Second day at Amoakroam
Well I built my first tippy tap of the trip but it didn’t work as well as I would have liked. For those who don’t know what a tippy tap is, it is an “appropriate technology” fashioned out of a simple plastic jug, some rope and a bar of soap. It is used to wash hands without much water. I think I placed the pivot point too high so you had to pull hard on the string to be able to get water. If I can get the same type of jug tomorrow I might be able to do better.
Another huge day of seeing patients and Donelle really was a star. We saw around 325 adult patients and more than 280 school kids. Donnelle. a pediatric nurse back home, was assessing kids all day and sending the sickest to the doctors.
The others received parasite treatment and some vitamins . The majority of the 280 kids passed under her loving hands. Her room was full to overflowing and always the noisiest by far. For awhile Woodmen’s two biggest guys—Louis and Mike—made a checkpoint in the hallway to prevent cutting in line and try and keep only a few at a time from entering. What a job!
But after dinner they shared that they actually were able to have some good time talking with the kids and ended up enjoying the task. Sue was the enforcer inside the room, doing her best to keep chaos to a minimum.Willi and Charlotte had a great group of about 25 girls around them outside under a shade tree and were singing and playing games all afternoon. Their entourage was sad to see me pull them away for a break and some water but I was harping on everyone all day about staying hydrated and watching out for overheating in the sun. Too little too late and you can really have problems with the heat in Ghana.
Our time in Amoakroam was punctuated by a ceremony by the chiefs and invitations to return. The kids stole several team member’s hearts as we drove away with their new companions waving goodbye.
On our way toward town at the end of the day we drove by Theovision’s new radio station in Assin Fosu and got the grand tour. My favorite part was the studio, not just because the DJ was live on the air and interviewed Cristian and Sheila on behalf of the team, but also because that room’s air conditioning was cranked way up and blowing cool air all down my back. I considered a stint as a DJ on the radio right then and there but a delicious dinner of chicken and rice and watermelon was waiting for us and my eyelids were already drooping.
Another good day.
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