“It’s really not far away, let’s just walk” says the nurse as he takes me to show me the clinic. Right behind those trees over there. The sun burns on my head while I’m walking from orange tree to mango tree, saluting everyone on the way as we try not to trip over chickens and [...]
February 1st, 2016 - 12:28 § in Medical
Happy kids, happy colleagues
It does not sound very heroic when I say that the greatest success of the pediatric consultation is the amazing team spirit. Since October the clinic now offers a separate consultation for children from 0 to 5 years old. The specially trained nurses examine children through a comprehensive system so[...]
February 1st, 2016 - 12:15 § in Church
A Christmas struggle…
Cheers rise from the crowd; the more than one hundred inmate boys scream with loud voices. The wrestler representing cell 4 has just thrown his opponent on the back. I’m in the boys’ prison in Dakar where we organize a Christmas program with the international church. The boys are incarce[...]
October 5th, 2015 - 08:45 § in Church
Safely home; the story of Veronique
“Would we arrive home safely today?” I can’t help but wonder as I’m spending the last few hours with some colleagues stuck in traffic. We are returning from a prayer meeting at another mission clinic in the far suburbs of Dakar. We had a great time encouraging our colleagues and spending tim[...]
October 5th, 2015 - 08:44 § in Africa
Mud or new glasses?
The medical campaign was a great success. Over 300 people received a pair of glasses in a week time. These glasses make an unbelievable difference in the daily lives of these people. An old widow is again able to knit for a living, a young mother is able to remove small stones from the rice, [&helli[...]
October 5th, 2015 - 08:43 § in Africa
Constructing a pediatric ward, how one slowly catches a monkey
On a random Thursday morning I am again confronted with the importance of this construction project. I am in the midst of a teaching session for the nurses on common children’s diseases. We are preparing for a specialized pediatric consultancy which will start once the construction is done. Paulin[...]
