I would like to say thank you to everyone who has taken time to read my blog. Its a New year meaning the beginning of new things and continuation of projects but in everything God has been faithful in keeping us. Its 8 Months now that i left home to serve on the ship and the truth is it has not always been a bed of roses. The ship life is good but quite complicated especially for people like me because i’m really not a crowd person but i have learned to adjust and get to know the community better. Before we took our Christmas break, Permit me to tell you that the Screening team went upcountry again to find more patients. But this time we traveled for about 48 hours to find those patients . This trip took almost 2 weeks.
As we all know Guinea Conakry has 4 regions. So over the last couple of months our goal has been to traveled to these regions and screen patients then give the appointments to come to the ship for further evaluation. First we went to Mamou and Boke and 4 weeks ago part of our team traveled to Nzerekore and Kankan which are the other 2 regions of Guinea to look for patients. It was a huge success because so far we’ve found so many patients and some of these patients have already received surgery. So while part of the team was away looking for more patients myself and another nurse in our team stayed back on the ship to continue seeing patients. It was such a hard time because we had more work to do than before and its at that time that i realized the importance of team work.
It was also more work for our team that went upcountry because the goal was to find as many patients as possible which was 100% success because these cities were informed about mercy ships and about the big pre-screening that will be taking place making the trip a success. Again the team had to work late until pass midnight because so many patients showed up and most of them were YES’S. They were able to find more children with bowed legs, Windswept legs, Knocked knees, quadriceps contracture and also patients which big facial tumors and other facial defects like the mandible tumors, Parotid tumors, a few cleft lips and palates, Norma, Ankylosis. They also found patients with Big Hernias, lipomas and off course women who are leaking urine and stool as a result of prolonged labor during delivery and trauma.
Then we saw more patients on the dock and took a Christmas break. Spending Christmas on the ship was quite strange because it was the first time i was spending Christmas without my family and friends. I practically had nothing much to do other than staying in my cabin, watching movies, and participating in less activities because everything was very strange. What i miss the most is spending quality time with family. But nevertheless I spent Christmas with some good friends on the ship and my Cameroonian brothers and sisters.On Christmas day, we were invited by a Cameroonian who has been in Guinea for 16 months with family. He invited us at his house for dinner together with the other Cameroonian crew. Also, we had activities such as the open mic night, Winter wonderland, and many other performances which were quite interesting and that was how i spent my Christmas. I equally spent my new year on the ship which was very different from the way we celebrate the new year at home. On the ship lunch was not provided whereas at home we will cook different varieties of meals and share together as a family. We will also invite others to share the meal with us. But on the New year day, i slept in then Face-Time with family and friends back at home. In the evening , my roommate and myself were invited by one of our day-crew to their local church for a dinner. we had local food which was so good then we drove back to the ship and called it a day.
This year, i would like to inform you guys that i will be going for on-boarding. On-boarding is a program for long-term crew members on the ship whereby we receive teachings on how to serve in a community. During on boarding, we shall be away from the ship but will still be in Guinea. A place is set aside for the on boarding program. we are 11 of us going for the African On boarding and coming from four different African countries. So it will be a time to know one another and also to have quiet times with God and receive teachings about leadership. So in order for us to going for on boarding we had pay an on- boarding fee which required us to raise money as the on- boarding crew. In order to archive our goals, we decided to do something to raise funds. We all came together as on-boarding crew and started making African Fast food on Saturdays and served it at lunch time because on the ship, lunch is not served on Saturdays and Sundays so many crew members will always go off ship for lunch. We made grilled fish and Fried plantains, Peanut sauce and rice with either chicken or Fish. And we made the every Saturday for 7 dollars. We did that every Saturday for more the 4 weeks. In addition to that, we organised a Gala night and invited Crew members on the ship. the Gala night consisted for a fashion show, Dance by the AFM academy students( Grade 1), singing and games. But the mean idea was to raise funds and that night we were able to raise sufficient funds for our on-boarding thanks to the generosity of the crew members on the ship. We will be leaving for on-boarding on the 13th January through the 2nd of February. Permit me to present to you the on-boarding crew and pictures of how busy we were in the crew galley making peanut sauce and Fish!
I will like to end by saying i love my job and seeing a lot of patients life change everyday is what that keeps me going. Also a huge thanks to all who have been donating and supporting me financially and also everyone who have been praying for me. As a volunteer on the ship i wouldn’t have been able to meet some of my needs without your support. Happy New Year!
christel's ship journey 