Update

Lydia update: Lydia wounds continue to require a great deal of care. It will take many months to clear it all up, alongside physio and occupational therapy. Currently she is practically kept in air-con as many hours per day as we can, to keep humidity low and sweat down. She can't leave the site for risk of infection. We have found that even a few hours out in the heat with her dressing and brace on is enough to create a whole new bag of worms to deal with. We have modified her brace heavily, but it is still not enough for the conditions we face. We have found a combination that appears to be working (in conjunction with Medical professionals in Germany with extensive African experience). She does not always understand her challenges. Together we are working to resolve issues caused by ignorance and poor historical treatment. Sadly, there are still many who do not understand the care that is needed - some give well meaning but destructive advice. Ignorance (whether locally or internationally) is damaging so many young people in West Africa - our role is to protect and promote - but it is not always easy. Patricia Mawuli and I wish we could inoculate against ignorance.

Sowing seeds

Patricia and the girls are starting a small garden for local vegetables.

Food and nutrition are little understood topics. Just talking about it is not enough. Learning by doing is the key to all that we do at Kpong Airfield.

Women of worth..... role models

Last night Patricia spoke at the Ashesi university campus as part of the Wolfpack Women of Worth campaign.

Ama K. Abebrese and Agnes Ntow of TV fame, Women of Worth from the Media, were also speaking.

Patricia took three of her girls from the Avtech Academy along with her two new special tools. The Attitude Adjuster hammer and her Hard Work and Determination spanner. Patricia spoke from her heart and shared on a very personal level the challenges of 'making it' in engineering and aviation in Ghana. Similar stories came from Ama K and Agnes in relation to their career sectors.

All of them spoke out against the use of sex as a control tool used in schools, universities and the workplace. These successful young women made it clear that standing up for your self and working forward with your passion is the only route to success. They all shared their frustrations, and then smiled at their achievements.

Patricia was the only candidate who had gone through her journey completely in Ghana, with Ama K having lived in the UK and Agnes in the USA prior to returning to their homeland. It was clear that Ghana is not an easy place for women to succeed, unless they hold their heads high and refuse the status quo, holding to their principles and not being swayed by 'negative influences' in their lives.

Well done Women of Worth - be those role models that will enable others to stand above the rest.

The First 100

The first batch of 100 drops using the new poster set was collated and bagged today. Lydia is on light

duties and was there to ensure all packs were set ready for deployment.

If we only affected change in 5 people in each drop village we would be changing 5000 lives this year. We believe that the impact is far greater.

One thing is certain. .. and that is the changes in the lives of those who make up the packs from the Avtech Academy programme.

First pin on the map from Ghana

Lydia was able to put a pin in Ghana on the hospital map.

Supported in her geography studies during hospitalisation in Germany by Onni, Lydia was invited to add a navigation string to the hospital map as part of her understanding the continents and adding to the list of countries patients have travelled from to the hospital.

As you can see, Lydia was the first patient from West Africa - and she was an excellent ambassador for the rural people of her part of the world.

Healthcare drops.. now with style...

We have now received the poster packs for the next set of drops. Here is a selection being admired by
Patricia and Lydia as they prepare to return to Ghana after Lydia's surgery.

Massive thanks to Joerg and his team for an excellent production.

We expect to reach over 200 000 people with air drops in 2013.

Thank you all for your amazing support and working with us to change lives sustainably, one flight and one person at a time!

 

The new drop programme contains a special personal message from Patricia printed on the back of the Wolfpack poster. .. it reads. ..

Dear Community Members

My name is Patricia Mawuli, I come from a village just like yours, in the Volta Region. One day, six years ago, I was working collecting firewood when I heard an aeroplane overhead. I traced that aeroplane to a small airfield in the Eastern Region where the people were concerned about health and education. Their team is called Medicine on the Move, and I now lead Ghana's air-drop outreach with them. Today, we are reaching out to your community.

I learned to build aircraft, install aircraft engines and maintain them. I, along with other Ghanaian girls, built the aircraft that dropped this package to your community - and I flew the mission to drop this message to you personally. This very package has been prepared by young women from communities just like yours!

Today, I hope that this message and the accompanying posters will inspire you as a community to do many new things. I hope that you will use these posters in your schools and in your community health education programmes. I have a few things to ask of you all:

1. Please enrol your children when they are young, and keep your children in school, and remember the girl children must go to school too. Our children are the future. Education is important. I know, I have used my education to be able to reach you with this message today.

2. Please make sure that you do not allow people to urinate and defecate in or near water sources. Please use latrines - it really will help to reduce infections and disease. Make sure that latrines do not flood and spread disease.

3. Please do not bathe directly in the lakes and rivers. Try to reduce the risk to you and your family of the diseases spread in the waters around you.

4. Please remember to filter or boil water before you drink it. So many people are getting sick from using  non-safe water.

5. Please keep your communities clean. We see the rubbish around your communities as we fly over. If possible, establish some sort of community waste management. Where possible, and without causing risk of fire to homes or fields, burn your rubbish (borla) on a regular basis. Rubbish around your homes is a health risk - keep your community clean.

6. Please include meat, fresh vegetables and fruit in the diet of your family - it is important for your health.

7. Please reduce the malaria risks to your families by reducing the breeding places and use a mosquito net over your bed to reduce the number of mosquito bites that can spread the disease. If you or your children get malaria please get suitable treatment early - remember malaria kill many people every day.

8. Mothers, please feed your babies with breast milk for at least the first 6 months, and if possible for up to 2 years as a supplement. Your breast milk helps to protect your babies and make them strong.

9. Please take washing of your hands seriously. Wash your hands with soap and clean water after handling money, going to the toilet and before cooking or eating - and before feeding your children. Dirt on your hands can make your babies very sick - even dirt that you cannot see. Please wash your hands well.

We hope that this message will help you to help improve your community, keeping your children strong, healthy and well educated. We send this message of care and encouragement, and hope that you will find a use for the materials we give to you freely. We wish your community health, education and great future. Please take care of each other and your home.

Patricia Mawuli and the young women from Medicine on the Move

Kpong Airfield, Eastern Region, Ghana

An amazing improvement

Lydia is out of hospital. Not only is she out of hospital, she is smiling and looking forward to returning to Ghana to complete her pilots licence and carry out essential health education training to the rural communities.

Lydia's life has changed dramatically over the past three and a half years, and these x-rays showing the change in her hand position, really bring home how much this amazing young woman has gone through.

Our sincere thanks go out to the hospital at Bad Neustadt in Germany and to Professors Lanz and van Shoonhoven for their amazing skill in carrying out this surgery.

The MoM Germany team has led this event, and without them it could not have come together. Their fundraising, logistics and support enabled a smooth facilitation of this event. A large 'Vielen Danke' to our German team and all from around the world who have contributed towards 'Changing Lydia's life'.