Saturday morning
at the NGH. We have the luxury of a lie in
until 6.30am!! and access to a cold shower and, hurrah!, a toilet.
AfriKids Medical Centre
This morning our
group heads out to the AfriKids Medical Centre (AMC). The AMC generates an income used to fund other
child rights projects run by AfriKids Ghana.
It is in itself a sustainable programme at the heart of the AfriKids
structure. It aims to provide improved quality,
range and access to medical care for the local community of Bolgatanga. As we look round, we can see why people want
to bring their children here.
About the Centre…
The unit is bright
and light. Our tour takes us through the
departments of Registration, Haematology, Maternity and X-Ray before visiting
the Women’s Ward, the Children’s Ward and the Dispensary.
There is one
doctor at the Medical Centre who sees around 68,000 cases per year, a high
percentage of which are malaria. To give
you an idea of numbers - an A&E department in the UK might see around the
same number of patients but with a team of staff working 24hrs!
AfriKids would like to expand the Medical Centre to create a Paediatrics Unit and to replace the Kodak scanning equipment which is so old they are unable to get replacement parts.
It is evident
AfriKids have worked hard building partnerships with hospitals in the UK to
help teach and train local staff to use equipment and help them plan the
infrastructure as they plan future expansion of the centre. See their partnership with Southampton NHSFoundation Trust
About the Tour…
On the Maternity
Ward a baby had only just been born and we’re all able to see this new little
life, only 2hrs old. Over in Ultrasound
some of the machines are out of order as it’s near impossible to get
replacement parts for such old equipment.
This means that children who have travelled to the centre in pain with
broken arms or legs have to travel to another hospital some distance away
before being x-rayed. I can’t imagine
having to transfer one of my children with a broken arm to a hospital several
miles away – not even with the speed and comfort of a car to take them in.
On the Children’s
Ward we observe three very young babies who are recovering from malaria. One mother had been crying for two days
because her baby was so sick she didn’t know if her daughter would survive. Take your own tour around the AfriKids Medical Centre
In this region 1 in 9 children die before their 5th birthday
The Bolga Craft Market
The local currency
is the Ghana cedi and the exchange rate is approximately 3 cedis to the
£1. The local craft market is vibrant
and colourful with beautifully woven Bolga baskets outside each shop. There are handmade bags in traditional
fabrics, jewellery and various African artefacts. Putting my haggling skills to the test I buy
a Bolga basket for 30 cedis and hope that I haven’t destabilised the local
economy having knocked them down from 45 cedis!
NGH Lunch and Debriefing Session
Back at the NGH we
all meet under the wooden gazebo for a lunch of fish, rice and yams and a much
needed ice cool drink. Afterwards we all
feedback our thoughts on Ghana, The Experience Challenge and AfriKids. Everyone is very positive about Ghana where
we have all received a warm welcome. The
AfriKids team has been a delight to spend time with and their professional,
friendly and supportive approach has ensured we’ve all experienced as much as
possible from our stay in Ghana.
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
After the feedback
session we are invited to join Sophia Ackumey at the Ghana Broadcasting
Corporation (GBC) to record an interview about our time in Ghana with
AfriKids. Sophie hosts the GBC’s Women
in Development radio programme in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
Between the group we whip up an international team of speakers, comprising Catherine (from Hong Kong), Som (from Thailand) and myself (from the UK).
Catherine, Jacky, Sophia & Som at GBC
Ray from AfriKids drives us all to the recording studios along with Sophia and we have a little practice answering questions on the way. I’m feeling the fear – I’ve never been on radio before!
The radio show
lasts quite a while and it gives me an opportunity to reflect on our whirlwind
tour of Ghana, the Experience Challenge itself and how this will impact on each
of us when we go back to our home countries.
As the talk show
goes on I have an opportunity to tell Sophia and her listeners my plans for
continuing to help the children of Ghana, through AfriKids, by running a new
fundraising initiative back home using my skills as an image consultant. This is something that I will be working on
when I get home with the aim of going into schools to run free Body Confidence
Workshops for children. In return for
the free workshops, the children in the UK can help the children in Ghana by
making a suggested donation to AfriKids.
I go on to explain that the main focus of my business is about empowering
women with confidence.
Hear the AfriKids Experience Challenge radio interview (April 2013) here on Soundcloud
Bolgatanga Main Market
Bolga is one of
the main meeting points on the trans-Saharan trade routes from Mail which
passes through Burkina Faso and onto Tamale before reaching Accra in Southern
Ghana. The market has a lively
atmosphere and is famous for its handcrafts and baskets, food and spices.
Saturday Night Drinks
We go into Bolga
for drinks on Saturday night. It’s our
last night and the whole team are out.
The beer is cheap and the company is good – a perfect night and an
enjoyable end to the week. I even get a chance to speak in Welsh! Nos da!
AfriKids (Wales)!
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