Welcome to our latest Blog. The last time we wrote we
mentioned that we had been having a lot of problems with our infrastructure.
Generators, Solar, water, vehicles all had been giving us problems which we are
pleased to say have been improved upon although not all completely resolved.
This has been helped by a recent visit by 2 Christian supporters from the US,
Eric and Mike, who came for 3 weeks to work on specific infrastructure
projects. They came with the aim of looking at how to use a brick making
machine to build walls around the land we have been given but which we don’t
yet use plus install new generators for our operating bloc and water supply.
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| Eric, Alphonse and Mike |
Coming here with a plan is always a good idea, but being
adaptable and willing to change in the face of local difficulties is also a
requirement. Everything we attempt to do here always takes far longer than
anticipated or proves more challenging than expected. Thankfully both Eric and
Mike came with plenty of enthusiasm and determination but were also willing to
listen and change their plans as we found an ever increasing list of tasks for
them to do. In their time here they achieved a great deal and improved our
facilities which will aid the work of the hospital but I think they will have left
feeling pretty worn out. Working at the pace they worked at is not sustainable
over a longer period here and we are extremely grateful for the work they did
whilst here and for the improvements they made. An additional benefit of their
visit was it opened our eyes to things that we had come to accept as normal as
we see all the time and don’t see as a problem. Having a fresh pair of eyes to
view things made us look at things differently and made us realise we could
improve on how we do certain things.
In our last Blog we mentioned briefly that an artist had
begun to paint health promotional artwork and Arabic scripture on the walls
surrounding our outpatient area. This work has progressed really well with the
artist using vivid colours for the paintings which has transformed the whole
area. The Arabic script has also progressed well with the end of the project
now being in sight. We decided that we needed to add the reference of each
passage of scripture in French as well as the Arabic to promote discussion with
those who will view it. The idea being that if someone who can’t read Arabic
sees the scripture but does read French will still be able to find the passage
in the Bible and be able to discuss with those around them. We are hoping this
will provide a great opportunity for our hospital Pastor, Djibrine, to outreach
within the community of patients who will view these pictures and scriptures
whilst waiting to see a doctor, nurse or lab technician.
Reaching out to the local community via our work is
obviously the priority for why we are here so we are constantly seeking different
ways in which to do this. As language is an obvious barrier to this we need to
think of other ways in which to achieve this. In the coming week we shall be
attending a seminar aimed at showing us ways to engage with the community
through projects. This is being led by people who have been working in Africa
for over 20 years so we hope to gain further insights and ideas. A future
project we would like to start is a community garden using some of the land
that we have but which is currently not used. We hope to engage the hospital community
and the surrounding villages to start to grow vegetables and fruit trees which can
provide a source of work and food for those in need. By involving others and
teaching them how to grow produce will hopefully integrate us further into our
community here at Guinebor II. If anyone has suggestions of what we might be
able to grow here in the dust and sand please let us know.
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| Outpatients waiting |
Blessings
Malc and Sue