Kamabougou Trip

On February 1, 2011 a team from Grace Point Church in Bentonville, AR came to Mali to work and serve in the village of Kamabougou. GPC has been sending teams to this village for four years and has developed a great relationship with the local church. Mike MacDaniel is the pastor of GPC and a friend of mine from Bentonville. He led the team of seven from the States and met me in Bamako where we bought supplies and medicines for our week in Kamabougou. We had a great week. Here are some of the photos of our week.

The team from Grace Point Church.

We drove about five hours from Bamako to get to Kamabougou. Most of the road was dirt but still passable by van this time of year.

The building on the left is where we kept our belongings and where some slept. The building on the right is the kitchen. In between is a grass roof shelter to give us shade in the heat of the day.

This was home-sweet-home for the week we spent in Kamabougou. Every morning we'd meet as a team, pray, and plan the day. This pic is taken with my back to the two buildings in the previous pic. The building in this photo is the Kamabougou church. Several of us slept in there at night to try to escape the dust and wind.

These are pics of some of the children in Kamabougou. They were at our campsite every morning and stayed all day. They were tons of fun.

Joshua and Nonjohn were two of our English/Bambara translators. We had two lady translators too, Mastan and Montané. We couldn't have done this week without them. Very few people out in the village speak French either so they were indispensable to us.

Clinic in the church

Three days of clinic where we treated illnesses, did wound care and screened children for malnutrition. We weighed babies from a hanging scale made to hang from a tree limb. We used a rafter in the church. We had a dental clinic going on at the same time and over 40 teeth were pulled in three days.

Dancing during the worship service each night. Drums and singing rang through the whole village. We then had a time of story telling from the Bible. This is an oral culture and storying is one of the best ways to present the gospel.

Umaro(yellow shirt) and Brama were my buddies all week. Brama had a severe infection in his right leg about a year ago which caused it to stop growing as quickly as his left leg. So he has about a 4cm leg length discrepancy that causes him to use a stick as a crutch. We're going to try to get a shoe made with a 4cm sole. Hopefully it will allow him to walk normally.

Village elder with a huge goiter. Probably iodine deficiency.

The village chief. When we arrived we had to present ourselves to him, exchange greetings (which took thirty minutes), and ask permission to have clinic in his village. He gave his permission gladly. On the last day we went back to say our formal farewells. The elderly are highly valued and respected in Mali. He laughed and smiled constantly.

The Good and the Bad

Yesterday was a really important day for Koutiala Women and Children's Hospital. The new buildings were dedicated in an all day event that included music, food, speeches, and tours of the new buildings. There were some very distinguished guests who attended, including the Minister of Health of Mali, a representative from the American ambassador to Mali, along with local and regional police officials and army officials. There were several hundred people in attendance who were seated under open-air tents in the space between the current women's building and the new buildings. There was a 50 person choir who sang songs and danced to African drums and kept the place energized. The entire hospital staff participated and everyone was dressed in their best, most colorful African clothing.

The event couldn't officially start until the most important person had arrived. In this case it was the Minister of Health. The local schools were called upon to have their students line the street from town to the hospital. When his caravan of SUVs and Mercedes arrived, the students cheered. The hospital staff, American and Malian, lined up to receive him and shake hands with him. It was really quite a sight. Once he arrived, the speeches began.

Isaiah (pediatric staff) and his little girl

After the speeches our hospital director and medical director gave the Minist

er of Health and the American embassy official a tour of the hospital. Dozens of ladies from a c

ouple of local churches spent two days preparing the meal of rice, vegetables and meat. We sat in groups of four and five throughout the hospital and ate our meal. Meals in Mali are generally shared from a common large bowl. This was no exception. I'm getting better at eating with

my hands. That means I'm not dropping half of my rice on the ground as I'm trying to get it to my mouth. I ate with some of the pediatric staff and enjoyed the time with them.

Around four in the afternoon the officials and Health Minister left. It was a good day of celebration and everyone was excited and proud that our little hospital was given such a nice dedication. For a Christian hospital in a predominately Muslim country to receive recognition like this can only be a good thing. I'm thankful that we have favor in the eyes of the government of Mali. I pray that will continue for many years to come.

Staff dressed up for the event

Staff members little boy.

In my last blog post I included a picture of Miriam, the little girl with TB who seemed to be getting better after three months in the hospital. Sadly, Miriam's condition took a turn for the worse about two weeks ago. She developed some severe breathing difficulty one afternoon and we did all we could to help. We gave more oxygen, more medicines, but nothing helped. Miriam did not make it and we were all very saddened by her death. We're not certain what made her suddenly deteriorate. The hospital staff had grown to care for her over the months she was here. They took it very hard. Miriam's mother, a Christian, thanked our nursing director, Jessica, for all that had been done for Miriam during her months at the hospital.

Miriam

I haven't experienced the death of a patient in a very long time. Miriam was one of four deaths we had in two weeks. In private practice in the States we have very few patients die. The ones that do are most often in a children's ICU at a children's hospital being cared for by specialists. We are the specialists here. Kind of scary and exciting at the same time. Please pray that God would give us wisdom beyond our training and education as we care for these sick kids.

My New Name

In Mali, your name is extremely important. That is to say, your family name. What's cool is that we, as adopted members of the culture, are expected to choose a Malian last name. It's not something to be taken lightly. Most people choose the last name of a friend or significant person they get to know. I haven't actually counted, but there are ten or so names that are the most common ones. Most people I meet have a last name that I've heard before. So, there aren't that many to choose from. Everyone I meet asks me my last name. Before I chose one they would insist that I choose their name. Now that I've chosen they insist that I change it to their name. They suggest the change only after feigning great dismay and disappointment that I chose a different name. It is really quite hilarious. What is fun about it is that different people groups, represented by the different names, call themselves "joking cousins". So, if your last name is Coulibaly (the majority) and you meet someone named Goita or Dembele, then instantly the teasing starts. Even if you've never met before. They laugh constantly over this. I can't claim to understand what they are saying or the humor behind it, but they have fun teasing each other.

Two weeks ago we went out to a village on a Sunday. We went with one of our local Malian pastors who was in charge of introducing all of us to the village leaders. One by one we stood to be introduced and pastor Enoch would introduce each of us using his own last name, Coulibaly. This is Jason "Coulibaly". There was lots of laughing as each one of us would shake our heads and correct him. No one in our group had the last name of Coulibaly and with each introduction, and name correction, the laughing would start over. It never got old. Pastor Enoch cracked himself up calling each of us Coulibaly. The name I chose is Kamate (kaw-maw-tay). Jason Kamate.

Some of our hospital staff and me in the village

I had a fun week at the hospital this week. I got the chance to help out with a surgery. Dan Nesselroade is our OB doctor and has to do a lot of non-OB type surgeries. So, we had a little boy with a terrible infection of his right leg and thigh bone. We actually had to open up his poor leg and remove the infected part of the bone. I thought I'd be observing mostly, but, as it turns out, I scrubbed in and helped Dan with the whole thing. I even got to sew up the wound at the end of the surgery. The last time I helped with a surgery was in medical school. It was really fun (medically speaking, not so much for the little boy). We're hoping an praying that his leg heals well and that he'll be able to walk normally one day.

Dan and me in surgery.

Here are some random pictures of life here in Koutiala.

One of our patients who had a skin graft.

Kids at the market.

The perils of rainy season...getting stuck.

Dried fish in the market...smelled great.

Marianne, who has TB, had been in the

hospital for 3 months. She's getting better.

It's Flying By

My time here in Paris is flying by! It is so hard to believe I've been here since Feb 11. Four months and two to go. I still find myself breaking out in a big grin sometimes as I walk down the street and realize where I am.

I've had a really fun few weeks. I've had friends from the States visit and I've gotten to see different parts of France while they were here. First my friend Kim Cadle came. Kim and I have known each other since 1997 and started our practice together in 2002. She's the best business partner you could ask for. We traveled to the center of France, the Loire Valley, and visited castles and old medieval towns. It was amazing. The trip culminated with a hot-air balloon ride that was one of the coolest things I've ever done.

The chateau from the balloon...amazing!

A few weeks later my friends Stacy and Cara came to visit and we had a great time too. We went down to the south of France to the town of Nice. It was amazing. The water was so blue and the coast so picturesque. We went to Monaco one day just so we could say we'd been. It was fun but a bit artificial but still pretty cool. The other towns on the coast were much more authentic and less crowded. We ate tons of great food. I love the seafood here but it is different then what I think of when I order seafood in the states. They tend to eat a lot more mussels, squid, along with shrimp. But I've yet to see any fried seafood platters.

Stacy, Cara and me in Nice

What's next? Well, I finish my semester next week and will have ten days off. My mom in coming for a visit and we're going to head up to Belgium to check out the town where I'll be living next semester. I want her to see it since my folks won't be able to visit me while I'm there. I'll be moving to Belgium at the end of August and starting my tropical medicine training on Sept 6. It's going to be in French and will push my ability to speak French to a whole new level. I'm a bit apprehensive but know it'll be ok. By the time it's over I'm going to be so ready to get to Mali. I'm already anxious to get there and start working.

Mont St. Michel is an old monastery and

cathedral built on a rock out in this bay.

Kim and me at Mont St. Michel

The port of Nice

More later....

Hospital Construction

These are a few pictures of the construction going on at the hospital. Things are moving along quickly.

Spring in Paris

The Institut Catholique

It's hard to believe I've been here two months already. It has been a great time so far. Language school is going really well and I feel like I'm learning a lot. I'm in class with people from all over the world: Taiwan, Venezuala, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Holland, Equator, China and one other American. Its pretty hilarious listening to all of us trying to communicate in French with each other.

Spring has finally arrived in Paris and it is beautiful. Still a bit cool though. I'm ready for some warm weather.

LUXEMBOURG GARDENS

I thought I'd just post a bunch of pictures of Paris and a couple of trips I've been able to take. I had the chance to go to Normandy with some French friends and we had a great time. The American cemetery was really fascinating and very moving. The whole history of the invasion of Normandy is amazing. I admit I didn't know much about it before the trip there.

American Cemetery in Normandy

The Normandy Coast

German bunker, Normandy

My school is really good about arranging outings and events for the students. We've had a river boat ride up the Seine River one evening. We've also had a trip to the Louvre Museum.

Eiffel Tower

The Seine River

I'll post more pics on my Facebook account too. Anyway, just a small glimpse into my life here in Paris.

View from my kitchen window

Paris!!

It's hard to believe I'm here after all this time and preparation. I left DFW on Feb 10 and made it to Paris on Feb 11 at 11:30 am. I found my apartment without any difficulty and am getting settle. (The pic below is the door to my apartment building). Its a small but very functional apartment on the six floor of my building. From my balcony I can see over rooftops of my neighborhood. As I write this, I can hear two different church bells tolling in the neighborhood. Luckily, I have an elevator that reaches the fifth floor so I only have to walk up one flight. The oddest part of my apartment is that from the front door you can literally step into the shower. It is immediately on the left as you walk through the front door. It cracks me up. The shower is so narrow that I can't bend over to wash my feet. It's tricky but I still have clean feet. No worries.

My landlady is a very nice woman named Claire-Marie and she is about 60, I'm guessing. She's an artist. She speaks a little English which has been helpful. She is showing me the ropes and has pointed out the best grocery store, the best Boulangerie (bakery) to buy a baguette, and the best Patisserie to buy pastries, and the best butcher.

Paris is divided into 20 Arrond

issements, or districts, each with its own mayor. The 1st through 8th are considered the center of Paris. My apartment is in the

3rd Arrondissement near the Centre Pompidou. I'm only a 10 min walk from Notre Dame. It is quaint and quiet. I'm pleasantly surprised at how quiet things are at night. My school, the Institut Catholique, is located in the 6th Arrondissement and it is a really cool part of town. Tons of cafes, pubs, restaurants and narrow streets. It will be a fun place to explore.

On Monday I went to my school and registered for my classes. I'll be in class about 24 hours a week. I'll be taking General French for 12 hours, French Writing for 6 hours, Conversational French for 3 hours, and French Media for 3 hours. We'll watch the news, read newspapers and discuss current events. My classes start on Feb 22. I'm ready to get busy.

I've been a tourist this week. It has been fun walking around town. I've clocked at least 3 hours a day. Yesterday was sunny and a bit warmer. It was beautiful. I walked up the Champs Elysee and saw the Arc de Triomphe. I tried to go to the Louvre but it was closed. This is just a great city to walk in.

More to come...