Noon Monday, from James at VOH


I have spent the last few weeks organizing Farragut's Medical Clinic at the Village of Hope, Fetteh, Ghana. Doing my best to get talented people, their equipment and their supplies, in a place to help those in need. Today is the first day of the clinic and I am privileged to witness its happenings.

Start up is always a bit anxious as we assemble the equipment, medications and supplies. "Where is ______?" or "Have you seen ______." And then there is the electricity challenges, mainly configuring the American equipment to run off voltage twice as high as we have at home. Transformers, power strips, plug adaptors and electrical tape have been key to seeing the equipment startup. When you short out the 220 volts here, it is a spectacle, ask Randy. I wonder if there is a Ghanaian version of OSHA?

Organized chaos is how we started. By midmorning, the patients are flowing through, seeing the medical team, eye doctor and dentist. There are easily 300 people waiting by opening time.

One of my tasks is to ensure I have pictures of our team doing their work. During my visit to the dentistry clinic, Don was seeing one of the orphans of the VOH. She was someone the medical team noticed on Sunday, and asked that she be brought to the clinic first thing. She has a very swollen right jaw, skin graft, and an abscessed tooth. I took photos to help document her condition. If she is the only patient seen by Don, it would be rewarding, however, there is a long line.

You just don't have days like this often.

James