Mission to Cambodia 2012
from Emily Graehler
This day has been one of my favorites thus far. We started the day off extra early around 5:00am in order to make it to Ankor Wat in time to watch the sunrise. Sitting and watching the sunrise provided some quiet time to relax and truly enjoy the experience. Although it was cloudy, the sun still shone through, allowing some great pictures to be taken by all of the tourists. Continue reading
Mission to Cambodia 2012
from Tyler Moser
So far Cambodia has been amazing. No words can describe all of the things that we have seen, done, or felt during this crazy trip. For me, Cambodia was an opportunity to travel one last time before graduating college. I have always loved to travel, and when Southeast Asia was mentioned, I was like “Sure, why not? It can’t be that bad, and I love Thai food, so at least the cuisine should be fine.” However, what Cambodia is, is quite different from what I had imagined or even seen on television, in magazines, etc. The people are truly special, minus the haggling and bartering, I have enjoyed every second of my Asian adventure.
When I originally signed up to be on this trip I was told that I would be the only guy going, and that there were eleven girls. This obviously brought on mixed emotions that were brought upon by my own insecurities. But actually the ladies have been splendid, and there have been two brothers from the church her that have been hanging out with us for the bulk of the trip. So needless to say I’m not lonely, but I am learning a lot about women. 🙂 Continue reading
Mission to Cambodia 2012
from Amelia Brown
Today was our first day working in Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope. We’ve all been anticipating this day and were excited to get to work in the hospital. After arriving, we split up and went to different wings, including the emergency rooms, surgery, the general medical floor. We were put to work doing anything we could to be useful, such as: taking vitals; drawing blood; starting IV’s; checking blood glucose levels; cleaning wounds; etc.
Collectively, our experiences in the hospital were difficult, yet fulfilling. Health care in Cambodia is much different from the United States and nothing like most of us have ever witnessed before. I came on this trip to work in the physiotherapy department because I plan to pursue occupational therapy. Today I worked in the general medical floor because the therapist was not in the hospital. I think that because I’m not a nursing major like everyone else, working on the floor was probably more shocking to me than it was for the others. I have never interacted with a patient who was in such a life-threatening state so closely before. The experience really gave me a different perspective on health care. I truly realize now how privileged we are to have such abundant treatment options and facilities in the US. Continue reading
Mission to Cambodia 2012
from Cassie Wright
Today has been a whirlwind of sightseeing, bargaining, and praising our God. We slept in today and went to breakfast to decide what to do since there was an election for district representatives. Most of the restaurants and shops were closed or opening late, so we thought that taking a walking tour of the city would be perfect. We were guided by the perfect machine woman Mrs. Taplin. She walked us to the Vietnam memorial and the king’s palace. When there was no more city to walk we went back to the hotel via cyclos, a bike with a seat in the front. These rides were very fun and scary at the same time. There were motos, tuk tuks, and cars whizzing by. It was so much fun and it gave us a cool breeze that was much needed after such a long hot walk. Continue reading
Mission to Cambodia 2012
my toes in the sand and my head in the clouds
from Elizabeth Vorholt
The short version is, today we: crashed a wedding, sailed the high seas on the way to rabbit island, swam in the gulf of Thailand, and made it back to Phnom Penh by dinnertime.
This morning we woke up in Kep and many of us were shocked to see the ocean was just steps from our door. When we arrived last night, it was pitched black and we all just zombie-walked straight to our rooms from the bus. Imagine the awe we felt this morning when we saw such an incredible view. As we strolled down the street around 7am, we happened across a traditional Cambodian wedding. Continue reading
Mission to Cambodia 2012
A Servant’s Heart
from Cameray Hart
We already are keeping quite busy on our second day in beautiful Cambodia. Because of our schedules being thrown off so much from the time change, most of us automatically woke up well before 6 or 7. After a breakfast at the hotel, we headed by bus to southern Cambodia. The bus ride there was filled with many images one would be hard-pressed to find in the US. Motos (mopeds or motorcycles) speeding by with Mom, Dad, and their three children piled on. Market places selling traditional food, handwoven baskets, and other such specialties. And miles and miles of rice fields.
After driving three hours, we made it to our destination: the city of Kampot. Of course, the first thing we did was have lunch. The place we picked was called “Natural Bungalow” and it definitely stayed true to the name. We had a bungalow right on the river with the mountains in the background. The food was good, but the company was better. Being the only ones at the restaurant, we were able to get to know each other better. Continue reading
Twelve students from Belmont recently spent three weeks in Geneva and the area around the city in a unique study abroad experience full of firsts. It was Belmont’s first study abroad to the city of Geneva, the first for a nursing clinical course, and the first for a shared educational experience with some students enrolled in community health nursing and others in a humanities course. The courses included a shared study of the book, Frankenstein, as Geneva is the setting for much of this classic’s action. The students had a first-hand opportunity to explore the book from literary, philosophical, historical, psychological and public health points of view. The courses were taught by Dr. John Paine, Professor of English and French, and Dr. Ruby Dunlap, Associate Professor of Nursing. Continue reading
Mission to Cambodia 2012
from Becca Pippin
Welcome to the Land of Smiles
Let me start by saying a traditional Thai massage is the best treatment for a body that has been cooped up on a plane for 30+ hours. A few of us just returned from getting massages down the street from our hotel and we are settling in for the night.
The journey here was long and filled with excitement, nervousness, stinkiness and even some puking, so needless to say we are all pretty worn out. When we arrived, though, we all were re-energized at the sight of Susan’s friends’ smiling faces at the airport.
Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Allison Toole
Today we woke up in beautiful Antigua! Its safe to say we all got an amazing night of sleep after a hard day of work yesterday in Tecpan! I was part of the team that spent the day at the JT Children’s Foundation and it was such a rewarding experience! We saw 5 patients in the morning and 4 patients in the afternoon. It was amazing to see the teamwork between us and the clinicians there in Tecpan. The parents of the patients we saw were so open and wanting to understand how they could help their children out even more at home. We started out by assessing their children and ended each session with educating the parents on exercises and strengthening techniques they needed to do at home. We stressed to the parents that most of their children will not get better unless they continue doing their exercises at home. Overall, the teams had a very rewarding experience at the JT Foundation and felt very blessed for the opportunity to work with such beautiful children.
After our team finished at the JT Foundation, we got on the bus and headed over to the where the other team had spent the day building steps and installing a rope. I was completely in awe when we pulled up and saw the numerous amounts of kids that lived in this part of the village! They were SO loving and immediately hugged and greeted us as we got out of the van. After talking with the other team for a while, I was told that the kids were very eager to help out with their project and were an integral part in helping build the steps. It warmed my heart to know and see how hardworking these children are… that isn’t something I am used to seeing every day. It was a very humbling experience to see how grateful these children were for all the work we did.
I can’t believe how fast this week has gone by! I feel like I have learned and grown so much in such a short amount of time. My heart is completely on fire for this beautiful country and I cannot wait for future opportunities to come back and hopefully continue these projects we have started here this past week. Today is zip lining and shopping in the market and we are all very excited to explore the market and get some good shopping in (including the delicious coffee!!)
Mission to Guatemala 2012
Feliz Dia de Madre! Today is Mother’s Day in Guatemala. We all got this message at 4 am with a 5 minute blast of fire crackers in the courtyard!
The team headed to Tecpan – a rural farming village about 2 hours west of the city. We teamed up with JT Childrens Foundation – an organization that provided physical and occupational therapy for kids. 1/2 of the team stayed at the foundation assisting with therapy and the nurses gave CPR training.
The other half went out into a community in the mountains. We were at Melvin’s home. Melvin is a 14 yr old kid with CP. His home is on top of a steep incline – maybe 200 meters from the main road. Melvin walks down the stairs to the main road to get to therapy. The stairs have been washed smooth over time. His handrail….barb wire! Yikes.
We spent the day cutting out new stairs and installed a rope for a hand rail. Pretty good day of manual labor. We did of course find time to play with all the kids. Spanish is the 2nd language in this area. the main language is a Mayan dialect of Q’eqchi. Super nice folks.
After work we headed into Antigua were we will be for the next 2 nights. Friday is our day off – zip lining and shopping.
Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Rachel Haddock
Today was as busy and fun filled as the previous few days. I was a part of a team who spend the majority of the day at the school meeting classrooms full of children ages kindergarten through the 6th grade. With entry into each classroom we were greeted with songs. We watched as they made gifts for their mothers and had time to play as well. We spent the rest of our time painting a classroom that was built a few years ago and really needed a fresh coat of paint.
The highlight of the day, for me was when we went into the village where we got to see how great the poverty is and what seemed to me was the ‘real Guatemala’ and what daily life is like for people here. We met a wonderful family whose daughter is suffering from chronic renal failure. She was hooked up to a make-shift dialysis device and we heard from her mother that the young girl wanted most was to ride a bike again before she died. This statement was not only incredibly touching and heartbreaking but motivating for our team. As we left them, we made the decision to buy her a bicycle before we left. In the middle of dinner she and her mother and father came to the Nazarene Center to get her gift. We were all overwhelmed by her father’s gratitude and her mother’s tears. The little girl was so excited and was able to practice immediately, her joy was undeniable. It was so humbling and rewarding to know that we made a difference in her life and hopefully made her time before and after surgery a time she can enjoy and have fun like other kids.
I am looking forward to the adventures and challenges that we face tomorrow but I am so encouraged after tonight, seeing the impact we made simply by giving a little girl a bike- something we take for granted everyday back home.
Mission to Guatemala 2012
Our first visit was to Lucy. The nursing team and I were honored with an invitation inside her home, and witnessed a kind of gratitude for that home (which had been built by The Shalom Foundation) that far outdid what any of could have expected from someone living in such extreme poverty. Our hearts broke in unison when Lucy disclosed that the beautiful baby girl in her womb was past due, and that she completely lacked access to any kind of hospital, clinic, or even midwife to facilitate delivery… Las Conchas simply didn’t have anything to offer her or her baby to be… And Lucy simply didn’t have access to transportation. Her plan, when the time came, was to take to the bumpy dirt road outside her home and walk until she passed someone who could help. Not long after, we ran into Julio, another man Shalom had provided for in the past. With one of his precious daughters wrapped around his legs, Julio lamented that he no longer had a job and that he was struggling to provide food and fulfill basic needs for his family. Heart-wrenching visits like these passed one by one throughout the day until finally, standing outside a small tin home on a hillside of the Las Conchas community while the nursing team examined another helpless baby girl, I stared down the steep dirt road toward the masses of other small tin houses, and thought to myself that there was simply too much.
Luckily, I had someone there to remind me that miracles happen one by one. And the reminder was well-timed. Today was a day of miracles. I even think I may have contributed to one very special miracle at the clinic that we visited in Las Canoas. The nurses were overjoyed at the bags and bags of medical donations that we brought with us. They dug right into everything, and with great care they organized it all between the two small rooms that functioned as their office and exam room. Their gratitude for the donations was unmistakable. still it wasn’t long before I became aware of a rather large deterrent to their actual ability to use many of the supplies that we were leaving them with: They couldn’t read any of it. In fact, they couldn’t read any of the bottles or instruction sheets for any of the drugs that they had so neatly organized in their cabinets from previous rounds of donations. It was therefore with great honor that I was able to translate the function and dosage information for their entire cabinet. The nurses enthusiastically noted and labeled everything, with their minds undoubtedly full of the many local people that they would now be able to treat with the medicines they had received.
The need here is overwhelming. But with the right mixture of generosity and sharing of skills… perhaps these small miracles can be even more so.
Mission to Guatemala 2012
Tuesday May 8th was our third day in Guatemala, and the second day we were out in the community doing work. The team of nurses started the day at the Hospital for the children with infectious diseases and in need of rehabilitation. First we met the nurse director who gave us a tour of the entire hospital, she was amazing and taught us about how they run all of the separate units in the hospital. We were introduced to the pediatricians and the staff nurses and they showed us around each of their respective units and we met some of their patients. The last unit we went to was the intensive care unit. There we were met by the supervising nurse of the ICU where she welcomed us in and we had to wash our hands and get on gowns. We met all of the patients in the ICU and learned their stories. After that we all split up into three groups, one group in the ICU, one in the emergency room and one group taking vital signs in the general admission unit. All of the groups helped take care of patients and worked side by side with the nurses in the hospital. After lunch we left the hospital and went to the university to teach the physical therapy students there CPR and the Heimlich maneuver. Last we went back to the Moore surgery center, to hold a fabulous baby shower for Maria Jose. We had an amazing day and were completely blessed to spend it together helping the children in Guatemala.
OT and PT got to visit the hospital again this morning and worked with the Guatemalan therapists to treat several children. The therapists seemed happy to see us again this morning and involved us in each treatment session. My favorite memory from the hospital was working with a little boy named Oscar who is diagnosed with microcephaly and is blind. Oscar doesn’t have proper strength within his trunk in order to sit up straight, so his spine kind of looks like a “c”. Tamara worked on positioning Oscar to help straighten his spine, but needed a little “something extra” to help involve Oscar in the therapy session. She asked us to start singing and as we did he immediately responded to everything Tamara was doing! It was such a great experience to be involved in something so simple but so monumental for this little boy. Oscar most definitely melted a piece of my heart today. After the hospital we traveled to the surgery center to see patients. OTs and PTs split into two groups and worked with patients that had previously visited the surgery center. This was a great learning experience and everyone was able to learn more about our disciplines and about how to work together to give the best treatment possible. We then joined the nursing students for the baby shower and had a fantastic time playing baby shower games and showing love to Maria Jose and her family. Today was absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to see what else Guatemala has to teach us!
Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Constance Taras
Today was both exhausting and exhilarating. We started off the day at the government hospital in the heart of Guatemala City. The OT and PT students split into our respective gyms to work with a few of the children scheduled for the day. I broke off with a few other PT students to work with 3 babies in the stimulation room where we observed the mothers learning at home stretches for their children as well as visual stimulation activities. We then were able to take the children into a dark room and work with lights to work on visual tracking and postural control. The child I worked with, Cido, started off with a lag as he was following the blinking glow stick and by the end of the 5 minute exercise was successful able to track with his eyes and head in all directions. The progress, even if just small, was extremely rewarding.
We then moved into the main gym and worked with some of the inpatient clients. These children presented with an array of problems from CP to malnutrition. We worked with the Guatemalan PTs to learn what was already being used to help the children as well as suggesting other activities. I loved the hands on opportunities to work directly with the children implementing techniques learned in school as well as learning new ones along the way. After breaking for lunch, a group of us traveled to the local Physical Therapy school to have a collaborative lab with their students. It was extremely challenging to engage with Spanish speaking students and to collectively come up with activities that could benefit both PTs and OTs. We emphasized the importance of communication and collaboration between the disciplines. It was amazing to see that although communication was difficult we were able to complete the task as a bi-cultural group. The visit to the school ended our work day but left me with an amazing feeling of accomplishment and excitement for the days to come.
Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Jennifer Tong and Morgan King
Jennifer: It was an early start to the morning as we gathered as a team to travel to Guatemala! This has a been a trip that I have been anticipating even before I started PT school at Belmont. The morning was filled with a combination of excitement and exhaustion. We arrived in Guatemala with all of our team members and all of our luggage! We all hopped on a bus and arrived at the pediatrics surgery center to have lunch and tour the facility. Before I talk about the surgery center, I need to mention the streets and the people that I saw. There were people walking everywhere and random booths set up by the locals. The toughest thing to see was the poverty in this country. There were these two children sitting on the sidewalk, holding a cup in their hand, and begging for money. This was just another reminder of how I take everything for granted, especially the things I don’t even think about that like a roof over my head, a bed, food, and water. Now, about the surgery center! This surgery center was built for children who are less fortunate and can’t afford to pay for the necessary surgeries. It was so inspiring to hear about the difference these surgeons were making in lives of so many children in Guatemala. I’m excited to see the difference our team is going to make in the lives of the people in Guatemala this week!
Morgan: Arrived in Guatemala City around noon to a crowd of individuals waiting behind barriers at the airport (now I know what celebrities feel like). We loaded a school bus and headed to the Surgery Center for lunch and to take a tour of the facility. I was sort of in culture shock at the surgery center because I realized how fortunate we are in the United States to have so many necessities. The surgery center was perfect though for the families in Guatemala. Children’s paintings with bible verses were all over the facility. It was amazing to see the hard work and volunteers that have helped put the center together and make it possible to help families out in Guatemala with surgeries that would never be possible without the help of Shalom. After we left the surgery center, we took a “crazy” bus ride through the city to the Nazarene center. People are walking all over the streets (men, women, children). Let’s just saw I saw my life and other peoples life flash before my eyes with the traffic in Guatemala. Once we arrived at the center we checked in our rooms and all hung out with our team. We got the chance to learn about a lot of our members and talk about the culture shock of the things we saw in Guatemala. Now it’s bed time. Big day tomorrow! Full of exciting events at the Orphanage and local hospital.
Mission to Guatemala 2012
by Tiffany Campbell
Today was our arrival into Guatemala City. After arriving into the airport our whole team was transported by a yellow school bus to the pediatric Moore Surgery center for lunch and a tour. Driving to the surgery center was nerve wrecking. Traffic rules are more like suggestions here, which is something I personally have never experienced. We received our itinerary for the week, watched a video about the surgery center, and Claudia gave us some words of encouragement for the week. She made it known to us even though we may not be able to speak Spanish, we can smile and give a hug because love is a universal language. After that we were very worn out from getting up so early and flights so we checked in at the Nazarene Seminary where we are staying for the week.
Team Members include: Tamara Garvey, Kelly Brown, Jennifer Tong, Andrea Wheman, Carly Walls, Allison Toole, Lindley Holder, Rachel Haddock, Darcy King, Alison Martin, Amanda Sisco, Morgan King, Aimee Costa, Mary Beth Long, Jami Graham, Constance Taras, Tessa Irwin, Britt Colston, Ashley Ganus, Sheila Robb, Jenna Briggs, Tyler Servedio, Casea Calvert, Tiffany Campbell, Leslie Simmons, Cassandra Goble, Jamie Adam, Natham Adam and Joe Doughty.
Several weeks ago, a College of Pharmacy team traveled to Guatemala in partnership with The Shalom Foundation to provide chronic disease screening and general medical care to the residents of the Las Conchas community outside of Guatemala City. Members of the team were second-year pharmacy students Jennifer Corder, Mandy Newman, Marian Roufael, fourth-year pharmacy student Chris McKnight, and pharmacy faculty member, Dr. Rachel Franks (joined on the trip by her husband, Pastor, Dee Franks).
The trip was a powerful experience. As Mandy Newman stated, “Words cannot describe the trip! …Guatemala City and Las Conchas was an amazing experience… The people of Las Conchas are so happy and thankful for what little they have. They taught me more about life than I could ever teach them about health. My life is forever changed because of them, and I hope to return next year.”
According to Allison Bender, Executive Director of The Shalom Foundation, “Belmont University continues to help us achieve our mission of improving the life of Guatemala’s children. We are blessed to partner with Belmont’s health programs (Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy); these students and faculty bring such gifts and energy to our work.”
L-R Front: Marian Roufael, Jennifer Corder, Ernesto (Translator); L-R Back: Dee & Rachel Franks, Mandy Newman, Victor (Driver)
From Julie and Cassie, OTD Class 2013
Today was our first full day in Guatemala! This morning we woke up excited to see what this day had in store for us. We woke up and had breakfast around 7:00 then left the Nazarene Center at 8:00 to start our day. First, we went to Los Conchas to visit the Shalom School. There, we visited with all of the classrooms and meet the children, teachers, and principal. After our school visit, we went out into the community and visited with each family in the community. We split up into three different groups to cover each of the sectors that comprises the neighborhood to invite them to the medical clinic that is occurring later this week. Later, we traveled to a feeding program in Guatemala City, called Under the Bridge and it was literally under a bridge. This program focused on children and integrating Bible study and Christianity into the meal and activity. The program currently serves about 40 children and their goal is to reach up to 50 children in the community. This was a great experience and we all enjoyed observing the children interact with one another and participate in the Bible study activity. The children were very appreciative and respectful to one another and the workers who were assisting with the meal. This gave also gave us an opportunity to use our Spanish skills to interact with the children. After the feeding program, we went to the orphanage to visit the twelve children who live there. There, we gave some occupational therapy and physical therapy assessments to the kids and after analyzing the results, offered treatment and intervention activities to the caregivers to best benefit the children. We also played and sang songs with the kids. At the end of the day, we went back to the Nazarene Center, ate dinner, had a worship service, and reflected on our day.
Overall, it was a WONDERFUL day!
from Lacy Little
After a couple of bumpy plane rides, we finally made it! We all piled into a school bus and were treated to sandwiches and yummy banana bread. After much debugging, lysol-ing, and even some lice preventative (eh hem, PTA’s) we rested our tired traveled eyes. Waking up early this morning was worth it because of the BEAUTIFUL sunrise over the Guatemalan hills. Cannot wait to see what today has in store!
2011 Mission to Ghana
from Renee Brown
We arrived safely back in Nashville about 7:30 this morning after a long flight, a little tired and in need of a shower. Who would have thought that we would have needed to go to West Africa to get out of the Nashville heat! We are looking forward to Doritos, diet cokes, salad, bacon egg and cheese biscuits, bacon cheeseburgers and some sleep, as well as seeing our family and friends.
We want to thank everyone who supported us for this trip to Ghana through your thoughts, prayers, and financial gifts. It was a wonderful experience. We truly were humbled by the hospitality of the Ghanaian people and all they shared with us while we were there. We laid the ground work for continued collaborations in the future and came away with some new friends.
2011 Mission to Ghana
from Sarahann Callaway
What an exciting day full of new experiences!! We woke up bright and early to take a Tro-Tro ride provided by Nana Yaw (our driver for the week) to Kakum National Forest. It took about 4 hours to get there because of traffic but we safely arrived shortly before lunch. We took a guided tour up to the top of the rainforest. Our guide told us that there are over 300 species of identified animals in Kakum including insect, birds, bongos, not the drums, and a small herd of elephants. Kakum is famous for their wildlife and their suspension bridge canopy walk over the top of the rainforest!
The suspension system consists of 7 bridges connected by platforms at the top of the rainforest. The tallest bridge was 130 ft above the floor of the forest!!! We all survived!
After leaving Kakum, we decided we needed a little more adventure in our day so headed to Hans Cottage Botel famous for their 40 crocodiles. For the small fee of about a buck fifty, we got to touch and stand over a crocodile. Don’t worry none of us became amputees although if we did we know how to make the prosthesis now!
We ate lunch there and then headed toward the coast. Because it was a little later in the afternoon, we opted to go to Elmina Slave Castle because it was closer than Cape Coast Slave Castle. Elmina Castle is the oldest European building in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was a Portuguese fort for about 150 years then it was taken over by the Dutch and then 100 years later the British had rule over it.
We toured the castle and listened to the horrific and humbling stories the tour guide had to tell. It started off as a place to ship goods to Europe and soon it became a place to ship Africans to Europe and the new world. The Africans would march for weeks from surrounding countries before they would get to Elmina or Cape Coast. Upon arrival to Elmina they would be kept for 1-2 months before they passed through the “door of no return.” Many would die before they left the castle and many more would die on the ships as they were transported to the various countries. It was an eye opening experience that words cannot describe.
We got back late from Elmina so we decided to sleep in on our last day in Ghana. We did a little bit of shopping in the morning and then met up with Anna (the PT from the university) in the afternoon to take a tour of the art gallery in Accra. Right now we are sitting in the Accra airport waiting about one more hour before we board our flight. We can’t wait to share with you the amazing trip we have had. Thank you so much for your love and support!
2011 Mission to Ghana
from Mollie Carver
Today was our second full work day with Standing With Hope. We were very busy today with different things. We worked with patients teaching them to have a better walk. We trained the guys in the shop on various exercises they can do with patients, and we drew out exercises to leave with the guys. The first patient we treated was an above knee amputation on one side and a below knee amputation on the other leg. We helped him learn how to shift his weight appropriately and taught him proper foot placement. Hannah became the resident prosthetist by helping Moses, Adofos, and Joseph (three guys who work in the shop) by sanding and sawing various sockets. All in all it was the busiest morning we have had while staying in Ghana.
Maggie and Kathy also had a busy day while at Standing With Hope. Maggie was able to assist Kathy with drawing pictures of spinal braces for the orthotics department. Maggie also fixed a patient’s wheelchair lock when no one else was able to! Good thing we had an English professor to fix it for us!
Renee taught Esther, a child who is waiting to be adopted by an American prosthetist that works with Standing with Hope, multiplication tables. Likewise, Esther was able to teach us some of the local games.
Peter set up a meeting for us with two of the people who work under the General Contractor of Ghana Health Services (“the big wigs”). At the meeting we discussed possibilities of how members of Belmont’s College of Health Sciences could partner with Ghana Health Services and the University of Ghana in order to teach and work with local clinicians.
Tonight, we plan to meet Anna for supper at a local restaurant that is owned by former volunteers of Operations Crossroads Africa, the same organization that Sarahann worked with. Anna is the Physical Therapist that owns a clinic in Accra and is the Interim Coordinator of the Physiotherpaist program at the University of Ghana.
Tomorrow we have a fun filled day with a trip to Cape Coast to tour a wildlife reserve and two former slave castles.
It will be an early morning and a long day!
2011 Mission to Ghana
from Sarahann Callaway
We spent the day working at Ghana Health Services helping Standing With Hope. There were six patients that came in and out throughout the day.
Standing With Hope’s goal is for the men that work in the shop to make 75 new artificial limbs a year and maintain their current patient load. After helping with the first two patients’ prosthetics we decided to create a short exercise program (see picture at right) because there is no physical therapist that helps train these patients how to walk with their new limbs.
After lunch, there was a bit of a stand still because there is a box of supplies in a nearby town that will arrive “tomorrow” (aka not today). It’s been tomorrow the past three days.
We decided to teach two of the patients waiting for their new legs how to play Uno. They caught on quickly and beat us the second game.
Later on in the afternoon, Hannah helped one the Ghanian prothetists with making a new leg and Mollie and I helped another patient improve his walking. (see the pictures below)
Overall it was a very good day at Standing With Hope and we are looking forward to another day of work tomorrow!
2011 Mission to Ghana
from Hannah Peck
It’s been two days sense we’ve blogged because we have been traveling half way across the country to Kpando. We woke up early Tuesday morning for the exciting Tro-tro ride. We arrived in Kpando in the early afternoon to an extremely welcoming, Emmanuel, who gave us a tour and introduced us to all the departments of Margaret Marquart Catholic Hospital. He introduced us to a few of his patients and sat in on Emmanuel’s treatment session of a stroke patient. After the session, Emmanuel discussed with us the increase in stroke prevalence in Ghana, due to high blood pressure and poor diet. After the day at the hospital, Sarahann introduced us to some of her friends she met on her last visit to Ghana, who invited us over for dinner. We enjoyed a relaxing evening outside in the “cool” Ghana air, with 30 neighborhood children who were very excited to see some “yevos” (white people). We just happened to meet a fellow Tennessean who will also be joining us on our flight home on Sunday. What a small world!
The next morning we awoke early because it was market day in Kpando. After telling all of our new and old friends goodbye, we got back onto the Tro-tro for the long, fast, bumpy drive back to Accra. Upon arrival in Accra, we met up with Peter, the co-founder of Standing with Hope, at Ghana Health Services for a tour of the prosthetics and orthotics clinic (picture below). We met a patient that was extremely excited to see 5 young ladies who will be working with him tomorrow. On the walk home from Ghana Health services, we passed through the “bus stop”/market to find some delectable “Obama” (and family) cookies. After a long day of traveling, we had dinner at the hotel and decided to practice taping ankles for our upcoming 1st Responder course. As you can tell we are having a super exciting evening.
2011 Mission to Ghana
from Sarahann Callaway
Today was a great day for building relationships here in Ghana. We spent the day with Anna Hughton (pictured here with professors Brown and Gallaway). Anna is a Ghanian physiotherapist. She owns her own private practice and is the coordinator for the physiotherapy school in Ghana. In the morning we met with her at her private clinic had a tour and discussed physiotherapy in Ghana and the potential for collaboration with Belmont. We learned that Ghana has had a physiotherapy program for 10 years. It is a five year program (four years of university and one year of internship). The program consists of all lecture with few labs. After our morning discussion we went to tour the teaching hospital, Kor-le-bu. We met the other physio teachers and toured the physiotherapy building. We had the opportunity to see the pediatrics clinic as well (see picture below). Anna asked us to dinner, which I was very excited about because we went to a restaurant/ bakery that I had visited on my last visit to Ghana. After dinner, we had to stop in the bakery to pick up a pastry for breakfast in the morning. We leave bright and early for Kpando!!!
