We often say at Mercy Ships that the one thing you need is
flexibility. To be ready to change and adapt. We work in difficult
circumstances and unpredictable environments, with a constant turnover of
staff. Truly incredible, such that it always seems miraculous we achieve what
we achieve. Hence the title of this blog – To
God be the glory…always.
We have been in Benin for about 7 weeks, and here is what we
have been up to:
Our screening centre was open for 3 weeks to select patients
from the Cotonou area, and now our crew and numerous local hired staffed are
scattered around the country, finding patients who either cant travel to
Cotonou because they cant afford it, or because of their condition, they are
too ashamed.
We have done 4 weeks of surgery and the hospital is in full
flow. These numbers give you an indication of just how much is happening:
And on the training front, we have already run 3 courses:
one SAFE Obstetric Anesthesia; and two courses of Primary Trauma Care, and
these utilised a ‘train the trainer’ approach to help teach several Beninoise
doctors and nurses how to teach the course themselves. We have nurses started in our mentoring
program as well as surgeons.
The ‘checklist’ team set off on Monday for the first of 30
hospitals where they will teach the World Health Organisation Surgical Safety
Checklist, which can reduce deaths and complications after surgery, such as
infection, by up to 50%. Incredible potential in this project to save thousands
of lives in Benin alone.
We are working with the government to make surgery safer,
and more accessible.
To God be the
glory…..always. It is such a privilege to be here working alonside the people
of Benin. I am loving being back in West Africa, and in particular this is a
beautiful country where my longterm service with Mercy Ships began.
