It’s was our wedding anniversary yesterday – thanks to everyone who sent good wishes! Having been brought some CHEESE earlier in the week, there was nothing for it than to put the finest dairy product into it’s natural habitat in celebration…
Double cheeseburgers, Garlic and chili fries and some homemade hot sauce!
Kristine (who cropped up in a previous post) left us for home this week, but not before we got around to making headway on a project idea that’s been kicking around for a while.
When the Paediatrics clinic opens every morning, there’s usually a large group of parents waiting with their children to be seen. For the past few weeks, one of the two nurses, supported by Kristine (with her experience as a Nurse Practitioner) has spent an hour presenting a raft of educational advice to this ready audience. Topics include things like household hygiene, signs of malaria, pneumonia, nutrition advice, and so on.
Much of it was based on notes a prior STA (short-term associate) had left, with the intention that they could be used for a presentation session, or even a video. So the CMO had suggested: why not make the video?
There would be a couple of advantages to producing something good: an educational video could be shown on the loop in the waiting area, and could run all day. The daily presentations are brilliant, but take up to an hour out of time which could be spent seeing patients. It’s a difficult balance, and having this as a resource would relieve that constraint somewhat.
On Wednesday and Thursday, we took our chance. We headed across the hospital to the CREN, where every day there are mothers staying with their malnourished infants (see last week’s post for more information.) We set up a ‘classroom’-like area, and the teaching began!
We worked in short blocks rather than doing a whole session at once, so there are going to be about six full sections in all. Roufaï, our presenter for the project, turns out to be a very talented communicator – talking clearly, using LOTS of visual aids (which took a further couple of hours to photograph in detail later!) and rarely pausing for thought.
Now the hard part starts, however – as it’s all in Hausa, editing will be interesting! (Note the shots below are straight out of the dailies, no colour correction yet!)
Explaining the malaria cycle, and how to to protect against those pesky mozzies.
Some of the CREN mums listening attentively.
Talking through the treatment for diarrhoea.
A malnourished little girl who has just been brought to the CREN.
The first of three rapid-fire photo posts for this week: after repeated calls to show what the inside of our house here looks like, we finally remembered to take a couple of quick photos.
The main living area (front door on the left). It's a Saturday, so it's a tip!
Our kitchen - bedroom and bathroom are out to the right. Cooker runs off an enclosed gas canister.
Firstly, a short apology (Peter writes): no photos this week. Whilst I’ve had the camera out this week, there’s been nothing I’d be satisfied sharing, and I’ve been effectively banned from showing off any more food. Which is a pity, because the bagels I made at the start of the week looked a bit messy but tasted heavenly. And at this very moment in time, I’m just finishing some experimental barbeque sauce… never mind.
If you have time, there’s a couple more blog posts which others based at Galmi have scribed in the past couple of days which would be worth your perusal. Marc, who is alongside Ruth in the under-5’s clinic everyday, has written a thorough overview (with lots of photos) explaining the CREN here at Galmi.
The CREN is the malnutrition and feeding centre, and if you received our prayer letter a couple of weeks ago, you’ll hopefully have read a short story from Ruth in which it featured. Marc has given a really clear walkthrough of how the CREN works; even though I’ve visited it quite a bit by now, reading some of the details really does show what a marvellous place it is. It also demonstrates how a small bit of education and an incredibly low cost can make such a difference. I heartily recommend his post to you, which you can read on their blog by clicking here.
Secondly, Deb – the hospital OT, whom we referred to in a previous post – has written another excellent article, with an incredibly uplifting story which just goes to show that even when it seems the chips are down, there are still ongoing stories of small miracles that make it all worthwhile. You can read about the girl who walked again by clicking here.
Before I get in to the following story, I’d also just like to thank everyone who has e-mailed over the past few weeks. We love hearing from folk, and it takes time and effort to sit down and ‘tell us yer scandal’ – so thanks for that, and keep them coming!
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So we were at market on Wednesday and had an interesting experience. If you’ve ever spent any time in the developing world, you’ve probably had the experience of gathering a little band of followers as you go about your business. For the most persistent new, elbow-high friends that I seem to make, they might score lucky and get some of my Sugar-Free Polo mint stash. (But they need to be very persistent, I don’t yield lightly on the precious mint front.)
There’s a Nigerien proverb, that more or less translate as ‘There’s no harm in asking.’ Now, I’ve had the experience in a different country where sticking out like a sore thumb as the rich westerner resulted in people literally tugging on my clothes and more or less demanding something. I don’t think it’s a common experience thankfully, but maybe you too have experienced more aggressive traders, or even those asking for money. It can be pretty intimidating if there’s only one or two of you.
Niger is the polar opposite. No matter what, people are friendly. If there’s no harm in asking, they might as well ask. Kids will be passing, and they’ll maybe say hello, show you their bit of French and ask ‘Akwai cadeaux?’ But even if you’re saying no, they’ll still smile and move on. Traders are the same; they’ll get your attention, greet you and do the formalities no matter how passing the contact, ask how you day is and wave goodbye when you leave.
Perhaps I’m being naive – we are only four weeks in – but the aggressive streak has not made it to Niger, thankfully. People are just asking – and hey, there’s no harm in asking! You might score yourself some sweets, after all…
However, of course in a part of the world ravaged by poverty there are people who have to beg for help. On Wednesday an elderly gentlemen on the arm of a younger man suddenly seemed roused as we passed by. In English with a thick Nigerian accent, he shouted out, “Excuse me! Excuse me! Is that a Christian?”
Hearing he clearly wasn’t local, I was immediately interested. We exchanged greetings, and then he burst into song – it sounded like a hymn in Hausa. He explained that he had grown up in Jos (in northern Nigeria) where he had attended a Christian secondary school – cue a little more singing – but in his old age he was now blind, and had to ask for help. He quickly ran through statements about Jesus… sorry, “Our Lord Jesus Christ” (proclaimed whilst throwing a hand in the air). Quite a crowd was gathering at this point, and I was also conscious of an impatient guy behind me trying to three-point-turn his donkey cart.
Now that’s normally the point where, if you’re as cripplingly self-conscious as I am, you make some excuses and shuffle off. So I did. Five minutes later, he caught up again. “Our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said, “our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Ask and you shall receive. And I believe Him, and so I ask.”
He had me. Hoisted on our own petard, as it were. But it’s a good one to be hoisted on.
There’s a lot of good reasons why it’s general mission policy (for charities across the globe) not to give out actual money to people who ask in the street, but rather small presents or food, tools or clothes. But it seems to me that sometimes you maybe just have to cross that line – because Jesus did say, “Ask and you shall receive.” He was talking about Himself, of course. But even out of context, it’s still a fairly succinct and powerful line. Is Jesus in the simple act of giving? I think so.
It would be easy, and potentially correct, to be cynical and imagine that like some folk you will encounter, this gent had learnt a few lines and knew who to target. As the handful of internationals in their outpost of civilisation, we’re pretty easy to track down! But this meeting has really stuck in my mind over the past few days.
So for this week, I’m trying not to be as pessimistic as usual. Former US President Harry Truman said that a society is judged by how it treats its weakest members. If that’s the case, this worldwide fellowship of the church needs to think long and hard about what is, after all, surely a central purpose – the encouragement and safeguarding of other believers. Hopefully, we managed not to fluff the opportunity for once as I guilty palmed him a few coins and thanked him for sharing with us.
The worst case scenario is that on Wednesday afternoon, a Christian proved he really was too quick to give away a few coins to someone with less than him, right? I can live with that.
Sincere apologies to all other readers: this post is essentially really for our church home group, who will understand the massive in-joke!
The home groups for Bloomfield Presbyterian, our church in east Belfast, meet on Wednesday nights – and by happy coincidence, so does the bible study group here at Galmi! And so, a thought occurred to us.
It would only be appropriate that before we head to bed tonight, we have a wee cup (or two) of some of the hot chocolate that we were able to bring. (A H/T – that is, a hat tip – to Lindsay for her thoughtfulness in providing lots of goodies that we smuggled in!)
We may not be with you in body, but we’ll be with you in chocolate!
One probably shouldn’t be allowed behind the keyboard after a day as long as this one, but anyway…
In the meantime, as the pun-tastic title indicates, here’s a couple of pictures I meant to share yesterday of some henna Ruth had done a week ago – the girls were having the equivalent of a pampering party, I guess.We’re just in from a round trip to Danja Hospital for the opening of the new Fistula clinic (and also our first chance to kick the tyres and see around the place.) It was a really good day, but exhausting, so we’ll process and maybe talk about first impressions later in the week, ‘kay?
[And by the way, if you groan at puns, shame on you for not recognising one of the oldest and greatest forms of verbal comedy in existence – as proven by some of the amazing, award winning one liners in this article, and this amazing post on Quora this week. It’s maybe not appropriate for this blog, but the line “because you don’t bring a knife to a nun fight,” deserves to be celebrated the world over.]
Here’s a few photos for this week; as we begin to settle into a bit of a routine around here, it’s true that some things seem less noteworthy. Of course they don’t – we’ve just already become used to there being foot-long lizards everywhere. Ruth has alluded to perhaps writing a post in the near future, but until then these random images will stop the gap, hopefully!
Two quick things: firstly, thank you to everyone who responded to the prayer letter e-mail that went out last week. (And if you didn’t receive it and would like to, you can sign up for it using the e-mail link on the right of this page.) It makes us feel pretty wonderful to hear from people, let alone to know that folk are supporting us. Thanks in particular to Brian and the folks in Kildress for apparently hauling Dad up for a grilling last week – no better man for the job! Your support is a constant reminder that we’re part of something bigger, and your part in that is vital, so thank you.
Secondly, a couple of the pictures below allude to the CREN, which is an awesome project in its own right, within the Galmi site. You can read about it in this article from a couple of year’s ago on the Pulitzer Center’s website – and a tip of the hat to Deb, our one-woman Occupational Therapy unit, for that bit of linkage. When you’ve read that, go read through some of her blog articles for an amazing insight into working here at Galmi.
The entrance to to compound at the side of the hospital site. Our house is first one the right. How about those amazing green trees?
The week's new bread recipe: sixty minute baguettes. Chewy AND crusty. Nice.
Last Tuesday, Niger's Minister de Sante (in brown) came for a whistle-stop tour of the hospital.
Early in the day, one of the local evangelists takes the chance to share with mothers who are waiting at the Paediatrics ward.
Ruth, Kristine and some of the adult medical nurses.
This guy was fascinated with the picture of himself on the camera's screen!
A lady and her child at the CREN - the hospital's feeding centre, where families can stay whilst nursing infants suffering from malnutrition.
Kristine and some the mothers at the CREN. I have been obsessed with this picture all week, even though it's massively overexposed.
One of the things you might hear quite a bit about cross-cultural differences between, say, a cold culture (Northern Europe) and a hot one (West Africa) is the attitudes to group vs individual actions. That is to say, back in the UK, we’re pretty individualistic people.
There’s a story I heard about an international meeting, where delegates were attending from across a charity’s global network. A controversial proposal was announced, and it was decided to open the floor for queries or concerns, as it was expected that many of the delegates who came from “in the field”, so to speak, would have serious reservations.
One by one, some European and American delegates stood to say their piece. Numerous members spoke of their concerns, but on the whole it seemed that the room was actually in favour of the proposal. When the time came for an African concern, everyone held their breath. But only one African delegate stood to speak.
The chair was confused. He remarked to the room in general that he was surprised there had not been more African voices of disapproval. There was little reaction. He stalled for more time, urging those who disapproved to make their voices heard.
Eventually, another African delegate arose. The thing was, she explained, the entire African bloc were against the proposal – but they came to an agreement and the man who had spoken did so for the entire group.
The point of the story is that there is much more of an assumption of group dynamic here. It’s not uncommon to see lots of guys clustered around a problem at once! Additionally, whereas in the West, there’s generally a shorter power distance – meaning less of a hierarchy, or that everyone will speak individually to express an opinion, for example – there’s much more a respect for the guy in charge.
All this goes to say that sometimes, it’s really impressive how smoothly everyone seems to know what to do and what their role is. The example I’m thinking of was as I watched some of the construction crew lift the solid steel roofing trusses onto the top of the new toilet block for the hospital here at Galmi. At home, I can only imagine this would have involved a crane and paperwork. Here, the team seemed to know exactly how to work together, and were not at all fazed by the sheer physicality of the task. The whole thing took less than a minute with each one. (You can click each picture to see a bigger one.)
…but not too many – don’t want to hog the bandwidth!
Here are some random pictures from last weekend, just to give you for some of the less obvious highlights so far.
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