Experiences: Clinics

Meredith Hunter from the US was the first volunteer to go to both Seva and Akwakwaa clinics. She helped out from March to May 2005.

Kpokpoe woman giving beads as gift to Meredith I am a nurse from North Carolina, and this is my last day in Ghana (May 15). I arrived in early March and have been working at the Seva clinic in the Volta Region. I have had a wonderful time. At first, the dirtiness of Accra and the heat was oppressive, but the land and people in the villages were definitely uplifting. I was there with another nurse, Ai, and we stayed about 7 weeks. The African nurses at Seva: Bernice, Elizabeth, and Emperor, are wonderful. We had a lot of laughs and some crazy adventures. Pushing trucks out of the mud on the way to a free clinic in the bush, canoeing emergency cases across the Volta to the hospital, late night deliveries, and games of ludu. Dada Daneshananda was there working on the clean water project for the region and it was exciting to see all the good changes happening in the area.

There is so much to do health-wise in these rural communities that I feel as if I have left much undone. I want to explain a typical day at the clinic in order to show prospective nurses what they might expect.

We wake up at 6 am with the chickens and usually have 1 or 2 patients before breakfast. Most cases are malarial, but wounds, hernias, and high blood pressures are also very common. For a few weeks I had to drive the Land Rover to adjacent villages in the morning to give penicillin shots or change the dressings for the patients who can't walk. Breakfast is great, with fruit, tea, coffee, oatmeal, bread, cheese, and avocado. We see patients throughout the morning and then head to a village to do a teaching session.

We did 2 rounds of teaching for women and mothers while we were there. We taught about 30-40 women per class and had about 25 classes. One session was about malaria and dehydration. Frequently, the women did not even know what caused malaria, and we taught them how to treat and protect their children. The second round of teaching was on nutrition. The mothers would ask us "Why do I feed my child, but he doesn't grow big?" There are so many health educational needs in these small communities. Everyone in the villages was very welcoming and they would send small children up palm trees to get coconuts to show their thanks.

At night we would play cards, eat rice and stew, or play a local game called ludu; but usually we would just talk and drink tea and laugh. I hope this information helps anyone thinking about volunteering for AMURTEL or Kidsworldwide. I had a great time and made some really wonderful friends.

Horkpo women's meeting March 17	Horkpo women listening
Showing how to make a rehydration drink at home Kpokope	Showing poster of dirty village in Alavanyo