Hello from Accra!
Today finds me back in the city after spending four days with the Crystal Eye Clinic staff and 2 fellow volunteers in the Western region of Ghana. Our trip to Sekondi-Takoradi, the third largest “city” in Ghana, painted new experiences on the canvas of the now-familiar – first tastes of Malta Guinness, waakye, fufu & light soup, and bofrot; joy at the arrival of my dear friend Rebecca; and a new understanding of the capacity and the dedication of the Crystal team – all set against a backdrop of the now-familiar: the long van rides on bumpy roads, the countless visual acuity screenings, the amusing sights of painted goats (“that’s my goat!”) adorning city streets; and the warm spirit of Ghanaians, known and unknown.
On Tuesday, within the walls of a high-ceilinged, bustling church, the Crystal Eye Clinic team assembled, assessed, and treated more than 400 patients. An early start to the day (9:00ish) undoubtedly helped to make this possible, but 4:00 still found me finishing final visual acuity screenings; 5:30, dispensing medication ten feet to the right of a joyful gospel choir; 7:00, distributing reading glasses by headlamp, a pastor delivering a rousing lecture on marriage to the congregation gathered in the church behind us; and 8:05, dispensing medications to our final patient for the day.
It’s easy to imagine that the staff conducting these outreaches day after day, week after week, and year after year would suffer burnout, leaving each outreach day drained and disheartened by remaining needs; yet as clinic staff and volunteers shared laughter at the end of the day – in a boyish pushup contest, in the concept of Rebecca training a baby goat (abrikyiere baa), in Ernest’s profound fear of snakes, and in the somewhat comical sights of volunteers eating fufu – I began to more fully realize and appreciate these individuals’ seemingly boundless capacity for joy and incontrovertible commitment to their work.
Over the course of the past week, I have found myself challenged by long hours at work, by van rides resembling days on a trampoline, and by some persistent linguistic and cultural barriers. Yet these experiences, and the people who have pursued them with me, have opened the doors to invaluable lessons about language, life in Ghana, and my own interests for the future. I am excited for the upcoming week that I’ll spend with Crystal Eye Clinic, with my friend and language-learning buddy Rebecca, and with new volunteers.
One Foot Forth 