Yep. Another set of busy weeks. First off, Claire, if you're reading this, I hope you're feeling much better, and please know that the whole team is concerned about you and hope to see you back soon!
So, what sort of things have I been up to? Well, our new surgeon, Claire (from UK) had to be evacuated back to Europe. She'd been here about 4 weeks and got sick. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with her here, so the HoM decided to fly her back to Europe to a 'real' hospital where they can hopefully get her all better. She started getting sick last weekend and then was really bad on Monday. The team all pulled together to take care of her on Monday night. Between that and my two big trucks (maybe 10-tonners) that arrived from Monrovia carrying 400 bags of cement plus nails, steel wire, twisted bar, and other sundry building materials at 2:30AM, we didn't get a lot of sleep to start the week. I'm very happy that my supplies came in (it will help a lot with the clinic to actually have material _on hand_) but the timing wasn't great. I was already pretty bushed from the day (and evening)…in fact, I had just given up hope that the trucks were actually coming, when…trundle trundle trundle here they come through the gate. So Tuesday we sent Claire and Annette (as caretaker) down to Monrovia to see if the MSF hospital in the capital could get her healthy, so I ended up acting PC again for a couple days (busy days!). They ran a bunch of tests but couldn't figure things out and the MSF doctor ended up advising that Claire return to Europe immediately. Much to Claire's displeasure, I imagine, although I wasn't there. She ended up flying to England on Thursday. Get well soon!
Compared to the flurry of activity that is medevac'ing, much of the rest of the week seemed benign, and I'm having a hard time remembering what happened the week before last. But, that's only by comparison. In fact, my clinic ("my" clinic) is coming along very well, we've got ¾ of the foundation down, a 250 gallon water tank built, warehouse finished, well dug down to 25 feet (6 more to go), and they're building doorframes and windows. Hopefully we'll have the foundation finished and slab laid down by mid-next week and can start on the walls. That would be really nice. I'd like to get the slab down before the rains start in earnest (another three weeks). I'd also like to get the waste compound underway – sharps, placenta, and burning pits built, plus latrines and maybe an incinerator. And the roof on the existing clinic will need some patching. But I digress…
In other news, as I referred to previously, our email died. That was a pain. Then (now) the email computer died. Hopefully I didn't lose all my photos, but they're all on it which is why there's not pictures with this post.
Other news from the last two weeks…On Thursday (barring any security incidents) I'll be journeying with Dr. Daniel to Ivory Coast. We (MSF-H) has a project in Danane, which should be about 4 hours away, and when Daniel was in Monrovia for an HIV conference, the medco extended an invitation which, when I heard about, I happily decided to tag along.
I'm quite excited about seeing another MSF-H project. I think it'll be really good for me. Hopefully, I'll get to talk with their log and we can share thoughts, ideas, and probably problems…as well as solutions. Also I'd love to get to see how another team operates, really, just see a bit how things work outside of what I know. I imagine that every team and project has its differences and I look forward to getting some new ideas.
Also over the course of the last two weeks Daniel and I have decided where we're going on holiday. For those who aren't "in the know" as it were, MSF requires that all expats take holidays every few months to get you out of the project, away from the environment, and generally take a break. Daniel ended up delaying his holiday a bit and it just so happens we can take approximately the same time off.
So, come June 11, we'll be headed back to Monrovia. From there, we'll (hopefully) fly to Dakar, Senegal. Then we'll immediately get on a minibus or taxi and take it to the border at Mauritania, where we'll cross and head up the coast and inland, probably as far as Chinguetti. Once we reach Chinguetti, we'll relax and start slowly working our way back down, through Mauritania and ideally fly back out of Dakar around the 24 of June.
"Mauritania?" I hear you ask? Yep. Why? I have no idea. Seems like a good idea. Neither of us have ever been there. It's hot, but that's about as much I know about it. Flipping through the Lonely Planet (ca. 2003) looking at chapter after chapter on West African countries I know nothing about, a few jumped out at me…Mali, Guinea Bissau, and Mauritania. Mali was neat just because it would be fun to say I'd been to Timbuktu. But also it's quite touristy, and supposedly a bit pricey. I'm not making much bank with MSF, so cost is an issue…Guinea Bissau just didn't ultimately grab me, so when we were talking about it, Mauritania seemed the best balance: reasonable prices, reasonable distance, and neither of us know anything about it. That sounds to me like a good place for a holiday.
What do we know? Well, we know that neither of us speaks any of their languages (Arabic, French, or tribal). We know that it has two seasons: the hot season and the very hot season. We'll be traveling during the "very hot" season.
We know that it is home to the longest train in the world. Or, at least, it was 3 years ago. There's an iron ore train that's over 2km long…runs through the middle of the desert, with one passenger car at the end that you can ride in for a small fee. Alternatively, you can ride on the roof for free. That's what we're hoping to do…It may be cold, but I have to imagine in would be damn cool to ride on the roof of a train through the Sahara at night, nothing but the desert around you and the stars above. Unless it rains.
Also, there's a holy Islamic city in Mauritania, founded in the 12th century. There are ruins from the 10th through 15th century west African empires. Salt caravans. A huge bird sanctuary (which we may or may not get to…). Probably some people. Oh, and lots of sand.
I'm intrigued by the whole thing, in large part because it's so far out of my context, and I really have no idea what to expect. I think it'll be neat. Here's to hoping.
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