GRID and NEA

Sustainable Development in Ghana

Team Updates

To the Far Side of the Sea

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Greetings from England! We had an uneventful flight (sans medical emergencies) and are enjoying a Starbucks as the sun rises in London. The team is doing great, our tears have dried up, and we are using our layover time to get to know one another better. The Euchre tournament has begun! We are awaiting the arrival of our UK team members who will join us on our flight to Accra.

When we left the church yesterday Pastor Dale prayed a very moving prayer for our team. He read from Psalm 139 and verse 9 is just so fitting for this moment in our journey….. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

We are thankful this first leg of our journey to the far side of the sea has gone so well and look forward to getting our feet on African soil tonight!

(By the way, I about sent a photo of our team all drinking their Starbucks from my iphone….then I realized it would cost 51 dollars/MB….. I’ll let you use your imaginations!!!)

Dr. Jennifer Wilson Jennifer Wilson, a physician in Uxbridge, Ontario, launched GRID’s annual health team several years ago and continues to lead it. She and her husband Graham are committed to alleviating suffering among Ghana’s poor. Jennifer is a board member of GRID.

The 2010 Ghana Health Team is Off!

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2010 Ghana Health Team boarding at Pearson

Step one is complete! 6000 pounds of luggage are checked, sleeping pills being dispensed like candy and we are just about to board. Love to all!

Dr. Jennifer Wilson Jennifer Wilson, a physician in Uxbridge, Ontario, launched GRID’s annual health team several years ago and continues to lead it. She and her husband Graham are committed to alleviating suffering among Ghana’s poor. Jennifer is a board member of GRID.

Ghana Health Team 2010 Launches

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dentist

Ghana Health Team 2010 logo
As mentioned in our latest newsletter, we’ve launched the 2010 Ghana Health Team process.

The Ghana Health Team is a medical / surgical / dental / eye mission that serves the very poor in Northern Ghana. The leaders of the team are Dr. Jennifer Wilson (Canada) and Dr. Andrew Kingsnorth (England).

Planned dates for the 2010 Health Team’s mission are October 29 to November 13.

For more information, you can check 2010 Health Team’s online home.

If you are a health care professional who is interested in participating in this team, we encourage you to learn more about the team, subscribe to team email updates, and plan to attend the information meeting on Thursday, March 4th at 7 pm at Shobrook Gardens.

Applications are due by Wednesday, March 31st.

“I Feel Like a Young Man Again”

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Hernia repair made this man feel young again
Successful surgery made this man feel young again

In their recent mission in Ghana, members of the 2009 medical team were blessed by  a man who calculates himself to be 120 years old.

The surgeons with Operation Hernia, who were once again a part of the medical team, had completed a successful hernia repair on this gentleman. The elderly man was very emotional when he addressed the team, explaining how he wished he could give them something to express his gratitude for the team for coming to help him.  The hernia had caused him great suffering and now he was pain free and felt like a young man again!

He went on to say that the only thanks he had to offer was to ask that the Most High, Almighty God would bless the team members and their children with every possible blessing, and that he considered them all to be adopted members of his family from that day forward.

For more stories from the medical team’s two weeks in Ghana, you can download our latest newsletter [PDF].

Medical Team 2009 Wrap-Up

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The Uxbridge Medical Team has returned safely home. Members will be delivering a presentation about their experiences at Uxbridge Baptist Church on this Sunday, November 22.  You are welcome to join either the 9:00 am or the 10:45 service; the team will be presenting in both.

Uxbridge Team Wrapping Up for 2009

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Dr. Jennifer Wilson, in Ghana with a team of over 40 other medical professionals, has been updating us on the team’s progress over the last two weeks. Here is the latest from her.

The medical team has finished their clinics and is exhausted but happy. They had enormous numbers of people this year and were able to see most of them. They only ran out of a couple of medications and they were able to replenish those from the hospital in Wenchi.

They received four rams from the villages that they held clinics in. During their last clinic yesterday, a small red car pulled up and the chief from another village stepped out with another ram and yams. Several people from his village had visited the clinic that was closest to them so he wanted to show his appreciation.

The team was able to contribute to the community in an unexpected way this year: by purchasing a cow. An expense they had already paid for before their trip ended up costing less than they were quoted and the team unanimously decided to put the extra money into purchasing some sort of bovine for their Ghanaian friends.

Jennifer and the team thank everyone for their prayers. Mid-afternoon during their final day many team members were close to hitting the wall. She knew it was the prayers of their supporters (aided by some instant coffee) that kept them going.

The team plans to leave Carpenter at 5:00 on Friday for the 10 hour bus ride back to Accra, where they will spend some time at the market and then begin the flights home.

Medical Team Starting Last Clinic

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Dr. Jennifer Wilson, in Ghana with a team of over 40 other medical professionals, continues to update us on their progress as she has access to technology and free time.

The team is only a few hours away from their last day of clinic and they are beginning to feel the effects of working incredibly long hours.

Jennifer reports that the the Bamboi clinic on Monday was huge: the medical/dental people saw six hundred people and the vitamin station saw just as many. The village of Bamboi is larger than the others that they visited and the clinic seemed to be more taxing on the team members.

On Tuesday the team ran a clinic in Carpenter and saw over 550 people at a more relaxed pace. They are still surprised with the sickness and disease that many people have accepted as normal for their lives.

The optometry team has been running the eye-glass stations on the second day in each village. As patients were examined by the medical team and identified with sight problems they were told to go to the eye-glass station the next day. On day two, Marion Hurlburt and May Tracey would set up in an area and begin seeing the referrals. As soon as people saw others coming out with glasses on there would a rush to the eye-glass station. The team has handed out all of the glasses that were taken and this has been major contribution to the mission this year.

The team plans to conduct their final clinic in Carpenter on Wednesday and then take Thursday to debrief and organize for their return on Friday. Please remember to pray for the team’s health and energy.

Medical Team in Carpenter and Bamboi

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Dr. Jennifer Wilson, in Ghana with a team of over 40 other medical professionals, continues to update us on their progress as she has access to technology and free time.

The medical team in Carpenter reports that they have been able to see record amounts of patients because the clinics are running so well. The team members are all working hard and are able to maintain the pace.

Here are some highlights from their experiences:

On Thursday in Yaara a three-year-old boy was brought to the clinic. He was very sick with pneumonia and they weren’t sure if they could help him or not. Joan Maguire, an IV specialist, was able to get him started with IV fluids. They were hoping to send him to a hospital but some of the translators and local medical personnel said that he would probably die in the hospital. So the team took him back to Carpenter with them and the nurses took shifts monitoring; Joan had to reinsert the IV several times. As of Sunday he was doing a lot better and they are planning for his return to Yaara.

Apparently this little boy is David Mensah’s nephew. Peter, the boy’s father and David’s brother, was in Carpenter for hernia surgery while this was taking place. At the church service on Sunday, Peter addressed the congregation and said that while he knew that the team was coming again this year, he didn’t realize that they would be coming just for his family. It was a beautiful time for everyone.

One of the area pastors, George crashed his motorcycle on his way to the church service on Sunday and was hurt badly. He did have a helmet on, but it was not done up so it did its job then flew off. Most of the damage was serious lacerations to his leg. One of the hernia surgeons actually specializes in vascular surgery and was able to stitch the wounds, including tendons, in Carpenter. The local medical people doubted George would have been able to receive comparable care in Accra.

The team had a good weekend, even fitting in some games and visits on Saturday evening. They are all looking forward to their remaining clinics before their return to Canada on Friday.