Mercy Ships is an International, Interdenominational Christian Aid Organisation that provides free health care to the world's poorest and neediest people, showing them the practical love of Jesus. It is my privilege to serve with Mercy Ships at the New Steps rehabilitation centre, and the Aberdeen West Africa Fistula Centre, Sierra Leone.
I hope you enjoy the photos and updates on my time here in Sierra Leone.
Hi all!
Finally there is a presentation happening about my time in Sierra Leone, and it is coming up very soon!
I will be showing photos, talking and answering questions this Sunday, the 29th of July, after the evening church service at Clovercrest Baptist Church.
It would be great to see you all there, although I’d hazard a guess that for those outside of Adelaide that might be a bit tricky… Anyway, for those that can make it:
Questions??? - let me know.
Hope to see you there!
Mel
Well, it’s been 5 days since I arrived home and in many ways it feels like I’d never left. Well, “never left” but suddenly got a whole lot colder all of a sudden. I had forgotten how cold it gets here and was greeted with the coldest overnight temperature in a year the day after I got back. I am bonding once again with my ugg-boots.
I’ve also had a bit of time over the last few weeks to reflect on things and will shortly begin preparing to put together a presentation on my time in SL for anyone wanting to come along. The presentation is likely to be on the 29th of July, but more info on that later.
A couple of FAQ’s so far have been:
- How was it (my time in SL)?
and
- How come you came back earlier than expected?
Well, in answer to the first question - interesting and very difficult, but at the same time I really feel like I was there for a purpose. I also feel that what I achieved will probably have a bigger and longer-lasting effect than what I thought I was going to SL to do.
In answer to the second question. Yes, it was 3 months instead of 9, but I really had done all that I could do - there was no more physio work for me at the rehab centre, and I had really reached my limit in what I could contribute in SL at that time. So, I decided that my time in SL was up and in preference to sitting on my hands for 6 months, I would rather head home and get back into life/work there.
So, there you have it. Any further questions?? Well, make sure you keep the 29th of July free, and stay posted!
Hi all,
Well, it’s been a while since an entry so apologies for that. Actually, I’m not even sure if anyone would be checking the site anymore, so a big “hello!” to you for reading this!
I haven’t been able to hook my lappy up to the internet since I left SL, so no new photos sorry. It’s been a good (and much needed) opportunity to sit back and reflect somewhat on my time in SL and to think about the next steps from here. I haven’t done much at all since I left, which I think was the right thing to do - clear the air so to speak. After leaving SL I stayed with a friend in London for a few days, and then travelled to Switzerland - my second home - where I lived for a year as an exchange student back in 1998. Ironically enough certain things have been the opposite to what you might expect in terms of happenings in the 2 different countries (SL & Switz.). Most of this has been due to having some very hospitible friends and ‘family’ in Switzerland, which has meant that I’ve had more breakfast/brunch’s than I can poke a stick at, and staying here has been far less expensive than staying the equivalent amount of time in SL. I have also been enjoying the opportunity to safely go for walks/runs/swims, etc which has been great. As a result another point of irony is losing a kg or so in the land of the world’s best cheese, chocolate and bread. Time to think and time with some very special people cannot be overrated.
So, where to from here??
Firstly, I have accepted a 6 month contract with Novita, where I was working prior to leaving for SL. The contract is in a different office and in a different role to what I was doing before, but will also mean I should be able to use some of the things I learnt in SL in my new role. This is a huge blessing for me as it means I will be able to go back to some relatively familiar surroundings and have job security at least until the end of the year.
Possibly more importantly, I have started looking into what options are available to further contribute towards addressing the needs of the world’s poor and disadvantaged. This is a large group of people and the problems they face are complex to say the least. So, I haven’t come to any fixed conclusions as to what I might be able to help with, but I have a few ideas in mind. Unfortunately I’ll have to leave you in suspense on that one.
In other things: I promised book review at some stage regarding some of the books I have read in relation to the sort of things I came across in SL. So, to honour my promise here they are:
‘Mountains Beyond Mountains’ by Tracy Kidder
#1 on my must-read list for anyone interested in world health issues. Honestly, I still have a couple of chapters to go on this book after accidentally ’stealing’ it from the MS team house library (it stowed away in my bag - obviously wanting to be read). The book is a biography of Dr Paul Farmer, an American infectious disease specialist who has made a world of difference (REAL difference) for people suffering from the effects of poverty -namely infectious diseases and the like. What I really like about this book, and about Dr Farmer, is that he brings to light a lot of what is wrong with the way we (the world’s rich) view poverty and diseases of poverty; and in deliberate defiance of the recommended ways of dealing with the issues, actually makes a massive difference for millions on a global scale. He never forgets the value of the individual (patient). For more info on the organisation Dr Farmer established, visit www.pih.org
In a somewhat diplomatic move, the rest of these books are equal #2’s on the must-read list.
‘The Hospital by the River’ by Dr Catherine Hamlin
This book is a remarkable autobiography of the journey of gynacologists Dr’s Reg and Catherine Hamlin, who moved from Australia in 1961 to Ethiopia for a 2-year contract at the main hospital in Addis Ababa (the capital). The 2 years turned into a lifetime of work however when they discovered the prevalence and extent of impact of obstetric fistulae in Ethiopia. Dr’s Hamlin were the forerunners in the effort to restore lives devastated by this birth injury, and after the death of Dr Reg Hamlin, Catherine continues to work towards erradicating the world of this horrific and totally preventable injury. The Hamlin’s story takes the reader through times of momentous change and difficulties in Ethiopia’s history, and tells the incredible stories of many women along the way. The hospital established by the Hamlins continues to this day to be a centre of healing for Ethiopian women, as well as a training ground for surgeons willing to work in the ‘fistula belt’ in Africa and the East.
‘Desert Flower’ by Waris Dirie
Another autobiography (my favourite type of book). Waris Dirie is now a world renowned supermodel from a very unlikely beginning: Waris grew up as a desert nomad in Somalia. At the age of 5 she underwent the traditional ceremony of ‘becoming a woman’ a.k.a. female circumcision, now referred to as female genital mutilation (FGM). Waris’s journey to the country’s capital, then London, then the catwalks and billboards of the world is remarkable, but perhaps even more remarkable are her efforts to raise awareness of FGM and promote efforts for its erradication - all in the face of significant cultural opposition. If you don’t know much about FGM and are not sure what all the fuss is about, please, please, PLEASE read this book.
‘A Long Way Gone - Memoirs of a Boy Soldier’ by Ishmael Beah
Yes, another autobiography. This is a book I picked up in Starbucks in the middle of Nebraska of all places. I bought it because it was about Ishmael’s life - a Sierra Leonean, who as a 13 year-old boy during the civil war, was conscripted to be a child soldier. It’s an incredible description of Ishmael’s experiences during the war, how young children could possibly become killers, how it is possible for child soldiers to be rehabilitated and reintegrated, and sadly how the experiences affect the child life-long. It is a relatively new release and Ishmael has been touring with the book release in North America. Not sure what all the fuss is about regarding the efforts against the conscription of child soldiers and violations of child rights in waring countries? Definitely worth a trip to Starbucks at the very least. For those of you not so keen on Starbucks (or in the vicinity of inferior non-book-stocking Starbucks franchises), this book is also very much available for order on the net.
Happy reading!
Hello everyone,
Well, it has been quite an eventful time here since I last wrote. I hinted in my last email that I may be finishing up here a lot earlier than expected, and that has proven to be the case. It is sometimes quite strange how things work out - 2 years of preparation, and 3 months on mission, but sometimes our best made plans are not necessarily the best plans in the end. I’ve really felt like I’ve been here “for such a time as this” and have needed to draw on what seems like every major past experience, and have even discovered some new skills I didn’t know I had along the way.
New Steps
New Steps was supposed to be my main place of work, and it has turned out that way, but not the kind of work I was expecting. Instead of seeing patients, and training and supervising the local rehab staff, I have ended up doing a lot of service delivery analysis and review. I was asked a few weeks ago to put together ‘a couple of pages’ justifying my recommendations for the New Steps service. After many, many hours of work I handed up my 28-page discussion paper, which included feedback from all of the physio’s and OT’s who had volunteered at New Steps over the past 3 years, as well as comments from the local rehab staff. The document ended up being quite pivotal in a week of meetings that was held here last week, with some visiting staff from the international office, and the end result has been extremely positive. New Steps should be heading off in a new direction over the next few years, and it will be great to watch the progress (from afar). The new direction will not require any physio input for quite a while as there will be much more of an occupational therapy (OT) focus. So… thus endth my time here.
It is very strange for me to know that my time here has been relatively short; however it has also served a very good purpose. In the end in doing what I have done, my work here will most likely have a far greater and longer-term impact than if I had been doing what I thought I had come to do. Confused? So was I for most of my stay, but it all seems to make sense in the end.And the cliché rings true once again - God certainly does work in mysterious ways.
Fistula Centre
Work at the fistula hospital has also been quite eventful. Only a 6-page discussion paper for that side of things, which I will be finishing off over this week. There have been no research studies done in relation to physio work post fistula repair, so it was somewhat of a challenge to justify why physio services should be provided… I appear to have succeeded to some degree as we are currently planning to ‘acquire’ a physio from another agency for the fistula centre. There will be no research project, so no full-time position at the fistula centre, and since someone else is here and available there is little point for me to hang around for 1/2 a day’s work per week.
I have booked my plane tickets home and will be leaving here in 2 weeks’ time. My time here has been a lot of hard work and very draining so I’ll be taking some time off on my way home to catch up with some friends and ‘family’ in Switzerland before arriving home in June.
Despite the significant gap between what I thought I was coming to do and what I have ended up doing, I really feel that I was here for the purpose of helping dictate the future directions of the services here. It has been a pretty tough gig but worth it in the end. I’m also sure I’ll have a bit more perspective on it all in a few months’ time but can already see that God had a plan, and naturally - it was the best plan.
After checking with the people (who I know of) who contributed a large percentage of the financial cost to get me here, I will be giving away some of the money that was to go towards my board and living expenses here. There is a fantastic mission ministry here in Freetown that has been going for a number of years. They work with people on the streets, helping them to learn skills to earn an income, and teaching them how to manage it. For anyone wanting to know about why they do what they do, they share about Jesus - how he is real and loves even the poorest of the poor in Sierra Leone. I also plan to donate to them the clothes I do not plan to take home, as well as some of the other supplies I wont need. I am not sure how much I will have left over, so will see what is left once I get home and will decide then what to do with it.
Thanks so much for everyone for your support and prayers - they have really meant a lot and prayer is such a powerful thing. I’d really appreciate your continued prayers over the next couple of weeks as I finish up with things here, and then afterwards for my travels / time off on the way home. It would be great to arrive home refreshed and as mentioned above - with more perspective on my time here. Please also pray for the powers-that-be in Mercy Ships who are making decisions affecting the services here, especially while directing through so much change, and for the OT who is coming and has a huge job ahead of her. Please also pray for the national staff who’s very livelihood is through employment at New Steps and who know no other way of working within rehab than through the system as it stands - it will be a massive time of adjustment for them over the next period of time. Lastly, please also pray that the travel insurance agency will give me a refund on the remainder of my insurance period - it would be good to be able to redirect those funds to somewhere that needs it.
I’ll touch base with you all at a later date, either on my way home or just afterwards, to let you know any updates and also any details about sharing with you in person regarding my time here (for those of you able to make it to an Adelaide venue).
Thanks again and God bless!
Melissa
Freetown, Sierra Leone
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Great to have you on board!
