Our last couple of weeks in Cameroon

We’re back in the UK! Our lack of blogging for the last couple of weeks has been due to a selection of internet problems...it’s amazing how much you take for granted in the UK. Our final week in Meskine started with my birthday party J We invited all the other foreigners along for homemade mango sorbet & party games...’salade de fruite’ and a relay race which dissolved into a water fight with the kids! I spent my actual birthday in the bloc and got to do my first sutures whilst listening to Christian worship music in French. Sarah had a more adventurous week in the hospital spending some time in the laboratory and with the physiotherapy department before we both finished our time in Meskine in the same way we started...with the 2 amazingly committed Cameroonian doctors who work full-time in the hospital (despite being past the national retirement age), Dr Bray and Dr Salamatou. Our overall impression of l’hopital de Meskine is that it is a well-respected hospital in the north of Cameroon which unlike the government hospitals isn’t corrupt and makes the most of the limited resources adapting the way things are done to maximise the care that can be provided. Personally, I was initially sceptical about care being provided at most levels than less trained people at nearly every level...from personal needs being met just by a family member (the ‘garde-malade’) to surgery being performed by 2 Cameroonians one of whom had completed only 1 year of uni & the other left school at 16!...but I have come to realise that having years of training isn’t always necessary, it’s having a heart of compassion and willingness to learn that’s necessary...if I needed an operation I would now trust the skills of Baba & Sadjo.

Please continue to pray for the hospital... Praise God for raising up staff (mostly Cameroonians) who are passionate about caring for the sick in the north of Cameroon. Pray for continued energy, compassion and wisdom for all the staff especially the surgeons, Baba & Sadjo, and Dr Salamatou & Dr Bray. Pray for God to send out a couple of Western surgeons to both improve the range of surgery the hospital can provide and to enable the hospital to train up men and women from across central Africa to become surgeons as part of the PAACS scheme (Pan-African Association of Christian Surgeons)...if you know any Christian surgeons maybe suggest this to them! Finally, please pray for wisdom & continued passion for those involved (both Cameroonians & westerners) in reaching the Fulbe people (a large Muslim tribe) with the gospel.

As you can see from the photos we spent our last few days in Cameroon enjoying the cooler south and the beautiful beaches at Kribi. The journey to Kribi was very cramped & hot with 5 of us sharing the backseat of a bus definitely only designed for a maximum of 4 but it was good value...less than £4 for a 4 hour journey. The beaches were stunningly beautiful & we stayed just round the corner from Lobe falls, one of the few places in the world where water falls directly into the sea. We spent a little bit of time in Yaounde before flying back staying in the hostel where missionary kids from central Africa live in order to go to the international school...although their life was different in some ways to if their parents hadn’t decided to work in Africa they all said they enjoyed it & Rainforest International School does an excellent job of making their lives more exciting than most kids of their age in the UK...the night before they left they a Prom night for all the senior students & then stayed up all night for their after party. Please pray for the provision of more teachers for the next academic year & if you or someone you know may be interested in experiencing another culture whilst teaching some amazing kids please get in touch! 

Seventh (and last!) week

Sixth week

Our penultimate week in Meskine!

Salut! Our week began with us both getting some kind of bug so we didn't spend as much time in the hospital as normal! Despite this we were able to enjoy the  "Fete du travail" - an annual celebration on 1st May for employees to have fun together & be recognised for all the work they've done...this year the celebrations involved an early morning hike (which we skipped!), a friendly volleyball match against another hospital team, a march in the nearby town of Maroua (the hospital came 3rd!) & a formal 'ceremony' at the hospital with speeches, awards & a buffet! During our limited time in the hospital we both saw babies being born although with 2 very different outcomes...one (Vicki's) was a normal birth although the baby struggled to breathe initially but the other (Sarah's) was a caesarean section for a women who had been hit by her husband - unfortunately the baby died as a result of both the trauma & also a delay in the operation due to the lack of family members present who could consent it. Sarah spent some more time assisting with operations in the 'bloc' (some by torch light due to the ongoing power problems) & Vicki spent more time in the paediatric and maternity wards. We're praying for the power problems to be resolved quickly and that God will quickly provide a new surgeon to work at the hospital - although we've both seen the excellent skills of the surgical team, they really need the leadership & wisdom of a medically trained surgeon - and for legal reasons it is also important to always have a doctor present in the theatres.
This weekend we escaped the heat of Meskine as we visited some of the villages in the Mandara mountains next to Nigeria...it was fascinating to discover more about village life (see the photos for more info) and also to talk to some of the local people. Our guide in Rhumsiki was an active Christian so we had some good discussions with him & we also got to spend time with 3 boys from the village who became our unofficial guides...despite their challenging circumstances (2 had lost their dads & 1 - the boy with the liverpool shirt - has a mum with a severe foot problem so she is unable to work) they loved life & have great aspirations...to be a doctor, policeman & chef all working & supporting their village...please pray that they would fulfil their goals & that through going to church they would come to have a personal relationship with God.

Fifth week - La fete de travail & a weekend trip to Rhumsiki

An example of some of the singing we hear at church

From Cameroon Week 4 (and some more of Waza)

Week 4!

Salut! This week started with no electricity in the hospital compound for about 48 hours...thankfully this caused no life threatening complications for any of the patients. However it did make things difficult, with patients in dark wards without any fans to stay cool, the x-ray machine, (one of the main diagnostic tools here) not working, drugs not being kept cool & Sarah assisting in operations by torch-light. Tuesday ended up being quite eventful for us...as well as the powercut, our house was invaded by 3 different types of animals - a gecko, (discovered when it jumped onto one of the missionary kids hiding in our cupboard!), our 1st big cockroach, & then our 1st ant infestation of the week (another one was found last night). 


Both of us have had the opportunity to assist in operations as we split the week between the wards & the bloc. Yesterday we went into the local town, Maroua, to explore...whilst waiting for the taxi we drew interest from a couple of cameroonian men - which was interesting! We had a great time in the market in Maroua - it is a maze of different stalls with people everywhere - and this being the hot season tourists are less common, so we definitely stood out. We practised bargaining too (apparently the price they give tourists is at least double the actual price) - however they are very skilled bargainers so we suspect we probably gave them a lot more than the items were worth!


Cameroonian culture is very different to the UK especially in relation to women & relationships. Polygamy is common amongst the Muslim men, with them able to have up to 4 wives at any time...if they want a new wife they just divorce one of their other wives! It's normal for each wife to have up to 8 children each...the children are the possession of the father so if a wife is divorced the children stay with their dad. One of the  men who works in the bloc is the son of the chief of Meskine...he has 21 brothers & sisters and as the chief the  normal '4 wives' rule doesn't apply so he has 10! Although attitudes to women seem to be slowly improving as they have more access to education, one of the men described women/wives like 'cups of coffee', good for temporary enjoyment & when it's finished you just move on to the next cup!! Please pray that this attitude would change. Polygamy also causes health problems as it increases the spread of infections such as HIV.


Harvest was celebrated today in a 3 1/2 hour church service with lots & lots of singing, 2 sermons  & a competition between the different groups within the church as to who could give the most money...the women won! Cameroonian Christians are very passionate about their faith & love to praise God by singing  & dancing...every tribal group sings a song each week (including the 'missionary tribe'!) & the young people's song is always accompanied by energetic dancing!      

Just a quick prayer request...as Monday & Tuesday are holidays (due to the international festival of work on  Tuesday) there's a small chance that the doctors won't turn up (this is Africa!) & that we may be asked to do the ward round. Prayer that God would give us wisdom if this happens would be greatly appreciated!        

Fourth Week (and some more pictures of Waza)

Week 3 :)

Bonjour toute le monde! Hope you're all well. Lots has happened since we last wrote. We spent last week in 'le bloc' (surgery)...it was so interesting that we've decided to go back for a couple of days each week until we leave. We saw lots & lots of pus, 3 heads of femurs being removed (& not replaced!) & mastectomy (of a massive breast with very advanced cancer...unfortunately the wound was too big to be closed). One of the big medical problems here is that people present too late...such as coming with a fracture over a year after it happened so that it has healed. The one medically trained surgeon is leaving in less than a month but there are 2 trained nurses (surgeons) who can do all general surgery & some nurses who have been trained to do anaesthetics. We both had a chance to get involved with some practical procedures: Sarah attempted a chest drain (but a later chest X-ray showed that the pus had cleared up by itself) & Vicki attempted to give a spinal anaesthetic (but didn't quite manage!). At the weekend we went on safari with 2 with a new doctor from the UK & a new occupational therapist from Germany...the journey north was VERY bumpy & we spent lots of time on the other side of the road & off-road trying to avoid the almost continuous pitholes...but it was definitely worth it as we saw giraffes, loads of birds, hippos, monkeys, 2 lions & an elephant. (Just to let you know: the operation on the man with complex leg fractures went well & he's recovering on the ward). Please pray for the family of a young girl who died yesterday of tetanus (she had been in hospital since we arrived). Also, the hospitals main generator has died & will take 3 weeks to get the right bits to repair, & today one of the smaller generators near the paediatric ward caught on fire...so please pray that the frequent powercuts wouldn't jeopardise patient care. 

Third week (in theatre.. & the weekend at Waza safari park)

Our 2nd week at l'Hopital de Meskine

This week we've had lots of great opportunities to see both the work of the hospital & of the long-term workers. Christianity is allowed to permeate hospital life much more than it would in the UK...every weekday at 6.45am there's a devotion & prayer time for the hospital staff (what a great way to start the day, fixing our eyes on Jesus & praying for the patients), every Monday evening the 'Jesus Film' is shown in Fulfulde (last week there were about 100 men, women & children both relatives of the patients & people from the village who heard & saw the Gospel...which was amazing!) & every Tuesday evening there's a 'prayer round' where we talk to all patients (& their relatives) & ask if they want prayer (very few decline). There are also 2 full-time evangelical chaplains. The hospital is always very busy during the week days (which makes it more difficult to take photos)...both with lots of patients & lots of relatives who literally camp out at the hospital until their relative is well again (they do most of the practical caring...preparing food, washing clothes...& also provide good emotional support). Sarah's spent most of the week with the medical director who mainly covers the mens ward...there are lots of young men with serious injuries as a result of road accidents many of whom would normally be in high dependency units in the UK but that's just not possible here. Vicki has spent most of her time with the doctor who covers the paediatric & maternity ward...unfortunately there's a measles epidemic (3 children from the same family died this week from measles) & other children are seriously ill with malaria, severe burns, malnutrition & tetanus. (A baby came to the clinic this week with hydrocephalus (water that's compressing their brain)...unfortunately nothing could be done at the hospital & the family are too poor to travel to one of the bigger cities in the south, so the parents just had to take their child home and wait for him to die). We'll be spending next week in the surgical block...please pray for wisdom & skill for the surgeon particularly as tomorrow there's a very difficult case (a young man with multiple severe leg fractures due to a road accident). That's all from us for now...have a good week :)

Second week

More about our 1st week!

Apologies for not posting anything sooner – we’ve had a busy 1^st week! We eventually arrived to Meskine Hospital on Tuesday afternoon after lots of airport delays. It was 41°C when we landed in Maroua (the nearby town) so it’s been a hot week but the fact that it’s hot season means that we’ve eaten lots of delicious mangoes :) The other foreign missionaries here have been extremely welcoming…we’ve already been to a birthday party of 1 of the missionary kids, a  housewarming party & a film night with popcorn & chocolate ice cream! Life in Cameroon is different in lots of ways…everyone is very friendly, the women wear beautiful (but very modest) clothes & there are no supermarkets (just small shops or outdoor markets). For Easter there was a service on Good Friday & Easter Sunday (followed by a church lunch)…church here starts at 8am as a later service would be unbearably hot. We’ve only spent 2 days in the hospital but to give you a quick idea of what it’s like there are only 2 full-time medical doctors covering the whole hospital during the day (so they see over 60 patients each during the daily ward round before they go the clinic at 10am!) & there’s 1 medically trained surgeon. Despite the lack of doctors the hospital is well run with nurses taking on many of the roles that doctors would do in the UK. Prayers would be appreciated that we would understand the ward rounds as they inter-change between using Fulfulde (the local language) & French in very noisy wards…but overall we’re having a great time :)

First week

Where are we going?...

On Monday, we’re flying to Cameroon to spend 6 weeks in Meskine Hospital for our medical elective. The hospital we’re going to on Tuesday is in northern Cameroon near the town Maroua. It’s a Christian hospital in a French-speaking majority Muslim area, although the local language is Fulfulde. If you want to find out more, here’s a link to the website: http://www.mcwanet.org/en/projects/hospital/

Hi!

We'll be updating this blog with what we've been up to in Cameroon :) If you would like email notifications when we blog, type in your email in the box on the right. Love Sarah & Vicki