New Hospital Building in Africa

After three years in construction, Tamale Teaching Hospital’s new building was opened and our patients were transferred. The move has been stressful, with arguments and flared tempers. Over the last few days, new linen was stained, paint was spilled and the floors were damaged when alcohol was used to remove it.

There is also a serious problem with the water supply to the hospital. Prior to signing the contract to build, the Ghana and Dutch governments agreed to a dedicated water line to the hospital. On the day of the opening ceremonies there was water; the very next day there was none. The “dedicated water line” evidently utilized two kilometers of an old line which also supplies the football stadium. When the pump was turned on to supply the hospital, the old stadium pipes could not handle the pressure and water leaked all over the stadium. The pump had to be turned off and the hospital is presently without water. Toilets will not flush, steam sterilization will not work and dirty sheets cannot be washed. A new two-kilometer water pipe will now have to be laid bypassing the old segment. However, this proposed solution has to be first approved by the water commission and then will take three weeks to install.

Eleven Years Old

Happy Birthday Maggie McGarrity

A Rough Day for Cattle Boys

A warm feeling of happiness came over me when six sick children smiled and squealed with delight when given clean attractive stuffed animals donated by Loving Hugs, Incorporated. My heart broke when one three-year old was too sick to appreciate or respond to a toy. Another child was frightened of his large Teddy Bear and it was quickly exchanged for something else. The day before, this young boy, a member of the cattle rearing Fulani tribe, was taken at dawn from his compound by an intruder and his throat was cut.  When the child cried, the intruder ran away and escaped. The laceration severed the trachea and thyroid gland and barely missed major blood vessels. After surgery he is doing well. Another teenage Fulani male was gored in the face, resulting in palatal and facial fractures, lacerations of nose and lips, and loss of upper and lower teeth. He is also better after surgery, but still needs his fractures fixed. It was a rough day for cattle boys.