Dr. Jennifer Wilson

I’m finding it difficult to put into words how deeply meaningful today was — our first day of work at the Leyaata Hospital.

The morning began with devotions under the gazebo with the Leyaata Hospital and NEA staff. David reflected on the moment he saw our feet stepping off the bus one by one. It reminded him of a passage in the Bible from Isaiah 52:7 that speaks about those whose feet bring good news — news of peace and good tidings to the sick.

After breakfast in the bright hospital cafeteria, we were each presented with crisp, white hospital lab coats adorned with the blue and red Leyaata Hospital logo. Our partners wanted us to look and feel like part of their team. We wore those coats with great pride and great sweat.

And then, off we went to our various departments, partnering with our colleagues in a day in the life of caring for patients at the Leyaata Hospital. It was amazing for me to watch my colleagues so wholeheartedly come alongside the staff to encourage them, support them, and cheer them on in this monumental task of opening a hospital. As I watched everyone working today, I couldn’t help but reflect on the many years we spent together providing short-term medical and surgical care in this region. Together, we dreamed of the day when sustainable health care would arrive — and that vision is now becoming a reality.

Dr. Anne, Ernestina, and I conducted the Helping Babies Breathe training course for the first cohort of hospital midwives, who impressed us with their knowledge, skill, and enthusiasm. They recognize that this program will save lives and they fully embraced it. They seemed to really enjoy the KitKat chocolate bars that I brought as afternoon treats for them. Unfortunately, they were liquid because of the heat – not sure what I was thinking there!

At dinner, we pushed the cafeteria tables together so we could share our delicious meal along with stories of the day with our teammates and with Abraham (the Leyaata Hospital Administrator), Dr. Ben (the Medical Director), and Isaac (Leyaata Hospital’s “Minister of Finance”). We spoke of the highlights of our day as well as some of the challenges that we were co-solving with our colleagues. The biggest theme was by far, the exceptional staff at this hospital. Compassionate, committed, hardworking, creative and determined to make Leyaata Hospital a centre of excellence – this is our strong impression of this Leyaata Hospital team after just one day.

And more good news — a massive and welcome rainstorm rolled in this evening, and for the first time today, there is no sweat on my brow.

So thankful to report that our Canadian and UK teammates landed in Accra within moments of one another! Fantastic reunion and celebration that all our luggage arrived with us.

A quick late-night dinner and off to rest for a few hours before beginning our journey to Leyaata Hospital at dawn. It’s so good to be back!

Like every day at NEA, the Leyaata Hospital Commissioning Day began under the gazebo for devotions. Pastor Dale Dawson from Uxbridge Baptist Church gave an inspiring address and didn’t appear to blink an eye when a delegation of paramount chiefs—in full chieftaincy regalia —arrived and took a seat in front of him. When Dale was finished, they made a presentation to David and Brenda Mensah, speaking about the significance of this hospital to their people. It was the first time I had ever seen a chief cry.

After breakfast, the talking drums began to speak—announcing the festivities and guiding everyone to the hospital site. According to David, 9000+ people gathered on the grounds to celebrate and commission their hospital.

As different tribes began to arrive, they gathered under black and red canopies adorned with the colours of the Ghanaian flag. The crowd formed a massive square with an open field in the middle, which was reserved for the traditional cultural dances. Colourful and intricate dresses, robes, jewellery, headpieces, and umbrellas stretched as far as I could see. The sounds of different drums, whistles, and the blasts of cannons filled the air, and traditional dances from the various tribes took place simultaneously. It was a celebration like I had never seen.

As they moved around the site, there was strong security and military presence surrounding dignitaries and officials. However, when the guest of honour—Nana Tibalakala (Paramount Chief David Mensah), arrived, the security detail that formed a protective circle around him was his pastoral team in their finest suits and collars. It was a striking, symbolic, and moving proclamation of who David Mensah trusts with his life. And this also sent a poignant message without words that NEA chooses prayer and peace over weapons and conflict.

The ceremony to commit this massive facility into God’s hands and the “custodians of the land” was rich. The list of introductions was long and impressive. Many dignitaries and officials made speeches, but when David Mensah rose to give his address, he called all of us—his international guests—to stand with him. Cindy Lambier, Jacques Lapointe (Chair of the GRID Board), and I gave speeches. I was honoured to announce that our team was giving the gift of a training centre. This centre for health education and research will be a key piece of our ongoing involvement at Leyaata Hospital. It will allow us to support the educational needs of the staff and bring virtual and in-person training to professionals from all over Ghana. What an honour for me to have my hand on the shovel with Brenda Mensah, the Deputy Minister of Health, and Chief Solomon of Carpenter. My only regret is that our surgical team leader Mr. Rob Hicks missed participating in the sod turning as he and our paediatrician, Anne, had to catch a plane.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a large group of dignitaries and paramount chiefs were toured through the hospital by the Leyaata Hospital medical staff. As they weaved their way through the outpatient department, eye clinic, dental clinic, ER, surgical theatres, ICU, labour and delivery ward, chapel, and CT scan room, I enjoyed watching their faces and noting their comments.

“How can a facility like this sit on Carpenter soil?” “The only place I have seen this piece of equipment is in the regional hospital in Accra!” “I delivered my babies too early! They should have been born here!” Many were speechless with mouths open wide. Others wept as they spoke of women who will no longer die in childbirth and of the children who will no longer die before their fifth birthday. The facility looked spectacular, and even the TV monitors in the waiting rooms were providing public health education. NEA fed all of the guests a hot lunch.

Brenda made an extraordinary presentation when we finally gathered in the dining hall for dinner late last night. In 2013, Brenda, David, Jacques and I sat in a little room in Uxbridge with a blank piece of paper. Our goal was to sketch our dream of a hospital and list what services that hospital might need based on our Ghana Health Team data. She called it our “van Gogh” because every service listed on that “wish list” now exists in the Leyaata Hospital. Brenda enlarged and framed that sketch for the Senior Leaders of Leyaata Hospital. She wants them to hang it in their office to remind them that we need to be people of vision. We need to be generational thinkers. We need to dream.

If I had to choose the most exciting part of the day for me it would be when the Board Chair of the Christian Hospital Association of Ghana (CHAG) announced that they want to expedite accreditation for Leyaata Hospital to become a tertiary care teaching hospital that includes Family Medicine. This is our dream for Leyaata Hospital. This dream may become a reality much sooner than we expected.

It is hard to know how to best close off this mission (part of that may be because I am very motion sick trying to write this on a bumpy bus as we journey back to catch our international flights). Our hearts and minds are full of what we were privileged to be part of and what our next steps will be in this global partnership. But, as I consider all that has taken place over this past week, one overarching lesson has risen to the top for me.

Pastor Bob Whitaker told a story about a concert that was held in New York City for a famous pianist. In the front row sat a mother with a little boy. She brought him to the concert, hoping to inspire him that one day, he too could be a famous pianist. While the big crowd was awaiting the start of the performance, the little boy slipped away from his mother and made his way up on the stage. He climbed up on the bench and began to play “Chopsticks.” The crowd booed and yelled for the mother to remove the child from the grand piano. Just then, the famous pianist appeared from backstage, came up behind the boy, and reached around his small frame. He placed his big strong hands on the keys beside the hands of the child and began to play a counter melody to enhance his “Chopsticks.” All the while, he whispered in the boy’s ear, “Keep playing. Just keep playing.” Together they filled the hall with a masterpiece.

This story challenged many of us on my team. As we look at the massive problems facing our world today, it is easy to think we have nothing to offer. Sometimes, it is so hard to know how even to begin. As Bob reminded us, “Go to the piano. Just go to the piano and allow the mighty hands of God to enhance our small and imperfect offerings and create something beautiful.”

So many individuals have dared to go to the piano with their “Chopsticks” and partner with NEA in Ghana since our first Ghana Health Team Mission in 2007 and now, we are watching and hearing a symphony. The Leyaata Hospital is a masterpiece, and we thank God and each one who stepped up to the piano.

Yesterday, after devotions and breakfast, we attended the dedication service for the new Carpenter church. Dressed in our Sunday best, we joined in the celebration of thanksgiving to God for this beautiful facility. Hundreds gathered in a modern, spacious, high-ceilinged church with beautiful lighting, air-conditioning, wall fans, a full band, and a sound system. It is spectacular. Just moments after the singing and dancing began, we lost all power, but our African friends didn’t skip a beat—they carried on as if nothing had happened. The skies soon opened up, and a torrential downpour began. David, dressed in a striking green traditional chief’s robe, explained that the heavy rain greatly answered their prayers. The land was so dry and dusty due to lack of rain that NEA was about to pay big money to hire tanker trucks to come and soak the massive dirt lawn in front of the hospital, where thousands will gather under canopies on Sunday.

It was a unique service which included greetings by Pastor Dawson from Canada and Pastor Whitaker from the US, moving testimonies, enthusiastic singing, special acknowledgements, and lots and lots of dancing. Everything was translated into English or the local language. Our team performed a resounding rendition of “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” accompanied by Linda Dawson on the keyboard. We sounded awesome and are thinking of taking it on tour. One of my favourite parts of the Ghanaian church service is when the different groups dance in front of the church in a large circle. First, the women dance, then the men, followed by the pastors, the young women, the young men, and then the kids. Sadly, I forgot to prep my husband Graham about how that system worked, so when I rose to dance with the women, he jumped up to follow, joyfully oblivious. Finally, after quite some time, kind and gentle Mumuni pulled Graham to the side breaking the news, “This dance is for the women only, Graham”, —ushering him back to his seat. “COMEDY GOLD” was the way Anne aptly put it. It may take Graham a while to live down his “lady’s dance,” but he is proud to be joining the ranks of Dr. Martin and Dr. Francois, who, in years gone by, made the same embarrassing mistake.

The service ended a little later than expected (at 2:30 pm) just as the rains stopped. When someone asked Brenda how long church usually goes, she replied with a smile, “We go until we are finished!” Each day in Ghana has always brought a new challenge to me. Today I can’t stop thinking about how the Ghanaian people make time for that which they prioritize. This is one of the busiest weeks of their life, yet, they don’t skip their daily devotions, and they don’t skip a 4.5+ hour church service. Tasks can wait when something of importance should take place—especially if it involves people or relationships. You would never hear anyone around here saying that there are not enough hours in the day. They use each hour very strategically and very wisely and trust the outcomes to God.

Two of the final 20-foot containers of hospital equipment from the UK (the emergency department equipment and most of the computers) arrived at the compound midday, so after our late lunch, our team headed to the hospital to help. Within 2.5 hours, the containers were unloaded, equipment was assembled, and departments were set up by this seasoned health care team. It is so special to see how everyone chipped in as Tim, the CEO of Medical Aid International, directed us. As I walked around, I heard some hearty laughter down one of the corridors, only to find Dale and Bob (the two pastors) and Dr. Josh (our optometrist) having a blast assembling hospital beds. One of them looked at me and said, “What could go wrong here?” While I was walking down another corridor with Amanda, our hospital pharmacist, we passed Daniel, our biomedical engineering technician. He was working so hard that his shirt was soaked through with sweat. Amanda’s response? “Daniel… is on FIE-YA!!” Floors were re-mopped, theatre walls scrubbed, and windows washed. Abraham (Leyaata Hospital administrator), Dr. Ben (Leyaata Hospital Medical Director), and Amanda and I mapped out the tour route for the Office of the President. When the sun set, we returned to the NEA compound to enjoy a delicious roast beef and potato dinner. Ghana beef is way better than Canadian beef in my opinion, which brought a big smile to the face of our kitchen staff. David arrived in the dining room wearing a sweatshirt and pants, complaining that we had brought our weather. Evening temps are dropping to about 22-23 degrees!

As the big day approaches, more and more visitors are arriving in Carpenter. Excitement is building. Brenda likened it to the twelve days of Christmas as each day gets bigger and better and more exciting. Today we were reunited with our dear colleague and friend Ernestina, who has been on every mission with us since 2007. She will be a senior nursing leader at the Leyaata Hospital. Linda and Sherry welcomed Emmanuel, the Mensah’s nephew, another Leyaata Hospital pharmacist.

Our day ended under the gazebo with round one of a euchre tournament. Anne, Margaret, and Carol were new to the game, but thankfully, three of our GRID Board members, Jacques, Brigitte, and Wende, stepped in and were amazing coaches!

Today, it’s all hands on deck to put the finishing touches on the hospital and some key leadership meetings will take place throughout the day. Our time is passing quickly, but we are determined to make the most of every moment as we serve, celebrate, dance, build relationships, and prepare for the next chapter of our story here in Ghana.

Today was a day with a powerful theme!

It began under the gazebo when Dr. David Mensah shared two stories. The first story was about a teacher who placed a speck of chalk on the centre of a giant blackboard. He then asked the students, “What do you see?” They all said, “We see a speck of chalk.” So he asked them again, and they all gave the same answer. Not one of them “saw” the blackboard. David then went on to speak of a man who visited a friend in Burkina Faso and, having seen the suffering due to drought, found a drought-resistant bean and gave it to the man to plant. He returned a year later and noticed his friend did not look well nourished. He asked what happened to the beans, to which the friend replied, “I cooked them.” David continued with an inspirational address about being people of vision. When devotions were finished, our team presented each NEA staff member with a bottle of Canadian maple syrup, reminding them that a sweet friendship refreshes the soul (Proverbs 27:9).

After breakfast, we planned to head to the hospital site to join in final preparations, but something much more important came up. A large delegation of chiefs representing eight communities arrived and requested to meet with us. Knowing the crowds would be enormous on Sunday, they wanted to ensure that they thanked us “with joy and excitement for our presence in their land since 2007”. They thanked us for providing vision and wisdom to the planning of Leyaata Hospital. They presented us with three cows and several massive bags of rice. They also honoured Rob Hicks with a beautiful white smock and hat to thank him for his leadership of our surgical program. I’m sure this day will be very memorable for Rob as he also found out that his daughter Elsa was accepted into medical school! Yeah, Elsa!

Once the festivities were over, our entire team and the GRID Board spent the afternoon at the hospital site, a beehive of activity as gardeners, painters, cleaners, engineers, electricians, and administrators were putting the finishing touches on the hospital. It was a full circle moment for me as our health team—usually setting up their stations in a village school—helped to set up the permanent emergency room, surgical suite, maternity and paediatric ward, pharmacy, lab, eye clinic and dental clinic. I was choked to tears as I watched skilled surgeons mopping floors, nurses and pharmacists cleaning windows, and board members setting up and scrubbing the industrial kitchen. Everyone on our team pitched in to help wherever help was needed.

This evening, momentum towards commissioning day continued to build as the NEA Board members arrived, and we welcomed more friends from Canada and the United States. Peter, an artisan from Accra, has filled the training centre with his wares, and the shopping spree has begun. He is thrilled as his business suffered greatly due to COVID. We anticipate the arrival of two more containers of hospital equipment first thing tomorrow morning, so there will be lots of unpacking and setting up after a brand new church is commissioned in Carpenter village. Our group is singing the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” during tomorrow’s church service. There are mixed reviews on how our rehearsal went tonight, but I know we can pull it off. We are aiming for three-part harmony.

Everywhere I turned today, I was reminded that we need to be people of vision. People who see the big blackboard and not the speck of chalk. People who plant the bean instead of eating the bean. People who care more about what kind of world they will leave behind for the next generation than meeting their immediate needs. In David’s words, “our vision is coming true,” and we are thrilled to be along for the ride.

This morning began under the newly renovated NEA gazebo, where the staff invited us to join them for morning devotions. This is part of NEA’s daily routine when they gather to sing, study the Bible, and pray for the day’s needs before their work begins. Being present for this foundational part of NEA’s work is always an honour. The pastor shared an inspiring lesson from Romans 12: 3,4.

After a beautiful breakfast of oatmeal, omelettes, beans, and fresh mango served by Patience and her team, we walked to the Carpenter village to greet the chief and elders. The chief recalled a time when his people had to walk 72 miles to purchase a tablet of acetaminophen. He remembered the many women from Carpenter who died in childbirth. He told us about the men and women who went to hospitals for care but had to remain there for an extended time to pay their debt to the hospital.

I reminded the chief that in the early years of our mission, I was discouraged and expressed to him that our work felt like a tiny drop of help in a vast ocean of need. His response back in 2008 was to remind me that even though the ocean is massive, it still accepts every single drop. Today he reflected on the ripple effect that our Ghana Health Teams have had leading up to this historic hospital opening. It was a symbolic and emotional gathering as Dr. David Mensah acknowledged that he would be remembered as the chief whose reign brought health care to this region. The entire meeting was translated from Deg to English and then to Twi.

Our team then walked in a procession to the Leyaata Hospital. I could not hold my tears as we walked through the massive gates and up the drive to the majestic front entrance. The dream NEA has been working towards for so long now stands before us. We toured every room and touched every piece of equipment. Our health leaders stood proudly at the entrance of their departments: administration, emergency room, labour and delivery, neonatal intensive care unit, surgery, laboratory, and pharmacy. Dr. Ben said best: “It is surreal—like I am in a dreamland.” While I would love to provide you with wonderful details and photos of the hospital, these are being kept top secret until after the commissioning.

Before dinner, our team met together to plan our work day for tomorrow. We will be rolling up our sleeves and diving in with whole hearts to help with the final set-up of our respective departments before the crowds descend on Carpenter for the commissioning on Sunday. I asked Patience, the lead cook, how many guests they were preparing to feed. Her response, “Dr. Jennifer, I have been asked to prepare for 5,000 to 7,000.” I then asked her when they would begin those preparations, to which she responded, “Saturday night—we will cook all night.” As Cheryl said, never again will we worry about cooking Christmas dinner.

Tonight, I asked our team to give one word describing what they were feeling after our first full day in Carpenter. So I will close with their list to provide a glimpse of how we are all doing: impressed, excited, ready, inspired, refreshed, welcomed, chilled, overwhelmed, emotional, humbled, privileged, optimistic, astounded, and enthused.

I want to send a load of love from all of us to all our former GHT members who we are honoured to represent here in Carpenter. You are all remembered here by your Ghanaian brothers and sisters, and they send greetings to every one of you. Your fingerprints and the impact of your service are everywhere. As Carpenter Chief said, “Your work has been positive and permanent.”

And thanks to all of you for your comments. Graham reads them to us every night at dinner and we love hearing from home!