The days have been hectic but so far everything is going well. The place that we are staying is nice and comfortable but we have been trying to find a constant food supply that saves as much money as possible. We've been living off eggs and MRE's.
Yesterday, at the hospital, everyone was quickly humbled. The hospital we went to was the biggest hospital in Ghana and it was incredibly busy. We walked in to the waiting room which had over 300 people in line. Luckily we had all our information and they considered Curtis' case an emergency so he was sent to a much shorter waiting room that took only 2 hours. Janie and I (Michael) were able to go with Curtis in to see the doctor. I think he took the case a little more seriously simply because of our presence. He checked Curtis' vitals and felt his stomach and asked many questions about his health. We told him everything we knew and explained that everytime he ate, he would throw everything up an hour later. We also stressed the fact that he is 6 years old and weighs about 25 lbs. His heart rate was extremely high at about 140 bpm when he was practically sleeping on Janie.
The Doctor spoke to us for a bit and admitted Curtis into the Pediatric Emergency Unit. We walked Curtis over to the area which was on the other side of the hospital where he was taken in to see specialists. The hardest part was watching him get his IV and hearing him scream. They took his blood and injected him with something quickly after. After the examinations the Doctors said they were suspicious that it may be Tuberculosis or a congenital hear problem; neither of which are good, but the latter can be treated much more easily.
Last night he spent the night at the hospital with one of the people from the orphanage, Nelson. In the room next to him, there was a baby getting a spinal tap that had meningitis. Because the hospital has no closed rooms, we were able to watch the entire process. During the night Curtis slept extremely well but could not hold food down as he threw up what was given to him twice. I asked to stay the night with Curtis but Nelson told me only one person should stay with him and that I needed to go back to Obuasi to get his health card. After six hours at the hospital we returned to Obuasi for the night.
This morning we woke up early again and returned to Kumasi after picking up one of the mother's at the orphanage. The drive wasn't too bad today and everyone seemed pretty comfortable. The hospital was once again filled with sickness and suffering so it was emotionally draining even for the two hours we stayed today.
As soon as we got to the hospital I walked into the Pediatric Unit to see Curtis laying on a table having an ultrasound of his heart. It was clearly working much too hard. The Doctor then sent Curtis to have an x-ray of his lungs to check for tuberculosis. I took Curtis across the hospital where he again threw up all his breakfast. We waited a short time and the Doctor allowed me to see his x-rays after they were developed. His lungs looked clear, but his heart looked very big for his body size and the Doctor confirmed that his lungs were clear and that they weren't entirely ruling out TB but they were going to focus more on his heart. The doctor who performed the ultrasound requested a more detailed scan of his heart because he said it looked as though his heart had an abnormality in the blood flow. After speaking to the doctor more about it, I still don't fully understand what they mean but they literally said: "blood is flowing abnormally through his heart."
We left Curtis again with one of the mothers and took Nelson back to the orphanage. Tomorrow he will have more tests done to confirm what exactly is wrong with him. He is so strong yet I know how hard this is on him. Last night, Nelson told me they were both awoken by the screams of parents, twice throughout the night, because two babies, one hour apart, died. I can only imagine how scared he is. Thank you all so much again for your help. I will try and update the blog whenever we hear more information.
Michael, Janie, Genna, Laine, John, and Kerri
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Here Today, Ghana Tomorrow
Hello our trusty followes,
I want to apologize for keeping you all on the edge of your seats the past couple of days. Turns out much has changed since last year in the small town of Obuasi. The good news is, everything is for the better.
Our long and arduous journey across the Atlantic was only the beginning of our travels. Again we were able to see much of Ghana: from the capital of Accra, to the rainforest of the Central Region, everything was beautiful... and tiring.
We arrived in Obuasi to find out the internet cafe we were accustomed to using has closed. We visited the orphanage our first full day (Sunday) and played with all the kids; they were so excited to see us. Some asked for Matt, and we had to explain that he couldn't make it this year. I quickly found Curtis! but was searching for Joseph only to find out he had been adopted six months earlier. It was sad, but it made me happy to know that he is somewhere with a family now.
Curtis was in even worse shape than last year and could barely reach me across the orphanage. (I'm being rushed now because the cafe is closing) The gist of the story is that he hasn't been able to hold food down for the past year and has a serious condition. We took him to the hospital in Kumasi to see a specialist and he was immediately admitted. He is spending a couple nights there until they find out what exactly is wrong with him. We don't know how much it will cost but we have already committed to covering his stay. We are going to find out what exactly he needs and how much it will cost before we will be able to guarantee that we can cover it.
I need to go now. Thanks for reading.
Michael, Genna, John, Janie, Kerri, and Laine
I want to apologize for keeping you all on the edge of your seats the past couple of days. Turns out much has changed since last year in the small town of Obuasi. The good news is, everything is for the better.
Our long and arduous journey across the Atlantic was only the beginning of our travels. Again we were able to see much of Ghana: from the capital of Accra, to the rainforest of the Central Region, everything was beautiful... and tiring.
We arrived in Obuasi to find out the internet cafe we were accustomed to using has closed. We visited the orphanage our first full day (Sunday) and played with all the kids; they were so excited to see us. Some asked for Matt, and we had to explain that he couldn't make it this year. I quickly found Curtis! but was searching for Joseph only to find out he had been adopted six months earlier. It was sad, but it made me happy to know that he is somewhere with a family now.
Curtis was in even worse shape than last year and could barely reach me across the orphanage. (I'm being rushed now because the cafe is closing) The gist of the story is that he hasn't been able to hold food down for the past year and has a serious condition. We took him to the hospital in Kumasi to see a specialist and he was immediately admitted. He is spending a couple nights there until they find out what exactly is wrong with him. We don't know how much it will cost but we have already committed to covering his stay. We are going to find out what exactly he needs and how much it will cost before we will be able to guarantee that we can cover it.
I need to go now. Thanks for reading.
Michael, Genna, John, Janie, Kerri, and Laine
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Our Last Blog, For This Trip at Least
Today was the hardest day we have experienced since being in Ghana. Each one of us grew so close to the kids which made it so much meaningful but also added to the difficulty of our departure.
The kids were so sad to see us go. Many of them cried which didn't make it any easier on us but we feel so luck to have made so many friends and to have had such a successful trip. We also made sure to take contact information for many of the kids and look forward to sending letters and gifts every once in a while just to cheer them up and let them know we have not forgot about them.
We are now in Accra and will be flying home Monday morning. We just wanted to post one last blog to thank everyone who followed our experiences and to thank everyone again for all of their support. This trip could not have been possible without the support of so many of you! We look forward to sharing all of our pictures and seeing everyone back home. We miss you all so much!
Sincerely,
Michael, Matthew, and Genna
The kids were so sad to see us go. Many of them cried which didn't make it any easier on us but we feel so luck to have made so many friends and to have had such a successful trip. We also made sure to take contact information for many of the kids and look forward to sending letters and gifts every once in a while just to cheer them up and let them know we have not forgot about them.
We are now in Accra and will be flying home Monday morning. We just wanted to post one last blog to thank everyone who followed our experiences and to thank everyone again for all of their support. This trip could not have been possible without the support of so many of you! We look forward to sharing all of our pictures and seeing everyone back home. We miss you all so much!
Sincerely,
Michael, Matthew, and Genna
Friday, August 8, 2008
Unbelievable!!!
First we want to apologize for not posting anything the past couple days. Things have been so hectic over here. Janie had to say farewell to the kids which was so hard for her and she is safely back in the United States. Since she has left we have been working non-stop on the orphanage. We received an extra donation recently and were able to have a one on one meeting with the director of the orphanage by special request because she is currently sick with malaria.
We met with her and she gave us a prioritized list of things we could do for them beginning with food of course. While meeting with her she shared her plans for the future of the orphanage and we came up with a way for United Students for Africa to assist her. It was such a successful meeting and we left feeling so optimistic about the kids future. We stayed at the orphanage for a couple more hours and just gave the children our time.
Today was unbelievably successful. We spent the entire day, from 9 am to 3 pm at the market shopping for the kids. The amount of food we bought with the money we had was truly incredible. We purchased two 50 kg sacks of corn, two 50 kg sacks of beans, two 50 kg sacks of rice, a sack of palm nuts, a sack of cabbage, a sack of oranges (the kids loved them so much they wouldn't stop begging for more!), a tub of peanut butter, so many spices, medicine, baby formula, baby cereal, a sack of fish, a 10 kg box of mackaral, 4 boxes of tomato paste, and too many other things to list here! Anyways, the point is we bought so many things and Adullam Orphanage was so incredibly grateful for our generous offerings.
We dropped the stuff off and took pictures of all the kids with the food and then we got to watch them line up to get their orange. All of the kids that were old enough to eat one, which is about 180 kids, got one and there were still plenty left! The kids were eating their oranges with huge smiles on their faces and they couldn't get enough. Today was so much fun and we can't wait for tomorrow which we think will only get better.
Again, we are so sorry for the delay and we are so sorry for not being able to post pictures. The first thing we will do is show everyone all the pictures we have taken since we have been here and we have received permission to post some online on our website when it is up!
Thanks again to everyone who has supported us on this life-changing adventure!
Sincerely,
Michael, Matt, Genna, and Janie (Even though she is gone she is still with us!)
PS: Janie made sure to call us all and let us know how delicious her In N Out double double was as soon as she got off the plane... :'(
We met with her and she gave us a prioritized list of things we could do for them beginning with food of course. While meeting with her she shared her plans for the future of the orphanage and we came up with a way for United Students for Africa to assist her. It was such a successful meeting and we left feeling so optimistic about the kids future. We stayed at the orphanage for a couple more hours and just gave the children our time.
Today was unbelievably successful. We spent the entire day, from 9 am to 3 pm at the market shopping for the kids. The amount of food we bought with the money we had was truly incredible. We purchased two 50 kg sacks of corn, two 50 kg sacks of beans, two 50 kg sacks of rice, a sack of palm nuts, a sack of cabbage, a sack of oranges (the kids loved them so much they wouldn't stop begging for more!), a tub of peanut butter, so many spices, medicine, baby formula, baby cereal, a sack of fish, a 10 kg box of mackaral, 4 boxes of tomato paste, and too many other things to list here! Anyways, the point is we bought so many things and Adullam Orphanage was so incredibly grateful for our generous offerings.
We dropped the stuff off and took pictures of all the kids with the food and then we got to watch them line up to get their orange. All of the kids that were old enough to eat one, which is about 180 kids, got one and there were still plenty left! The kids were eating their oranges with huge smiles on their faces and they couldn't get enough. Today was so much fun and we can't wait for tomorrow which we think will only get better.
Again, we are so sorry for the delay and we are so sorry for not being able to post pictures. The first thing we will do is show everyone all the pictures we have taken since we have been here and we have received permission to post some online on our website when it is up!
Thanks again to everyone who has supported us on this life-changing adventure!
Sincerely,
Michael, Matt, Genna, and Janie (Even though she is gone she is still with us!)
PS: Janie made sure to call us all and let us know how delicious her In N Out double double was as soon as she got off the plane... :'(
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Goats Anyone?
We had too much fun today!
It started with a 6 am wake up call which turned out to be unnecessary. We ended up leaving for the orpanage around 9 am for a service with the kids from 10-12. The service was so much fun and the kids sang for what seemed like the entire time. After the service we ran home for lunch and made it back to the orphanage around 2:15 for the daily soccer match. They let Janie play and she had a lot of fun with the older kids. Apparently they are pretty good.
While she was playing, Genna was with the kids watching the game and Michael and Matt went with one of the adults to the market to buy some things for the party we are having for the kids tomorrow; thanks to an anonymous donor from home! We decided to give them something they have on very special occasions and only if they are lucky: meat. We talked to the director and she suggested we buy either goat or sheep because they feed many and are delicious. While at the market we found the market for animals and purchased four live sheep which apparently will be slaughtered tomorrow morning around 7 am and they insisted that we be present. We also purchased some rice, tomato paste, and sodas which are also eaten on very special occasions. The funniest part of the whole mission was driving in the taxi with four sheep directly behind our heads. Don't worry, we got plenty of pictures.
When we arrived all of the kids were so excited and wanted to take pictures with the sheep and kept jumping up and down. It was so interesting to see how even the kids as young as three were making gestures of slaughtering the sheep with a finger sliding across their throats. It is a common event in Ghana, apparently. After a couple hours with the kids we decided it was time for dinner and they were about to have their supper as well so we headed home.
Tonight we were graced with more fish on our plates and several visitors wishing us well. It was a very busy day but we are all so excited to see the kids again tomorrow and to see how happy they will be having lunch with us. We are all sincerely enjoying every minute we spend with the kids and we are already imagining how hard it will be for us to leave them.
Thank you everyone again for all the donations you have made that have given us the opportunity to bring smiles to the kids faces.
With Love,
Michael, Janie, Matt, and Genna
It started with a 6 am wake up call which turned out to be unnecessary. We ended up leaving for the orpanage around 9 am for a service with the kids from 10-12. The service was so much fun and the kids sang for what seemed like the entire time. After the service we ran home for lunch and made it back to the orphanage around 2:15 for the daily soccer match. They let Janie play and she had a lot of fun with the older kids. Apparently they are pretty good.
While she was playing, Genna was with the kids watching the game and Michael and Matt went with one of the adults to the market to buy some things for the party we are having for the kids tomorrow; thanks to an anonymous donor from home! We decided to give them something they have on very special occasions and only if they are lucky: meat. We talked to the director and she suggested we buy either goat or sheep because they feed many and are delicious. While at the market we found the market for animals and purchased four live sheep which apparently will be slaughtered tomorrow morning around 7 am and they insisted that we be present. We also purchased some rice, tomato paste, and sodas which are also eaten on very special occasions. The funniest part of the whole mission was driving in the taxi with four sheep directly behind our heads. Don't worry, we got plenty of pictures.
When we arrived all of the kids were so excited and wanted to take pictures with the sheep and kept jumping up and down. It was so interesting to see how even the kids as young as three were making gestures of slaughtering the sheep with a finger sliding across their throats. It is a common event in Ghana, apparently. After a couple hours with the kids we decided it was time for dinner and they were about to have their supper as well so we headed home.
Tonight we were graced with more fish on our plates and several visitors wishing us well. It was a very busy day but we are all so excited to see the kids again tomorrow and to see how happy they will be having lunch with us. We are all sincerely enjoying every minute we spend with the kids and we are already imagining how hard it will be for us to leave them.
Thank you everyone again for all the donations you have made that have given us the opportunity to bring smiles to the kids faces.
With Love,
Michael, Janie, Matt, and Genna
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Beautiful Day in Ghana
Just a short update,
Today was awesome. We started off going to the market around 7 am which was a little bit too early but we bought two huge sacks of corn, a sack of beans, baby formula, tomato paste, and a lot more stuff but we still aren't done. That might soundd like a lot but when you have 200 + kids to feed I am sure it goes pretty quickly.
After we left the market it was aabout 11 am (Yes it takes that long when there are thousands of people crowding the streets and yelling) and we returned home for lunch and sped off to the wedding we were invited to. The wedding was a lot of fun and we were given VIP treatment which was very kind of them. After the wedding we returned to the market for a few more things because our car was full the first time and then we dropped it off at home and left for the reception. We all enoyed ourselves and met many people that have offered to help us in the future if we intend to return to Ghana.
We hope everyone at home is doing incredibly we are all thinking of you and we love being in Ghana. We came here with the intent to help as many people as possible but have far exceeded even the most optimistic expectations of this trip. Thanks again to everyone who has helped.
Sincerely,
Michael, Janie, Matt, and Genna
Today was awesome. We started off going to the market around 7 am which was a little bit too early but we bought two huge sacks of corn, a sack of beans, baby formula, tomato paste, and a lot more stuff but we still aren't done. That might soundd like a lot but when you have 200 + kids to feed I am sure it goes pretty quickly.
After we left the market it was aabout 11 am (Yes it takes that long when there are thousands of people crowding the streets and yelling) and we returned home for lunch and sped off to the wedding we were invited to. The wedding was a lot of fun and we were given VIP treatment which was very kind of them. After the wedding we returned to the market for a few more things because our car was full the first time and then we dropped it off at home and left for the reception. We all enoyed ourselves and met many people that have offered to help us in the future if we intend to return to Ghana.
We hope everyone at home is doing incredibly we are all thinking of you and we love being in Ghana. We came here with the intent to help as many people as possible but have far exceeded even the most optimistic expectations of this trip. Thanks again to everyone who has helped.
Sincerely,
Michael, Janie, Matt, and Genna
Friday, August 1, 2008
Best Days Yet
Hello everyone,
We are not really sure what days we are writing for right now but we can promise you this: the last two days have been so incredibly successful. We have really made a huge impact the last two days and have gotten a great start on what will be the last two weeks of our time here.
Thursday began quite early as we decided to make a stop at the building site and see if they could use our help. We arrived around 9 am and the carpenter gave us a few small things we could do but other than that they had everything under control and moving along rapidly. As of today they have the frame up and they will begin working on the roof Monday. Because it is so hot here, the workers are only able to work until around 1 pm everyday.
After the working we decided to take a 45 minute drive to the near city of Kumasi which is the oldest city in Ghana. We decided to go to meet a woman we had met on the plane and talk to her about further trips here and because she invited us and it is quite rude to say no to an invitation in the Ghanaian culture. After a delicious lunch we spent some time talking with her and she took us for a tour of Kumasi and then brought us to the King of the Ashanti Region's palace. Although he was not there it was very interesting. Before we left for Obuasi she insisted we call her Mom and she said next time we come to Ghana she would be happy to provide us with a car and a place to stay if needed. She has a home in both Accra and Kumasi and invited us to use her home in Accra the night before we fly out.
This morning we woke up quite early again and headed to the bank to pick up the money that was wired to us using MoneyGram that we will be using for the orphanage. It took some time but it was well worth it! (Thanks to those who sent money). After receiving the money we went home for lunch and then walked to the orphanage.
Matt brought a couple toys and tennis balls for the kids which they loved. He was playing baseball with them with a wooden pallet as a baseball bat. Janie and Genna spent most of their time with the babies and then with the older girls just talking. Michael spent his time taking care of Joseph because he was having a sore throat. Michael took him to the nurse and she gave him some medicine which made him feel much better. While there Michael asked the nurse if there was any medicine he could pick up at the market because we already have a list of all the food and things they need and the nurse was so excited and she wrote up a long list of things including Malaria medicine and multivitamins.
While we were there the kids from 3-6 years old were having bath time. We decided to watch and see if we could help. When we saw the kids line up it was so sad. They have a giant bowl that the kids stand in one by one and the woman wearing rubber gloves uses a really rough sponge and the kids are first drenched with the cold water and then the woman scrubs their little bodies as if they were cars going through a car wash. The kids are so strong; they stand there as if it doesn't hurt but when you look at their eyes you can truly see the pain. They are so strong. When it was Josephs turn we watched closely because we knew he wasn't feeling well and he first bent down and everytime the woman would pour water over his face we thought he would start to cry but he closed his eyes and struggled through it. It was probably the hardest thing we have seen since we have been there. In one hand it hurts us to see this but on the realistic side we understand because there are over 200 kids at the orphanage and only 10-15 "mothers" it is impossible for them to take more time.
It is truly incredible what this orphanage has done for the kids over the past 10 years. It is a private orphanage which receives no help from the government but they have managed to consistently find enough food to give the kids meals every day. The Director, Louise, has told us that sometimes she really does not know how they find the funds because it is often the case that at the end of the month they have no money left.
I hope that wasn't a too depressing email, we were just trying to give everyone a stronger understanding of what these kids experience on a day to day basis. Something that has kept us going since we have been here is after seeing how little they have and how much they have suffered, they never fail to have a smile on their faces and are never afraid to show their love to anyone.
Thank you everyone,
Michael, Janie, Matt, and Genna
We are not really sure what days we are writing for right now but we can promise you this: the last two days have been so incredibly successful. We have really made a huge impact the last two days and have gotten a great start on what will be the last two weeks of our time here.
Thursday began quite early as we decided to make a stop at the building site and see if they could use our help. We arrived around 9 am and the carpenter gave us a few small things we could do but other than that they had everything under control and moving along rapidly. As of today they have the frame up and they will begin working on the roof Monday. Because it is so hot here, the workers are only able to work until around 1 pm everyday.
After the working we decided to take a 45 minute drive to the near city of Kumasi which is the oldest city in Ghana. We decided to go to meet a woman we had met on the plane and talk to her about further trips here and because she invited us and it is quite rude to say no to an invitation in the Ghanaian culture. After a delicious lunch we spent some time talking with her and she took us for a tour of Kumasi and then brought us to the King of the Ashanti Region's palace. Although he was not there it was very interesting. Before we left for Obuasi she insisted we call her Mom and she said next time we come to Ghana she would be happy to provide us with a car and a place to stay if needed. She has a home in both Accra and Kumasi and invited us to use her home in Accra the night before we fly out.
This morning we woke up quite early again and headed to the bank to pick up the money that was wired to us using MoneyGram that we will be using for the orphanage. It took some time but it was well worth it! (Thanks to those who sent money). After receiving the money we went home for lunch and then walked to the orphanage.
Matt brought a couple toys and tennis balls for the kids which they loved. He was playing baseball with them with a wooden pallet as a baseball bat. Janie and Genna spent most of their time with the babies and then with the older girls just talking. Michael spent his time taking care of Joseph because he was having a sore throat. Michael took him to the nurse and she gave him some medicine which made him feel much better. While there Michael asked the nurse if there was any medicine he could pick up at the market because we already have a list of all the food and things they need and the nurse was so excited and she wrote up a long list of things including Malaria medicine and multivitamins.
While we were there the kids from 3-6 years old were having bath time. We decided to watch and see if we could help. When we saw the kids line up it was so sad. They have a giant bowl that the kids stand in one by one and the woman wearing rubber gloves uses a really rough sponge and the kids are first drenched with the cold water and then the woman scrubs their little bodies as if they were cars going through a car wash. The kids are so strong; they stand there as if it doesn't hurt but when you look at their eyes you can truly see the pain. They are so strong. When it was Josephs turn we watched closely because we knew he wasn't feeling well and he first bent down and everytime the woman would pour water over his face we thought he would start to cry but he closed his eyes and struggled through it. It was probably the hardest thing we have seen since we have been there. In one hand it hurts us to see this but on the realistic side we understand because there are over 200 kids at the orphanage and only 10-15 "mothers" it is impossible for them to take more time.
It is truly incredible what this orphanage has done for the kids over the past 10 years. It is a private orphanage which receives no help from the government but they have managed to consistently find enough food to give the kids meals every day. The Director, Louise, has told us that sometimes she really does not know how they find the funds because it is often the case that at the end of the month they have no money left.
I hope that wasn't a too depressing email, we were just trying to give everyone a stronger understanding of what these kids experience on a day to day basis. Something that has kept us going since we have been here is after seeing how little they have and how much they have suffered, they never fail to have a smile on their faces and are never afraid to show their love to anyone.
Thank you everyone,
Michael, Janie, Matt, and Genna
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)