A New Country

Two months & one day from when we left Lomé, Togo, we were setting sail again for West Africa.  This time a little farther north than we’ve been in a while, to Conakry, Guinea.  Guinea has about 10,057,975 people in about 94.981 square miles (roughly the size of Oregon).  Starting just south of Guinea-Bissau, it stretches around Sierra Leone, Liberia & shares a border with the Ivory Coast.  Like most African countries, Guinea is divided up into different tribal areas- 24 tribes in Guinea, with Soussou being the most prominent in the area around Conakry.  The country is about 85% Muslim & only 10% Christian.  


The military band plays during our arrival

This is about $100 US- think I'll need a bigger wallet!

Our tiny dock space

Guinea gained its independence from France in 1958, but a series of one-party dictatorships drove Guinea to become one of the world’s poorest countries.  The currency is the Guinea Franc, but 10,000gnf equals about $1.40.  One of the ways we look at the health of a country is by looking at maternal mortality rate (which is 680 out of 100,000), & the under 5 year old mortality (which is 146 out of 1,000).  Accessibility to healthcare is very difficult in most areas, especially during the rainy season which stretches from May to October, washing out roads & making this unpassable.



Unpacking the OR

Since we’ve arrived, we’ve been pretty occupied in setting up the hospital for the start of the surgical field service.  Our dock space is very smaller then what we are used to, (because we have an agreement with the ports that we don’t pay for dock space, the ports lose money with us being here & are often reluctant to give us a lot of space) we’ve had to adjust the way we normally set up our dock space.  The OR has been in different variations of disarray over the past week, its hard to believe, at some points, that everything will go back to where it used to be, but slowly, it is looking more & more like an OR.  I'll be happy when its complete & ready to use!

Prayer requests:

1)     The people of Guinea

2)     The people on the ship, that we may meet the needs of the people

3)     The cholera epidemic- cholera is very much a threat here, it started in February & has sickened lots of people (so far no one on the ship) & even killed a fair many. 

4)     Screening day is approaching- we need all the prayers we can get for this

5)     Living in a Muslim country is a little nerve wrecking; please pray for peace & guidance.  We are not here to convert, but to show Jesus’ love through our actions.

 

On a personal note, please pray for my family on the loss of my dad’s brother, Ted.  He is at peace now & in a new body made perfect by God.  I’m sorry I won’t be there to celebrate his life with my family, but I’ll be there in spirit.

 

 

Blessings