Fighting tradition and fear...

Audrey has finally been able to meet with the lady in the Fulani Camp with a broken leg. Her report was not terribly encouraging. This incident happened a few weeks ago now, and the lady has still not been to hospital. Interestingly, her own family wanted to take her, as have other members of the community. However, the lady is so, so scared of having her leg amputated that she refuses to leave her home.

She is laying on the floor with two wooden splints and a dirty cloth wrapped around her leg. There are a lot of 'herbs' on the leg. We are told that the 'healer' came with a razor blade and made a series of incisions to 'release the blood' and to 'enable the herbs to enter'. This is a common source of infection.

Audrey tried to see the leg better, but the lady wound not permit it. There is a limit to what we can do.

Audrey will visit again next week and try to get her to join her at the hospital, having 'encouraged' community members to work on the challenge.

Sadly, the stats are not good. 70% of all broken femurs in West Africa result in death. Many others result in amputations. Normally inappropriate, late or non- treatment is a major factor. We hope that this lady will not suffer from infections and secondary complications.

This really raises the need for better education at all levels in regards to general health and to build confidence in the 'hospital' as a place where you can get help.

Our challenges appear to get bigger every day.

Interview with Audrey Biney....

Audrey has been a local volunteer with mom and us a fantastic support, often chugging away behind the scenes making things happen... Lets find out some more about her...

--How long have you been involved with MoM?

My initial contact with MoM was back in March 2010. We were approached by Jonathan and Patricia in the Accra Mall when they expressed interest in getting Isabella (my daughter, who was then only 2 years old) involved in the upcoming "Fly me day". During our conversation, they both spoke of MoM and I knew immediately I wanted to be involved.

--What is your role within MoM?

My role really is as a health educator and to lend support/assistance in other areas wherever/whenever required (i.e. translating, attending meetings, etc…) More recently though, I’ve been actively participating in the INSCI programme and the Fulani Outreach.

--What was it that drew you to become involved with MoM?

Good question. I relocated to Ghana over 3 years ago from the UK, but even before we had made the decision to come to Ghana I had always said I would love to have the opportunity to do something like this. I really wanted to be able to give back to society where the rewards are not necessarily monetary. I envisaged myself on so many occasions working in rural communities and villages and doing some sort of outreach work. So within me, I was already looking for an opportunity like this and there are so many NGOs out there but I liked the vision of MoM and the people involved.

--What have you enjoyed most about your work with MoM so far?

Definitely the interaction with the communities and seeing the impact that our work has on their lives, not only now but in the future! It is also a very humbling experience for me and it teaches me to not take so much for granted and to be truly thankful to God for what I have and what I have achieved in life so far.

It has also brought me into contact so many wonderful people from all over the world like the volunteers of MoM who have a passion and dedication for what they do.

Do you have any advice for others who would like to contribute to MoM's growth?

I would say “Do it!” It is one of the most amazing and rewarding things you can do with your life and you cannot put a monetary value on the rewards you receive. You could be changing lives in ways you couldn't even imagine. There are many ways to contribute even if you don't have the time to spare to come out as a volunteer...so I would say, please just do something!

Working to resume classes in the Fulani school

Submitted my Michaela Sholes


Audrey and I had a lovely time at the Fulani camp this morning, where we met with the community for a much more informal session than we've had as of late. Many sessions recently have targeted a specific group in order to gather their feedback as we determined the best way to move forward with the education classes, but today was open to anyone and we had a great group show up!

We began the session with our announcement to them that we would be resuming classes in the community the first week of May, so it will coincide nicely with the start of the new term with public school as well. By that point, my sister Rachelle will also have arrived and will be focused on getting the sessions started again as she spends the next four months with us! The community got a big kick out of the fact that she and I have both lived here as long as we have and our Twi is still "kakra kakra" (small small). It gave me an added incentive for me to improve my language skills!

Following our announcement about the classes starting again, Audrey and I did a short health education session on washing hands. I gave them a brief talk about the role proper hand washing can play in preventing disease in the camp and pulled from my days as a Preschool teacher with a song many of my former students are familiar. Sung to the tune of "Frere Jaques", we modeled washing the top and bottom of the hands as well as in between the fingers. Francis Norman, who had joined us for our session, played his violin with our song as we called on various people, both young and old, to model the song for the group. It was great fun for all and we shared lots of laughter!

The group also enjoyed a short talk and hands-on demonstration from Francis regarding his violin and the different sounds it makes. He took many volunteers to touch the violin and to try to play the instrument and it was cheering to see their faces light up as they realized they were helping to make that lovely noi...I mean, sound! Francis and his friend from Germany also brought with them some balloons which made for lots of cheer, despite one or two unfortunate little balloons that got too close to the spiky grass!

We will continue to be in touch with the community as we determine what days of the week work best for the different sessions, as we will now be holding the women's group separate from the children's group, in addition to starting the men's group with Ben.

There's no such thing as a simple wound

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

Last week, while we were having a follow-up meeting at the Fulani camp, we met Osmanu, the young son of one of the ladies who has been attending the education classes. We could hear the poor little fellow crying from a ways off, as he made his way over to where we were gathered. His little foot was caked in fresh blood and we learned from his mother that he had had a boil on the side of his pinkie toe. Apparently, the boil had just been pricked by something sharp on the ground, causing it to burst...and resulting in the mess and his tears. Before leaving that day, we cleaned his foot and advised them to take him to the clinic in order to get it dressed properly. I confess, I was more than a little worried about having another Asamau-type of experience with this little boy.

Today, after our meeting at the school, we stopped by the camp in order to follow up with the little boy and see how his foot was faring. Although his wound is definitely still healing and looks painful, Alai has confirmed that Osmanu was taken to the clinic and that they have been cleaning his foot and putting GV on the wound (GV, although technically ill-advised as long term use can cause blood poisoning, is commonly used here in Ghana to dry up wounds and is still a far better solution than cow dung!). He is walking though, albeit tenderly, and we were glad to see that he was wearing shoes as opposed to the bare feet from the week before. We will continue to monitor his wound and check in on the little fellow as he is one of the 4 new students to be starting school in May!

Eliasu

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

During our visit to the school, Audrey and I took the opportunity to see how Eliasu is doing! His teachers speak highly of him and the administration often use him as a role model to encourage other children. We learned last week that he has been made Class Prefect, which is an admirable achievement (comparable to Class President)! He has been working hard during exams and we look forward to celebrating his anticipated good grades when the term is completed!

Our next challenge is working with Eliasu and his family to get his younger brother registered as well. Although his brother has been given a bicycle to attend school, his father states financial difficulties as the barrier to his registration. We are still working with them to see what can be done, but in the meantime, Eliasu remains an encouragement to his brother and the other children in the camp.

Fulani school registration

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

Time is a funny thing out here...  I find that no matter how long I live here, this particular concept is one that I must constantly remind myself of (especially when I am tempted to get panicky over it).  Those who haven't been here might think it funny that each appointment made must have the specification as to whether it will be "Ghana time" or "clock time", but in fact it is essential to distinguish in order to avoid losing half your day and potentially much of your sanity. 

Audrey and I met at the Fulani camp early in the morning to accompany some of the parents to Iliasu's school in order to help them register 4 additional children for the upcoming school term.  We arrived a little early to pick them up as we had set up a 7:30am appointment with the school, only  to discover that everyone was still off bathing and getting ready.  Finally setting off around 9:30 with the parents and children in tow, we arrived at the school with our prepared apologies...only to find that the administration weren't bothered about it in the least (apparently the only ones not working on Ghana time are Audrey and I!).

The meeting with the headmistress didn't go quite as we had planned, although that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  She and the administration coordinator (Madame Felicia) explained that registration typically occurs at the beginning of a term or at a time when the child is ready to go right into classes.  Since their school is currently writing their end of term exams, she advised that we return at the start of the next term (May 2) to officially register the kids.  That is really just a formality though, as they have already taken down the information from each of the children and have verbally accepted them into the school.  Understandably, the headmistress expressed some concerns regarding the likelihood of the children's future attendance, referring to the children from the camp who had been registered before and stopped coming to school.  Audrey explained to her the challenges identified by the Fulanis concerning transportation and the costs of uniforms and assured her that the parents have addressed each challenge and are working towards sustainable solutions.

The headmistress and her administration were very encouraging as they spoke with the parents about ways to plan for the next term and took the time to lay out what needed to be done between now and May 2. It has actually worked out well for there to be a few weeks before the new term as it gives the parents additional time to save up for uniforms, book fees, and other school related costs. We will continue to work with the families to address challenges as they occur and encourage them to explore feasible options.

Update on Fulani Camp

Submitted by Audrey Binney

As planned, Michaela and I set off early to the Fulani camp to meet the women who were going to accompany us to the school (Natriku R C School) which was supposedly of closer proximity to their camp than the one we have been focussing on (where Elias attends, Holy Family RC school). It became very clear after 15 minutes of driving that there was no way any child could walk to that school. Nonetheless we carried on and went ahead to meet the Head as planned to explore the structure, facilities and costs involved. We visited their facilities including all the classrooms with a very warm reception from each. We were satisfied with what we saw and concluded it was no different to Holy Family RC school. Of course the issue which brought us here in the first place was they would rather have their children in a school within walking distance.

We came back to the camp and held a follow up meeting with the men and women.

The mothers agreed this school did not fit that criteria and jointly with the men decided they would rather send their children to Holy Family RC.  They have come to the decision they will fund the transportation to send the kids to school and have made an arrangement with a local driver who they trust. This is a good result if they stick to it! They have agreed to send back to school the 8 children who registered and stopped attending last year. They have 5 weeks to sew the uniforms for the children which became a stumbling block last year and contributed to them dropping out.  2 or possibly 3 new children will register next week. Michaela and I then went to the school to let the headmistress know our intentions, that the 8 will be returning and a further 3 registering next week. She assured us the uniform situation will not be an issue if they begin without it. We took the opportunity to check up on Elias. The teachers are very happy with his progress and they tell us he is now Class prefect! We are so proud of him and his achievements….he is certainly a good example for the other children to follow.  We are still working hard to get his brother to start attending next term.

So next week Michaela and I will be meeting the parents of the children who will be registering, at the school where we will assist with their registration.

The key challenge here is whether they will spend/can afford  to sew the uniforms, pay the registration fee (for the new ones) and afford the cost of their books and daily lunch allowance. We’ll keep monitoring their progress.