Unpacking Our Shipment of Medical Supplies in Wechiau

Early in the morning, a hospital pick-up truck drove Junior and I from Lawra to Wechiau to deliver four hospital lamps. In Wechiau, we were greeted by Sinae, a Peace Corps volunteer who helped to coordinate the shipment. We were warmly welcomed into the community and given a room in a local government official’s house, true to the kindness and generosity that I love so much about Ghana. The truck carrying our second 40ft container of the summer arrived in Wechiau at dusk, so after a few terrifying tangles with electrical wires, we got the truck parked at the Wechiau Health Center for the night.

MedPLUS's Shipment Arriving at Wechiau Health Center

The following morning, the unpacking of the container went incredibly well! All of the supplies, equipment, and hospital beds were immediately sorted by item into waiting store rooms and the hospital staff were enthusiastic about the difference that these items will make in the health center’s ability to provide care.

Unloading Hopsital Carts

Currently, the Wechiau Health Center is staffed by a group of dedicated nurses, and the director hopes that the health center will soon receive a doctor and become a “hospital.” The beds, drip stands, hospital carts, and supplies will help to stock a new ward that is currently under construction.

Emma

Last Trip to Lawra

Heading back to Accra, I think I gained some major “legit” points in the eyes of our clearing agent by taking a tro-tro back to Accra, dress pants, pointy-toed black flats and all. Walking back from the tro-tro station to my hotel, I was feeling pretty darn proud of myself…that is, until I started getting painful blisters and had to limp the last kilometer home.

After finishing up with customs and meetings in Accra, I started the journey back up to the north to meet our second 40 foot container of the summer in a town called Wechiau. After a painfully early 3am wakeup required to wait in line for the 6am bus, the rest of the journey went fairly smoothly. This time, I was accompanied by Junior, a friend from Kumasi who was on summer break from secondary school (high school) and wanted to experience northern Ghana for the first time. The majority of Ghanaians I meet in Kumasi and Accra have never traveled to the northern half of Ghana and regard it with the same stereotypes that people from the US tend to have about Africa. Junior thought that Wa and Tamale were the same place and that Wa was two hours north of Accra (I hope that anyone who knows Ghana well is laughing right now!)

Schoolchildren in Lawra

At one point in the trip, I was alternating between giving the trucking company directions to Wechiau (before anyone panics and races to warn the trucking company about my abysmal sense of direction, don’t worry…my sense of direction in Ghana is shockingly better than in the US) and giving Junior a geography lesson on northern Ghana…since when have a become a tour guide for other Ghanaians?!?

Before heading to Wechiau, Junior and I took a tro-tro into Lawra to wrap up some loose ends for the shipment that they had received several weeks ago. In case anyone thought I was exaggerating about the broken-down state of tro-tros in the north, Junior took one look at our vehicle and dubbed it a “death trap” ☺. Back in Lawra, I helped to set up the laundry machine, distributed digital copies of equipment and computer manuals, and said final goodbyes. We stayed in a guesthouse located just opposite of a cell phone tower (cell tower = my internet modem works), allowing me to spend an incredibility productive night submitting several medical schools applications!

Emma

My Last Post About Customs...Hopefully...

I was woken up by a phone call from our Clearing Agent (the company that handles customs and the duty exemption process) that they had scheduled a meeting in the nearby port city of Tema. I threw on a MedPLUS polo and rushed out of my hotel in Accra, hoping I could find a taxi driver to take me the 1+ hour ride without too steep of a price. I think my taxi driver could sense that I was stressed out from medical school applications, hungry from skipping breakfast and still exhausted from the previous day’s long bus rides because he promptly pulled over and bought me a bag of groundnuts. Thank you random taxi driver for making my day! Tema is Ghana’s main shipping port. It is a chaos of administrative buildings full of flustered people getting overwhelming stacks of documents stamped, signed, certified, and authorized by offices full of people with convoluted government titles.

Shipping Comtainers in Tema

The reason our second shipment of supplies was held up in customs was because “MOH” (standing for Ministry of Health) was not written on the Bill of Lading (our official shipping document). Although we submitted a signed memorandum from one of the leading officials at the Ministry of Health, stating that the Ministry was partnering with MedPLUS Connect and that they were covering the cost of shipping the supplies, customs refused to budge. The ridiculous part of the whole situation is that the recipient section of the Bill of Lading, which customs insisted should include “MOH” is typed by our shipping company in the US. There is no sort of accountability or legitimacy to having those letters added in...sigh…although now we will never fail to add “MOH” in the future. Who knew that three little letters could cause so much drama!

It turned out that all we needed was a face to face meeting with the Assistant Commissioner of Customs (who conveniently “happened” to be from a town near Wechiau, the shipment’s destination) and our stack of customs documents got the final stamp it needed. As I left the customs offices, I passed through a literal city of shipping containers. The old metal containers had been outfitted with doors, curtains and the odd A/C unit or two…bizarre!

Emma

Back to Accra

After saying our goodbyes, Emily and I headed back down to Accra; Emily to fly home to the US to start her economics PhD program at Yale, and me to meet with our Clearing Agent and continue the never-ending battle with customs.

After an early morning pick-up truck ride into town and a much drawn-out 8 hour bus ride (you would think that people could do better job coordinating their pee breaks!) we stopped in Kumasi to pick up gifts for donors at a local wood carving village. At the village, we met up with a Peace Corps volunteer who had coordinated our order, and Emily gave the wood carvers a run down off a website she was planning to develop for them. After a quick stop to drop off the carvings at a friend’s house in Kumasi, we headed back to the bus station for the ride down to Accra.

Because Emily was racing against the clock to make a 1am flight, we opted to pay the extra $3 and splurge on a “VIP bus.” After spending the past few weeks crammed in an increasingly ragged collection of tro-tros and pick-ups, the huge reclining seats, foot rests, and A/C was amazing. As we sped toward Accra, I got out my laptop and modem so that Emily could check her flight. Yes, I know it is hard to believe. Internet. In Ghana. On public transportation…crazy! Even the near-magical VIP bus couldn’t quite beat out the Ghanaian traffic to get Emily the airport in time, so we grabbed a hotel room for the night and she took a flight out of Ghana the next morning. I miss you, Emily!!

Emma

MedPLUS Connect's Shipment Arrived in Lawra!

After a few minor setbacks and glitches (culminating in a fight with a police officer because the truck driver forgot his drivers license) our first 40 foot container of the summer arrived at the Lawra District Hospital! The Compact truckers were amazing- they keep us updated throughout the trip, were a huge help in unpacking, and left Kumasi at 4am to make sure the truck got here early today (the head trucker said he could hear the concern in my voice so decided that driving was more important than sleeping...awwww!). Thanks Issac!!

Wheelchairs Being Unloaded in Lawr

The staff and community members of Lawra pitched in to spend the morning unpacking the supplies, equipment, and hospital beds. A group of local health and government officials came out to watch the unpacking process, and everything went surprisingly smoothly.

Carrying Hospital Beds into the Lawra District Hospital

The best part of the experience was that Emily and I weren't needed at all! Everyone was efficient and organized, and the administration had taken the initiative to make copies of the shipment inventory and distribute it to all the key people. The electrician was ready to install the OR lamps and the plumper was excited to get the washer hooked up and running.

Community Members and Health Staff Working Together to Unload The Supplies

The efficiency, professionalism and dedication of health personnel at places like the Lawra District Hospital make me confident that MedPLUS has developed some truly amazing partners!

Emma

Wa and the WWF

With the exemption process back on track but a week to wait before the first shipment finished with customs, Emily and I did a site visit to Tumu District Hospital, another hospital in north-west Ghana. There, we met with the hospital’s Administrator and Procurement’s Officer, took a tour of the hospital, and explained the process of partnering with MedPLUS.

Site Visit at Tumu District Hospital

Taking a Tour of the Tumu District Hospital

After returning to Lawra for a night, we headed back to Wa, the regional capital, to meet with the Regional Director of Health Services, make a much-needed visit to an ATM, and buy some fruit. At one point in our trip to Wa, our tro-tro engine was smoking so badly that I literally made Emily pry open the back window a little to see if we could jump out the window if necessary (mom- I hope you’re not reading this and freaking out).

Back in Lawra, we prepped the staff for the arrival of the shipment, distributed unpacking lists, and spoke to the electrician about the transformers and adaptors that must be matched with each piece of medical equipment. Walking to the store room on the day before the shipment’s arrival, I was greeted by something strange in the OPD waiting area—silence. I turned the corner and saw everyone’s necks craning toward the small TV mounted above the pharmacy, the usual chatter of waiting patients and crying of children absolutely silenced. On the screen was not a soccer game as I had expected, but a women’s WWF wresting match complete with sparkly outfits and dangerous looking props…oh, globalization!

Emma

The Fun of Customs

Last night, Emily and I spent the evening reveling in our fast internet and the delicious bag of bananas we had bought in Wa that afternoon…we should have known that our luck would not last. In the morning, the power turned off, the fans shut down, the water in the bathroom stopped flowing, and a call to the Chief Director asking about the progress of the exemptions for the shipments (so they can pass through customs in Ghana without paying import duties) left us frustrated by the news that the 1-2 week timeline had been pushed back to 3-4 weeks…news that we were beginning to fall into Ghana’s much-feared administrative abyss.

So we did what you do in those situations: freak out for a few minutes, compose a text to the Minister of Health, and then start calling everyone in our phonebook. Several hours and tens of phone calls to our shipping company, clearing agent, local health officials and MOH officials later, we were starting to make some headway.

Our first task was to get letters from our two recipient hospitals, stating that the goods in the shipment were donated. Getting a letter on official letterhead is easier said than done when a power outage makes it impossible to print the letter to get it signed, and access to a fax machine or scanner is a motorbike ride away. After an afternoon of surprisingly good luck, the letters were in the hands of our clearing agent and we were hoping for good news.

Emma

"those days"

I haven’t had internet for the past week or so, so here are a bunch of updates…

Sometimes in Ghana, you just have those days…those days when you come home from a long day of meetings to realize that you have run out of drinking water, and a power outage makes the pitch black walk into town to buy some more seem too difficult of a task, and you sit around the small pot of boiling water, dripping with sweat and willing the water to cool down enough to gulp in down….I guess the water shortage can be considered a good thing when you have also run out of toilet paper :).

We’ve settled into Lawra pretty well…power outages, bucket showers and all…especially considering that whenever we are having one of “those days” we know that everything will be ok once 6:00pm rolls around and we get to see Paul. At six, we head down the dirt paths to the small houses surrounding the hospital to pick up our basket of supper. Before we make it past the hospital gates, Paul sprints up to greet us, running in his adorable 3-year-old way, half waddling and all smiles.

Children Playing Outside the Lawra District Hospital

Our first hesitant evenings of kicking a ball back and forth have soon progressed into our own version of “football,” played with the crumbling foundation of a half-finished building as goal posts, and three worn out balls, not one of which could be considered a true soccer ball. By the time we have played for about 10 minutes, we are usually joined by Paul’s older brothers and a gaggle of kids who live on the hospital compound and whose parents or siblings work as nurses. There is something about running through the dirt and weeds, dodging the occasional hospital admin on their motorbikes, and yelling in victory after scoring a goal that is the best stress release ever!

Emma

Living in Lawra

We have been based in the small town of Lawra for a little over two weeks now, and have adjusted to the dusty heat and settled into the slow pace of life. Our guesthouse is small and welcoming, and is tucked back along a dirt path that leads to a red dirt road just outside of town. Our room costs only about $8 per night, and we have access to a shared bathroom, living room and a small kitchen. Just outside the kitchen is a refrigerator filled with bottles of beer and trash bags of dead guinea fowl. Every few days, we wander into the kitchen to making our morning tea and are greeting by a group of women de-feathering and butchering a new round of birds…suffice to say, I would be happy to never smell another guinea in my life. I soon learned that if you close the refrigerator door too hard, a frozen guinea fowl or two will fall out of a hole in the back of the freezer ☺.

Emily and I Cooked Dinner For Our Friends

Although we usually pick up dinner from the hospital canteen, cooking breakfast and the occasional dinner has been quite an adventure. Last week, Emily and I decided to make corn on the cob. Considering that it only involves corn and water, we thought that it would be a simple task. Realizing that neither of us had any idea how to actually cook corn, Emily called her dad who looked up “corn on the cob” in a Betty Crocker cookbook…I don’t think Betty had ever used a Ghanaian gas stove, because 45 minutes later, our corn was still rock hard. After accepting defeat another 30 minutes later, we have learned to stick to the basics—pancakes, spaghetti with tomatoes and onions, lots of oatmeal, and pbj (always a classic).

Fufu and Groundnut Soup - A Ghana Classic

At dusk, after we have made our evening walk back from the hospital with a picnic basket full of rice balls and groundnut soup, fufu, or my personal favorite, red-red (plantains and bean stew), we are greeted by the guesthouse’s night watch man. The kind old man is as skinny as a pole and I don’t know what is less threatening…him snoring on the couch or the little plastic slingshot that he keeps by his side. In addition to the fact that Lawra is possibly the safest and most welcoming place that I have even been to, we were assured by the group of young immigration officers who stay in a neighboring building (and spend their days working out and parading around in their underwear) that they are there for us, night and day, if we need…anything.

Emma

Check Out our Newsletter Update

Check out our most recent newsletter here: http://medplusconnect.com/newsletterFiles/MedPLUSConnect_ShortNewsletter_Ghana2010.html

To be added to our newsletter mailing list, email medplusconnect@gmail.com with your name and email address.

Site Visit at Nandum Hospital

A few days ago, Emily and I went to a nearby town called Nandum to meet with the medical director and conduct a site visit of the hospital. In Ghana, hospitals are run by the medical director, who is in charge of all aspects of the hospital—patient care, ordering supplies, dealing with health insurance reimbursements, paying the staff, etc, etc. In the rural north where doctors are scare, the medical director is often the hospital’s only Ghanaian doctor (many have 1-2 doctors through an exchange program with Cuba). That means that one individual is responsible for overseeing the care of hundreds of patients and doing every surgery and complicated procedure…in addition to all the administrative tasks. The dedication of these doctors is incredible!

Out Patient Department at Nandom District Hospital

At Nandum Hospital, we were shown around by a young medical director named Dr. Wodah. Although he had been in Nandum for less than a year, his strong rapport with patients and ingenuity in dealing with limited resources were already clear. He showed us the playroom in the children’s ward that he had helped to establish, and the children’s malnutrition program that he had set up just weeks before. He introduced us to a small boy playing happily in the corner; he had been the first child treated by Dr. Wodah’s feeding program and had come to the hospital so weak that he had not been able to sit up. Using a combination of vitamins, a local variation on rehydration salts, and high calorie/protein foods, he hoped to collect enough data to prove that his program was working and convince the government to fund the scaling up process.

As we walked from the maternity ward back to the administrative block, we paused for a minute so that the doctor could kill a passing snake with a large stick…truly a man of many talents! As we continued on our way, out stepped…(you will never guess this)…a Bulgarian neurosurgeon. He told us that he moved from Bulgaria to the “Ghanaian bush” eight years ago, armed with his medical tools and an English dictionary. In the ill-lit and poorly resourced operating rooms of Nandum Hospital, he provides lifesaving neurosurgeries—incredible!

Dr. Wodah and his Bulgarian counterpart were enthusiastic about developing a partnership with MedPLUS Connect, and have already developed and submitted their preliminary request list of supplies and equipment. Emily and I are very excited to hopefully ship supplies to Nandum Hospital sometime this year!

Emma

Intern Spotlight

Thanks so much to awesome intern Claire, who has been working with both MedPLUS Connect and Project Heal!

As a Senior Nutrition major at UNC, Claire is fascinated by the biological mechanics of health. She got involved with Project Heal (www.projectheal.net) in 2008 and was blown away by the compassion and enthusiasm of its leaders. This summer she is working to realize the Nutrition Rehabilitation Center at the Lawra hospital by researching and pursuing funding opportunities and helpful partnerships.

Tales of a Tro-Tro

Determined to find some internet and fix Emily’s phone (which has required trips to various phone stores in 4 of Ghana’s 10 regions), we woke up early and headed to Wa, the nearest town. After several hours in a tro-tro, two long waits in phone stores, and waiting out a rainstorm under a store awning, it was time to head back to Lawra and try out my newly purchased modem (feel free to email us!). What was at first glance a normal ride in a “normal tro-tro” turned out to be one of our most ridiculous transportation experiences yet.

Tro-tros Waiting in the Wa Station

After cramming ourselves and our backpacks inside, we skeptically looked around our combination hearse / sauna / prison transport vehicle. The peeling and stained quilted ceiling sloped down low on the sides and the windows refused to open, so when I turned my head (a difficult task, considering I was wedged in sideways with my arm behind Emily and a man sitting against my knees) all I could see was the shoulders and heads of people crammed in front of me. The steel bars stretching across the windows, and the fact the door had to be tied shut from the outside (using an old flannel shirt) just added to the lovely atmosphere.

To make matters worse, the jarring bumps in the dirt road made the two old women sitting with us in the back have to pee, making us and all the people sitting in the isle crawl out of the tro-tro every 30 minutes or so, tumbling over legs, bags, and whatever remained of the broken seats. After several pee breaks, a trip to deliver juice boxes to a village store, and a random detour where we all got out and the tro-tro drove off before returning 30 minutes later, we finally arrived back in Lawra- whew!

Emma

Intern Spotlight!

Thanks so much to amazing MedPLUS Connect Intern and Donation Request Coordinator Catherine!!! .

Catherine is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Biology and African Studies. Her interest in Ghanaian public health first began when she joined Project Heal, a student organization at UNC founded by Emma & Lauren (www.projectheal.net), as a freshman. Following this interest she studied abroad at the University of Ghana and returned to Ghana this past summer through Project Heal. On this four-week trip to Ghana she led an initiative to build composting pit latrines with slabs in Lawra, a rural town that partners with MedPLUS Connect. She joined the MedPLUS Connect team last year as Donation Request Coordinator, and hopes to continue expanding this role throughout the coming year!

Intern Spotlight

Thank you so much to intern Brooke  for her work with MedPLUS Connect!

When Brooke graduated from college she entered a PhD program for neuropsychology and became more and more fascinated by the medical science and involvement in patient care. After leaving graduate school and completing a post-baccalaureate premedical program at Goucher College, Brooke traveled with MedPLUS Connect to Ghana for two weeks. She is currently applying to medical school and hopes she will have a chance to return to Ghana in the near future!

Conductng Business...Under a Tree

Our first day in Lawra started out in typical Ghanaian style, as we learned that all the health officials we had planned to meet with were gone for the weekend, that the internet and cell towers were down, and that Emily’s computer charger took this opportune time to break, thanks to previous puppy chewing back in the States. Slightly dejected, we headed off to the market to shop for dinner, and then stopped by the town’s main (aka “only”) restaurant to meet up with an old friend. I was surprised by a huge hug, and turned around to see the District Commission (similar to a Mayor) who was meeting his nephew at the restaurant’s other table.

On the way back to our guesthouse, the DC causally mentioned that the Minister of Health was in town and that maybe Emily and I wanted to stop by and give him the summary lists of the shipments we sent…ummm…YES! We hurriedly tucked in our shirts (thank goodness we decided to wear dress pants and our MedPLUS polos that morning), and stuffed the garlic, tomatoes, and onions we were carrying into our bags. The Minister greeted us with an exclamation of “my girlfriends!” gave us big hugs, and told us to order some drinks, and it better not be coca cola ☺

We spent the next three hours sitting in plastic chairs under the shade of a big tree, splitting oversized Star beers three ways with the Minister (or, more accurately, 3 glasses for the minister for every one sip between us) and hoping that the tomatoes weren’t squishing all over our cameras and notebooks. Interspersed with fascinating comments about American history, global politics, and memories from his years teaching at Yale and Cornell, were stories about his first girlfriend, a few hilarious (and somewhat inappropriate jokes) and stories about lunches with “Michelle and Barack” (yes, in case you were wondering, he did tell Michelle Obama that she should leave her husband and become his wife)….I love Ghana!

Emma

Are We There Yet?

As Emily and I boarded a bus to travel across northern Ghana, Brooke headed back to Accra to catch a flight to the US. She got a great job offer for the coming year, and unfortunately had to leave early. Brooke- we miss you!! We had just gained some momentum and were bumping along nicely when we came to a small bridge- never a good sign in the rainy season. The driver (seeing the half caved in bridge with huge holes) slowed for minute, seemed to consider his options, and slammed on the gas as the whole bus held a collective breath. The front of the bus flew over the gap but the back wheels (of course right where Emily and I were sitting) got caught in a hole with a huge jolt….after a few painfully long seconds of spinning wheels, we made it through and continued on our way.

Village We Passed in Northern Ghana

Other than an old women throwing up out of the window next to me, the rest of the long ride across Ghana was slow, bumpy, and fairly uneventful. A few hours into the ride, the bus stopped at the side of the road, everyone calming filed out, walked 30 feet down the road, waited for the bus to catch up, and calmly re-entered. Emily and I, along with another group of “obrunis” stood around in confusion until we were herded along by a friendly passenger…sometimes I really wish that I understood more of the local language! The last few hours of the drive to Lawra was beautiful- pockets of farmland, red dusty earth, and the occasional bicycle- it felt like we were coming home!

Emma

Adventures in the Upper East

After a good night of sleep in our guesthouse in Bolga, we headed out to meet with a dental surgeon who is the Medical Director of the Bolga Regional Hospital. The hospital was larger and newer than others we have visited in the past, but the crowded outpatient ward and chaotic records room were so familiar. Dr. Richard talked to us about the struggles the hospital faces in meeting the needs of its growing patient base, and the long trip (yep, that 17 hour bus ride) that health officials often have to take to the capital to pick up supplies.

From Bolga, we headed out to Walewale (which rightly is translated as “it is far”) to meet with Dr. Abdulai, an old friend and incredibly dedicated physician.

Dr. Abdulai Leading Emily And I Through Walewale District Hospital

He gave us a tour of the Walewale hospital, and after volunteering in the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center this year, it was once again shocking to see the difference between the well stocked high-tech center in Baltimore (not that Baltimore doesn’t have its own share of health problems!) and the 5 boxes of sutures stacked on the dusty floor.

Walewale's Entire Stock of Sutures

It was clear that Dr. Abdulai had spoken extensively with his new colleagues about MedPLUS Connect, and we hope to send a shipment of supplies to Walewale this winter.

Before leaving Bolga, we went to meet with the Regional Health Director of the Upper East, one of the ten individuals in charge of regional health care provision in Ghana. We were told by his secretary that he was in a conference all day, and left her with summary lists of this summer’s two shipments and a note saying that we were sent by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health. I don’t know if it was the 40 hospital beds or the Chief Director’s name that did it, but we had barely made it down the stairs when the secretary called Emily’s cell phone, letting us know that the Regional Director’s schedule was suddenly open and he wanted to meet immediately. The meeting went well, and we hope to expand to the Upper East region, one of Ghana’s poorest three regions, this coming year.

Emma

Medical Waste Article in the NY Times

Check out this interesting article in the New York Times. The article cites an estimation that over 2 million tons of medical supplies are thrown away annually. MedPLUS Connect aims to reduce medical waste by connecting recovered and donated supplies from the US to health systems in Ghana. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/health/06waste.html?_r=1&ref=health

-Lauren

Leaving Accra and Heading Up

It seems like I have been in Ghana long enough to have “old friends.” Waiting in line at the bus station, I ran into Kwame….the guy who picked me up from the airport and sat next to me on the bus from Accra to Kumasi…over four years ago- crazy!

Accra shut down for Ghana’s Independence Day (July 1st), so we spent the day riding around in a tiny neon green car (driven by a technician from a tech NGO we are partnering with) in search of transformers for the two freezers included in the shipments.  As Ghana prepared for the evening world cup “football” game against Uruguay (a process which involved lots of face painting and taxi decorating), we headed to Cape Coast for a day of hiking and being tourists.

Brooke On The Canopy Tour At Kakum National Park

Cape Coast

Decked out in jerseys and Ghanaian flags, we watched the game in our guesthouse bar, which also seemed to be a convenient location for several groups of fully uniformed police officers and military officers. The game was incredible…two rounds of overtime and penalty shots, which brought on plenty of dancing, fist pounding, gun waving and screaming sprints through the streets. Unfortunately, Ghana lost by one goal in penalty shots, but hopefully we will be back in 2014 for the next world cup!

We packed our overstuffed backpacks (you would never guess how heavy 60 cliff bars feel until they are on your back), said goodbye to Accra, and headed to Bolgatanga, the capital of the Upper-East Region. We knew the bus ride was going to be long when we started by sitting in a gas station for 45 minutes, when we crawled along the dirt road detours to avoid construction, and when the bus driver popped in “part 3” of a terrible Nigerian movie, but it didn’t fully hit until we staggered from the bus at 2am (after 17ish hours) into the sticky night heat of Bolga. Fingers crossed that a taxi would magically arrive at the empty station, we climbed through the maze of rice, plantains, and a banana tree that had accumulated in the aisle. After tying our bags onto the back of a shared taxi and knocking on doors of several guesthouses, a half-asleep night watchman dragged an extra mattress into an empty room and we collapsed for the night.

Today was a typically unproductive Ghanaian Sunday spent exploring the “city,” spending an hour trying to load gmail at an internet café, and willing the day to cool off. Tomorrow is full of meetings and visits to two new hospitals…should be a great day.

Too hot to type any more!!

-Emma