Getting Home

So I have to give a minor rant about United Airlines and how often they cause an innumerable amount of problems.

They decided to cancel my flight on Saturday evening, but kindly forgot to inform me via phone or email. Once probing further the explanation was that the robot called me, but the robot has no log of its calls-BS. Its a computer, it has to keep records.

Good news though. At the airport in the window of the United kiosk is a sheet of paper upon which is written:

"Dear United Customers,
United will not be operating on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the month of November. Thank you for your cooperation."

Not a way to inform people!!!!!! I would also like to point out that they also changed my flight without telling us when we were coming back from Japan and we missed the connection that time because of them!

So they switched me to the Sunday night flight, which is fine although I had to spend the night in Accra and would like to be reimbursed for that! And then there was no connection at all the Philadelphia- so i was stuck in Washington Dulles. Thankfully my friend Stephen came and rescued me, but still. What a sucky airline. They could have at least tried to get me the rest of the way home. I promise to never use United Airlines again! (And this rant is hopefully a little bit of bad publicity for them as well...)

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On a different note, Sunday was a lot of fun.

The Agape guesthouse was a very nice place to stay and the church service in the morning was very... enthusiastic. There is a lot of singining and yelling out and dancing around so hey.

To find the place you turn right at the pink sign for Royal Jade Chinese...

Real Mattress!

After church we went with Barbara, a teacher and NGO director, to TET glass beads. We got to watch how the beads are made and we bought some too!

Wisdom- little helper, Danielle, Michal- craftsman, Me

Abraham Tetteh- the owner

After the bead place we went to lunch and got pizza and chips (aka frech fries). This is the first time i have had cheese and mushrooms since arriving in Ghana, and its on my way home. Funny right?

Barbara, our tour guide for the afternoon, great lady!

Awesome Pizza! Last meal in Ghana...

Leaving that evening was awful but at least my last day was exciting and spent with friends! Thanks Danielle! :)

Goodbyes

The last week I spent in Africa was a sad one. I had to say goodbye as i went.

Monday- Abura Medical Lab

The lab was very happy to receive the soap and sharps containers that i provided as my goodbye and thank you gifts. They were sad to see me go and asked when i would be back again. I will miss them! Especially Daniels and Lidia, since they were my favorites!

Tuesday- Antwikwaa

                                                  
 

My last trip to the village was a bitter sweet. We brought them all of the medical supplies that we promised on Tuesday with Mckell's parents. Mckell and I then trained the whole village on what each item was to be used for and then informed them that Mckell would be training specialists in order to make sure that the care is the best it can be. Before we left Mckell and I each had to treat one of the villagers and also council a few others on their medical concerns.

The woman I took care of sliced her hand open with a machete and had then treated it with herbal medicine. Her right hand was about 3x the size of her left. So i used a large number of alcohol wipes cleaning the wound and then smeared it with antiseptic and bandaged it. The lady Mckell treated took a chunk out of her finger. Half of her fingernail was missing and the skin was missing down to the bone. This wound took longer to clean since the herbs were packed down in. It required some digging and lots of alcohol which stung. Once it was clear antiseptic and bandages were applied again. We had to explain that the bandages need to be changed everyday, which they agreed to do. We also explained that they need to keep the wound clean, which hopefully able to do with all the supplies we have provided.

In addition we have a price list for each item. The cost is negligent but it makes the project sustainable. Each person therefore should only use what they need, and items can be replaced after they are used. Overall the village was thrilled and were happy with the price after we explained the sustainability aspect. They feed us coconuts and stayed with us until we left. Each blessed me with wishes for a safe journey and prayers for my return to them some day.

I also had to say goodbye to Sammie our translator (everyone speaks Twi) and friend. He will be missed, but I hope that he can still help the village while we are not there!

Wednesday- Everyone in town!

Susan- Head of Abanzee

Kwami- Our favorite Taxi Driver

Lawrence- Baobab's chef/host

Lilly- Wonderful Seamstress

Franchesca- Bead lady!

Ike- Our favorite internet cafe owner!

Lawrence- Proworld member & friend

Elizabeth- Danielle's mom

Ekuwa- the fruit lady!

Felix- My guy friend at the Castle :)

All wonderful people that i will miss terribly! :(

Thursday- Women's Group & Mckell

My Thursday evening was spent teaching cancer to our women's group. We covered liver and cervical cancer which are huge issues in Africa. We also covered lung cancer, which is in low occurrence because smoking is frowned upon in Africa. And pancreatic cancer since it is on the rise. I said goodbye to the women which was awful but funny since i said it in English and got no response, then Maggie translated and everyone breaks out in words. They all told me they were so glad that i had come and that i should stay and they would keep me and they blessed my journey home and welcomed me back again some day.

I then spent a few hours will Mckell and her family since they were going to a beach resort for the weekend and i was getting on an airplane, so i would not be seeing them again. We simply sat and chatted and shared photos with one another. Mckell's family was great and it was very nice to meet them. I will miss her dearly and plan on visiting Utah asap to see her and her family again!

Friday- HEPENS

I had to say goodbye to the HEPENS team of Nicholas, Maggie, John, Benedict, and Jerome. It will be hard to not wake up every morning and have something to do for them! I am used to seeing them all the time... The goodbye was very formal. Nicholas presented me with a laminated award and a piece of Kente which is beautiful! I will miss them all terribly...

Saturday- My Family!

Saying goodbye to my family, Matilda, Daniel, Tony, Elizabeth, and Adriana, was the worst. I cried as I said goodbye to Matilda and the girls. I am not sure what to think other than the fact that i want to go back, NOW.

Sunday- Danielle, Kirsty, Micheala

I said goodbye to Kirsty & her mom, and Micheale & her mom and dad, and Daniele at the airport. We were all together since we all had flights at the same time. Micheale's mom and dad were Delta at 9:30, I was United at 11:15 and Kirsty's mom was British Airways at 11:30. So we all waited in the airport together, which was great! Everyone cried in the end though... We were all sad to be parted in the end! :(


It sucked each and every time I had to say goodbye. I was probably the worst off saying goodbye to the village and my family. I will be able to keep in touch with my family which makes it easier, but not the village... I just want to go back to be with all these people again!

Aboom Special Needs School

One of the most interesting teaching experiences we had was teaching at the Aboom Special Needs School.

There are 2 classes of students, the primary class and secondary class. We spent two days at the school. The first day we taught hand washing and the second day we taught tooth brushing and dental hygiene. The kids were all amazing and were so excited to learn how to do the tasks and each one wanted to demonstrate to the other students. Here are some of the students practicing:

The issues with special needs in Ghana is that it has a very negative outlook. These individuals have been considered to be the product of witchcraft. Individuals who are mental unstable are deemed mad and many are abandoned by there families. A large proportion end up as homeless on the street which lead to further scorn from the population. Tamale (the major city in the north central area) is currently running a campaign to prevent abuse of disabled people, which says a lot about their current treatment. The Aboom school is a haven for these students and provided basic education as well as training. These students are taught basic sewing and trade skills so that they can be employed later in life! This school is changing the stigma and outcome a few kids at a time. It was a blessing to meet each one of these kids and spend our morning with them!