First week in Liberia

I've been here on the ship for 9 days now and it is going way too fast. I have met so many interesting people from all over the world - there are many people here from the U.S., Canada, Australia and most European countries. I've also met people from Nepal, Sri Lanka and The Congo to name a few of the more exotic locations.

Many, many of these people have been on one of the Mercy Ships for years. Volunteers can come for as little as two weeks (usually these are medical types such as surgeons, dentists) but it seems the majority are here for anywhere between 2 months to a year. If you're interested in a slightly longer short-term mission trip, I would highly recommend applying to the ship. All gifts can be used in some manner!

I have worked four shifts now and it has definitely been a learning experience. While the surgical teams have state-of-the-art equipment, it seems the ward has only equipment other facilities didn't want. This means nursing is done manually without the aid of computers, pumps or machines (except for patients in the ICU) and none of our supplies are consistently the same. You basically scrounge around for something that will work and make it work. This is good in that I've been forced to learn new skills and it also gives me much more time with patients (rather than charting on the computer).

As I said in my earlier post, the majority of surgeries right now are VVF surgeries. This is just a horrible disability that is just never seen in developed countries. Women have obstructed labors for days and days (in which the baby dies) and internally tissue dies and fistulas (or holes) are created. This causes them to leak urine (or feces - sorry for the graphic descriptions but it's true) 24 hours a day. Many have had this condition for years. Can you even imagine living like this? They can't work, their husbands leave them and they can't be around others because they smell horrible. They resort to begging or many live hidden away for their entire lives. It almost seems as if it couldn't be true but I have heard their stories first-hand.

After their repair surgeries, when they are ready to go home, there is a Dress Ceremony on the ward. The ladies receive a new dress (to represent new life) and they have a chance to share their story. Here is a picture of three ladies who have been given a new chance at life. Sadly, some women are so internally damaged that they cannot be repaired. So far I haven't seen that happen and I hope to not ever see it.

It is the rainy season here so it rains pretty much all the time, with a few periods of sunshine. It has made it difficult to get off the ship to go into town but I hope to do that sometime this week. Apparently there are markets, restaurants and beaches that we can go to but I haven't experienced any of those yet. I'm not sure I'll be eating in any restaurant because of my experience in Ghana after eating a hamburger at Popeyes!

Now for a little education on Liberia. Liberia was settled by freeborn Blacks and former slaves from America in the early 1800s and they consider themselves the 51st state. I found this statement very sad considering I don't think the majority of people in the U.S. have ever heard of Liberia or know anything about this country (including myself until I got here). The people of Liberia were emotionally devastated when the U.S. did not come to their aid as they expected during the civil war and there is a sense of sadness now when Liberians talk about America.

In 2002, the country ended a 14 year civil war where some of the most horrific atrocities known to man occurred. We watched a movie last week about the war and I can't even bear to type some of the things that have been done to the people in this country. The former president, Charles Taylor, is now on trial in The Hague for war crimes. Liberia now has the first female elected head of state in Africa. Her name is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and she is a Harvard trained economist.

Their life expectancy here is only 41 (males) and 44 (females). That means most of my friends would be dead by now and I'd only have two more years to live! They are ranked fifth from the bottom for child mortality out of all the countries in the world.

There is definitely hope here. Mercy Ships has many, many, many off-ship projects going on to help the people of this country including the creating of mental health programs for the hundreds of thousands of people traumatized during the war. It's a huge undertaking but all things are possible with God - that is why there is hope.

That's all my teaching for now. I'm feeling compelled to talk about what has gone on here, mainly because of my own ignorance about this country. They love America and I didn't even know they existed.

There will be more later! Thanks everyone for your comments and emails. It makes me feel connected so even if you want to send me an email with boring details about your life, I'd love to read them. Even tell me about any great restaurants you've been to - the food here is absolutely horrible and it has definitely taken away any desire I have for food (that's a good thing:).

Peace,
Michele