Wind Blows Deeply

It’s good to be back

I arrived in The Gambia one week ago.  Getting off the plane was the all-to-familiar smell of ocean, dust, diesel and burning garbage.  Perhaps not the most inviting of smells, but the familiar can be comforting.  Of course there was also the heat and humidity.  Fortunately, it has cooled done from a Humidex in the high 40′s to high 30′s.

It has also been good to see so many familiar faces.  Several past volunteers are also here, making it a bit of a family reunion.  My Gambian friends and family are also here — so wonderful to be seeing each other again.  There is my African grandma, the housekeeper and her energetic 4 year old, those living at or associated with a community development project, and many staff at the hospital (pharmacy and other departments).

Time for work

At the hospital, I spent a few days with the two pharmacy students (from the University of Manitoba) observing local hospital pharmacy practice.  One student began providing continuing education classes for existing staff on Wednesday.

Due to illness, the other pharmacy student and I have been at home the latter of this week.  Although we are much improved with the help of prayer and some antibiotics, neither of us our quite back to normal.  Walking a few blocks this morning was a bit too much for both of us.  Hopefully we will be in full health on Monday when the second student can begin her classes and I can begin teaching the inaugural class of Gambian pharmacy technicians.  It is so exciting to be a part of this program which has been in the planning stages for several years.

The importance of relationships

The more I volunteer in The Gambia, and hear the stories of other volunteers, the more I am reminded of the importance of relationships.  I have been returning to the hospital and The Gambia since 2006, and it is incredible to be welcomed back so warmly each time.  The Gambia, and much of Africa, is highly relationship focused rather than task focused.  At a basic level, there is great importance on proper, and sometimes lengthy, greetings — inquiring about all number of things before getting to the item at hand.  Likewise, time invested in a person or community is an essential component to bringing change.  Of course, other things like money, supplies, technology, and human resources are valuable.  Lasting change requires relationships.

I have seen real change in the pharmacy department.  Several suggestions/discussions that I was a part of in previous trips are now being routinely implemented.  One is the labelling of repacked medications — this helps to tell one white round pill from another.  The other is set stock days for the hospital — rather than departments picking up stock from the pharmacy on any day or time they wished, they are now limited to two set days per week.  This allows the storekeepers to update their inventory records and replenish their stock from the national stores.

Culture clash

We have been able to highlight the huge differences in culture that exist in The Gambia to the new volunteers.  On our second day, we ventured down to the pool at a local resort hotel along with a Canadian surgical resident.  (CVM has collaborated with Medicos en Action – a charitable organization associated with the Canadian Society of General Surgeons (CAGS).  Most of the team had left, except for this resident who was departing quite late the next day.)  While living at the CVM residence is more than comfortable, the sight of green grass (think of the water requirements), the variety of food and drink options, and the sight of tourists supposedly experiencing The Gambia was a significant contrast.  We did enjoy our time at the pool (free with purchase of a drink) and the opportunity to cool off.  Unfortunately, the ocean has been off limits this past week due to dangerous currents.

Our second culture clash was more of the same.  After remembering how to drive standard again, I drove our group to an upscale hotel/resort to hear members of the band Baatin play.  (I heard them play at the same location in 2009.  Watch the video)  One of the Canadian volunteers is good friends with the group and was able to play with them.  A bit more opulent than the first hotel/resort, our group was certainly aware of the difference from typical Gambian life.

Support a pharmacy student

You can still join the team supporting a Gambian student studying to become a pharmacist in another African country.  Emily is currently in her third year of studies.  I spoke with her mother earlier this week.  After this semester, the family no longer has funds to pay for tuition.  The total amount required for the remaining one and a half semesters is just under $17,000.  I know that it sounds like a lot of money — and it is.  But I am also so very thankful for those that have already contributed to the tuition support fund.  It’s not too late.  I will accept donations for as long as they come in, but would prefer them by early December to allow the student to continue into the second semester.

I hope to have more details from Emily about her studies and experiences as a student soon and will forward them to you.  I know that she does plan to return to The Gambia as a pharmacist on completion of her studies.  She has already volunteered (without pay) at the hospital pharmacy during her summer’s off.

Ever had that feeling of “that’s exactly what I need to do”?

Wade is taking the LEED course because “it jives with [his] hippy sensibilities” amongst other reasons.

Courtney organized a Set-Setal event in her neighbourhood of Dakar. Courtney seems like the sort of person I would like to meet. On Africa’s west coast, she is striving to impact her community.

Students meet the needs of an inner-city neighbourhood through a program called SWITCH. A similar program with students, mentors and a host of volunteers is soon to start here. I don’t know what it will look like but you should stop by sometime.

On only two occasions have I been urged by the most overwhelming gut-feeling to pick up a hitchhiker. This is the story of the second. It was not the safest option, or maybe even the smartest. The female travelling alone decides to pick up the man along the side of the road. It could have ended much, much differently. Instead Wayne turned out to be one of those incredible individuals. I passed him initially, playing it safe. Of course, I was also running late for a meeting. But then I had so many thoughts come to mind. The Gideon at church who gave a Bible to the gas station attendant. My father himself picking up a hitchhiker; the man making his way to a sick family member. The call I have to intertwine good works with the Good News (and vice versa). After a lengthy internal battle, I turned around and invited a stranger in.

Wayne is of First Nations background. He was probably under-dressed for the weather. He didn’t have a bag. He told me of his friends, his travels and his children. He told me that his daughter, at 21, was trying to finish grade 11. He was so proud of her, having only a grade five education himself. He told me about the lady upstairs who helped him with things he needed to write.

And I sat there desperately wanting to hear all his thoughts on God but not knowing how to start that conversation. Of course, he started it instead. And I hear his simple story. “He lives here,” he said, fist to chest. Living in various foster homes as a child, he told me of the church couple who invested an outrageous amount of time in his life.

I’m not sure why I had to turn around and pick Wayne up. There were certainly plenty of other travellers that day: semi-drivers and men with trucks. Was it so that Wayne could get where he was going? Was it so I could learn something? Maybe hearing about Wayne’s relationship with God was enough. It was simple and basic and lacking all pretentiousness. Maybe inviting him in was enough. Maybe obedience to God’s voice was enough.