the many thoughts about what life has to offer me going around my mind.  The city (Conakry) is also calm this week as their is a UN mediation group I believe in town assisting in  the premanagment of up coming elections in Guinea - due either later in May or early June.

I am up early again today to make the most of the internet connection speed and lack of personnel around (most still sleeping at this time).  I have found however that living in close proximity to 450 people (50 of those are children) has not been arduous and have found my little spaces for aloneness - the Ipod shufffle has been a god send and the library is a haven.  Often my cabin is quiet in the evenings as well as my cabin mates choose to socialise in one of the many lounge areas or at Starbucks. I have even managed to watch "Man v Wild" and "Top Gear" when somebody had found them on the communial TV.  So life is generally pretty good and even got some acute orthopaedics to do in the OR last night !!  One of the crew members had an accident so had to come for surgery - no worries there as one of the curent surgeons stitched him up and I gave some advise about dressings and equipment required.  You might be saying - am I missing the ortho trauma theatre  ?? Just a little I think :)

Will away to breakfast now and prework devotions - more for the soul to contemplate - am feeling very pleased that I have signed up for another stint of service later in the year as this is definitely the right place for me currently - about the long term though - this year will decide that - bonjour et cava ? Cava bien xo

Ships log #7
Have just returned from an after dinner stroll along the dock after eating out on the upper deck as I needed a bit of fresh air and some breeze.  It seemed quite stuffy on the ship this evening.  Had been helping my cabin mate sew brocade onto her outfit for a wedding next weekend so needed to rest my eyes from threading needles and awaken my body again.  There were vultures circling overhead (we counted 8 and wondered what had died??) - also encountered a large rat as it disappeared down one of the many open drains around the port - my walking mate jumped a she saw it which made me think there was something near my feet - fortunately not a close encounter of the dreaded kind but close enough !!

It has been a pleasant long weekend here with Friday off which is the usually occurence here every 6wk - there was no special reason but that we need it - sounds good enough for me :)  Many people have taken the opportunity to go away for a night or two.  I went with a dozen other women to another local island (Casa) for a day trip yesterday which was truly a paradise with many coconut palms and wide sandy beaches and hardly a person in sight.  The water was once again pristine and warm with no waves this time so we lolled in the briney several times and then sunned ourselves unashamedly.  Some will be suffering today but I managed to  adequatley protect myself - I have still coloured up however but the intensity is not as it is in NZ and according to one of the nurses from Auz she has found that as well.

This morning I was pleased to be able to accompany one of my cabin mates to a local craft market by Mercy Ships vehicle instead of having to walk along the hazardous roads or getting in a well worn taxi.  This particular market had leather goods and many ebony carved animals - they were all truly beautiful but unfortunately the one I liked would have taken me way over the luggage allowance.  I resigned my self to buying a table cloth from the women's co-op shop and some earrings made from dyed coconut shell.  Am very pleased with them. 

(photo to come)

Tomorrow I plan to go to a local church where the service is in a combination of French and English with lots of African singing (the best part) and then head back to the market to get some brocade for the wedding dress as we don't quite have enough.  The initial exercise in getting the braid was an adventure in itself (previously described) so am looking forward to returning and perhaps get some for myself this time :)

Ships log # 6

Life this week so far has been fairly routine (but most interesting) with continued maxillofacial surgery to repair cleft lips / palates, 2nd stage scalp flap  releases for reconstruction of nose / lips with bone grafts from rib or iliac crest, and general surgery  for unusual and excessive hernia repairs. The spiritual life of the ship melts into  work as we start the day with departmental or ship wide devotions  and usually  singing.   Ship wide worship (with lots of singing) is always on Sundays and each meeting is acompanied by words of the days that inspire and make you think about how you perform your duties and react within this communal life.

Yesterday I walked down to the local market (20 min away) with a couple of other women to search for braid to decorate a friend's formal dress - we finally found it amongst a rabbit warren of  stalls selling everything from groceries to fruit to electronics and hardware. The narrow spaces were slightly clostriphobic at times and everybody was out to get somewhere in a hurry.  Little regard was given to us white girls but finally after literally up stair and down alleyway we found where the tailors and cutters (lost count of how many) sit and sew and also the haberdashery stalls - we were very pleased as we had almost given up.  There was a large array of different widths and designs of brocade, binding and thread, and with lots of running to and fro by the keen venders we were able to find a match for our material.  Great relief and satisfaction insued :)  I have been somewhat impressed by the designs of the dresses that the local women wear here as they are all in the same genre but all are unique - now I see how !!  Most regardless of their wealth status have dresses made exactly to measure and because of the vast array of patterned material available here and the brocade trims each can be made to be quite unique. The material is also printed with a wax process that I have not seen before and seems to keep its colour over time despite being printed on cotton - I have yet to see a faded looking dress so I am hoping I can get one made for myself as it would be quite a treat.

Today I am up early as the interent is better and I can watch the habour from the computer suite as the light comes into the sky.  I have started walking for exercise at 0615hr as I have been quite lazy since being here and also eating too much yummy stoggy food :(  We must go out in groups of preferably 3 so have just been walking around the dock area so far but am intent on starting a walking group on Mon/Wed/Fri with map supplied so that security know which streets we are taking.  There should be no reason why we will not be as there are a lot of defence buildings near the port so lots of gendermes  but there has been some unrest in city of recent days consistant with the coming elections.

Well think its time for my walk around the deck before breakfast - bon jour to all :)