*This post is detailing 5/21-5/25. I haven't had internet access for the past week or so, but I'll try to post a few more times with more experiences that I've had!
The past few days have been filled with lots of unexpected events that I could have never anticipated, but I've learned a lot, and I'm grateful for the experiences and responsibilities I've been entrusted with.
This month, in the Accra region around where we're staying, there is a tradition of not disturbing the ghosts/spirits, so for one month there cannot be loud drums, music, announcements, etc. in the streets or in the churches (next month a different part of Ghana will honor this tradition, then another part, and so forth out of respect for the spirits). On Monday, I woke up feeling refreshed, excited and ready to go. After driving for a couple hours, we arrived at a beautiful, two-story church covered in exquisite stones and topped with a cross. When we looked inside, in contrast to the hundreds of patients we've grown accustomed to seeing, there were only about ten people. The local coordinator responsible for the advertising and reservation of the venue greeted us in our van and explained that he was unable to get the word out for fear of disturbing the ghosts. We ended up leaving after just a few hours and only helped about 20 patients. Thankfully, on our drive home, we stopped at a local radio broadcasting station, gave them a notice of where we'd be tomorrow, and asked them to help us make announcements over the radio.
Tuesday, I woke up twice as excited as on Monday because I was eager to make up for the relatively unproductive experience we had yesterday. I scarfed down a couple pieces of toast and Milo for breakfast, hopped in the van, and sang songs with the other volunteers all the way to the outreach site. As soon as we got there, it was chaos. The village chief told us we weren't welcome, we had to find a new venue, and all of the patients that were in need of treatment were unable to find us and receive help. It was another day of only seeing about 20 people, and at this point, the staff and the rest of the team were incredibly annoyed and grumpy. There was a nice man that rode by on a moto selling coke and small packets of ice cream, but even that couldn't cheer everyone up. You know it's rough when ice cream doesn't solve the problem.
To make a long story short, when we showed up to the outreach site on Wednesday, there was another NGO with a banner advertising St. Thomas (the eye clinic I'm with right now), Unite for Sight (the NGO I'm working with that's partnered with St. Thomas), and other unorthodox medicine practices that Unite for Sight/St. Thomas doesn't support or have a license to perform. We contacted some of our coordinators to inquire about the situation, and meetings with the police, administration, investigators, and the ophthalmologist who owns St. Thomas ensued. It was a hectic morning, but somehow, the sun peaked out in the afternoon, and we ended up seeing more than one hundred patients. I was frazzled by everything going on, but we finished the day playing "Simon Says", "Down by the Banks", and swing dancing with a bunch of kids. My skin was rosy red from the sun, and there was a smile on my face.
Over the past few days, I've learned important lessons about preparation, communication, honesty, and integrity. As a clinic, they should have planned to be in a different area this month because of the unavoidable obstacle of not being able to advertise and get the word out without disturbing the spirits here in Accra. Secondly, with all of the problems that we had to deal with in relation to the other NGO and false advertising/impersonation, it could have all been avoided if people were honest and open from the start. Instead, others chose to ignore the problem, hoping that it would go away, but instead, it exploded into something a lot bigger than it needed to be. I know, without a doubt, that integrity is the first trait that I want to structure my life around. With integrity, we gain trust from others, we learn to trust in the Lord, we are able to serve, develop faith, work hard, and feel the Spirit in our lives. Without integrity, everything else that's good in our life will tumble down when the bad seeds we've sown catch up to us.
I love living in Ghana! I am learning a lot more than I ever expected I would about who I am, what I care about, how I want to live my life, and how to work well with others. I am so grateful for this privilege that I've been given. Have a great week, everybody!
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