Congo Part One

I have been home from the Congo for 21 days.  21 days of first a mix of mind numbing jet lag and night shifts and then followed by the sad reality of the shift swaps that I did to go to the Congo.  But through those days close to my heart and mind were the experiences that I had had in the weeks previous.  Experiences that are requiring processing  Only so much can be told and shared through stories and pictures, deeper is the emotion that was tied to those moments.  Here I hope to share a glimpse into our journey. 

as an aside I was somewhat frustrated by the photo limits - both camerawise as well as socially.  Any photos in which the person is obviously posing ( patients/staff) were taken legally all of the other photos were very discreetly taken on my iphone while pretending to talk on it or it was just poking out of my backpack or the car window.  It did, however, all me to be a full participant rather then just recording events behind the shield of a lens.


Day One - which was actually day one and two.  Door to door time was 36hours for the way there although it didn't seem that long.  Short connection in Brussels as well as room to stretch out and icecream served on the flight from Brussels to Angola helped.  Flying over the Sahara was probably the highlight- Just sand for as far as the eye could see.  In Brussels we also connected with Clarence and Denise who were headed to Kinshasa to connect with the orphanage that their church in Saskatchewan supports

A low point in my life - Crammed in a United Seat with 6 hours to go in flight 2 of 4.   The Congo is at the bottom right corner of the box

We landed in Kinshasa at about 9pm local time.  The arrival terminal was bright and airconditioned.  Passed through customs with no problem, then it was on to health check where we had to show proof of Yellow fever vaccination.  If you didn't have your yellow fever card you could always buy one for $50 =).  Picked up our bags and went to exit the baggage room.  It was a small door with two guards standing in front of it letting people out and physically blocking those trying to enter the area.  Kinda feeling like a salmon swimming up stream we followed our driver to a waiting area keeping our eyes down and saying "non merci" to the 5-10 guys who were trying to offer to carry our bags for us.   We piled in to the van and headed off to MPH.    The main highway from the airport was well paved (a gift from the Chinese) and at that time of night had no traffic on it.  The highway was lined with little buildings with people all out front sitting around gas fueled lights.  We made it to MPH and settled in to our rooms.  The place we stayed at MPH was a hostel for missionary kids going to school in the capital in the 50's and 60's.  It now runs as a guest house for ex pats doing work in the country. Jenn and I stayed in a dorm style room.  A ceiling fan did its best to keep us cool.  The bathroom was down the hall with its "coffin" concrete spider filled showers.   It was large and sprawling with a huge fenced compound of overgrown gardens. 

The back of MPH and the gardens

 

 The next day it was breakfast and a 8 am pick up for the clinic.  We had our first lesson in Congo time.  8 really means any time between 830 and 9 lol. We met Dalphen the head doctor and visionary for the Bon Berger Clinic.  Then we all piled in and experienced driving Congo style as we headed to Bon Berger. 

 Tire Shop =)

 To get to the clinic we would drive about 20 minutes from where we were staying into a middle class residential area.  We would leave the vehicle at a friend of the doctors and then walk the rest of the way into Camp Luca which is the neighbourhood the clinic is in. 
This is pictures leaving the camp which is boarded by this "stream".  So we would cross the board bridge on to the alley pictured on the right where clinic was.

The Bon Berger Clinic

 Clarmone.  One of the nurses

 The first day we were there with the entire group. We toured the clinic, met the staff and also walked around the neighbourhood learning about some the other programs associated with the clinic through the church.  They are very concentrated on trying to provide holistic programs- there is a bank, a sewing program for women, orphanage for street/unwanted children and a literacy program for children. 
The bank- this small space used to be the clinic

 Introduced to a new love- the Mangosteen-  looks like garlic cloves tastes like heaven!!

 The view from the second floor of the clinic

 

 

While I didn't really experience cultural shock this day was the beginning to the reality of Africa.

Tuesday - Jenn and I spent a full day at the clinic. The main language here is French so that was a challenge as they spoke broken English and we spoke HORRRIBLE French.   We spent the morning with one of the head nurses. doing rounds with him- seeing pts, doing dressing changes and giving meds.  We spent time in the lab with one of the techs learning about malaria testing and viewing it under the microscope.  Malaria is leading cause of death especially in children under 5.  Children and Pregnant women are the most vulnerable of pts.  Malaria is easily diagnosed under the microscope- appearing as a "comma" shaped cell.  Treatments are standardized based on age and severity and range from a 3 day pill regime to IV infusions and blood transfusions. 

In the afternoon we helped out with prenatal consults.  Maternal Health is a huge component of all the clinics we were at.  At Bon Berger the expectant moms are followed monthly for things such as BP, weight gain, measurements and fetal heart.  Ultrasounds are also performed.  This day was draining- the heat really took a lot out of us.  It was 33-34 in the shade with high humidity.  Add to that a lot of hot sick bodies in small rooms had us feeling like wimps.   Back at MPH by 4ish the shower and garden were a welcome sight.

Wednesday we met the group from Manitoba that had come to work with the agriculture program.  They headed off to the clinic with us that morning as they had brought lots of supplies with them.  Driving was a nightmare that morning as the African President Conference was in town. It took us over two hours to get to the clinic. The police stopped us and we had to pay a bribe as well.  A car full of white people is just asking to get pulled over for invented infractions- our bribe was a fine for have more then 3 people in the back seat lol

At the clinic Jenn and I participated in a new mom education, vaccine and well baby clinic.  We gave vaccines and weighed babies.  Some well babies and moms that were doing good but also some heart breaking stories.  There was one little baby who was so tiny and sickly- his mom had died of HIV right after he was born so his aunt was raising him.  In seeing so many babies it was hard to imagine that the reality is that 1 in 5 of them would not see their 5th birthday. 

On our way back to MPH the bribe theme of the day continued-   We had to pay to cross the board bridge out of Camp Luca- Delphan said he normally doesn't pay but he wanted to make sure that we would not have trouble if we crossed in the future without him.  As we drove out of the resdeintal area we came around a sharp corner to the alley blocked by a bunch of teens with a wire and some potted plants.  Those boys sure got a talking to from Dephan!!! We didn't pay there =) After he read them the riot act those pots got moved and away we went!!

Thursday
A lot of people asked if I was scared to go to the Congo.. I wasn't.  What I was a little nervous of was our domestic flight within Congo.  The Congo had that most plane crashes of 2013.. a stat not super reassuring.   We were flying to Kikwit for 4 days.  Kikwit is a smaller city that is the agriculture center for the country.   We were up early and ready on time for the booked bus to take us to the small airport.  The bus never showed so eventually Murray went out on the street and found us a taxi to take us to the airport.  Open air check in went smoothly and then we went through security.  It was a very elaborate multi person process that seemed very subjective-  Jenn got her mirror and some other random stuff taken.  I however boarded with my water bottle =).   We walked across the tarmac passed a plane with no wings and got on our little 21 seater plane. 

 Over Kinshasa,  Coming down into Kikwit


In Kikwit we stayed at a Catholic Mission-  It was a gorgeous tropical place.  No electricity though equalled very cold showers =)

Africans are all about formal meetings so after we settled in we headed down to the MB church office to meet the local church leaders.   As with every time with met with people we had abundance of ripe bananas, peanuts and coke from a glass bottle 

The building beside the church office... the light was so amazing around 5 pm every day.. didn't really get to take advantage of it ever!!

 On our way back our taxi ran out of gas... no problem hop out, push it to the side and someone will come running up with a 4liter jug to fill it up. 

Stopping to buy bottled water

The verse that stood out to me that day from Galatians-  Since we live in the Spirit, let us follow the Spirits leading in every part of life. 

The next morning Jenn, Murray and I headed out to visit and assess needs at a clinic run by a member of the local church. It is small clinic.  Staffed by nurses with a doctor coming once a week.  It has a small pharmacy and lab, mostly sees outpts but does have room for about  5 inpatients. 

Top-  No electricity equals nothing to run an autoclaver with.  This pot of boiling water is the only thing which to sterilize with. Bottom - open air waiting room

 Pharmacy room and Lab-  Able to do malaria, CBC and blood typing.  No chemistry capability

 Eloise- The nurse who runs the clinic

 Left -  The birthing hallway.   Right- Patient Consult Room

 No electricity means they are dependent on day light.   Being here with Murray for the morning was great as not only was he able to translate for us but he also gave a running commentary on factors impacting the healthcare provided and the situation of the pts. 

After the clinic we walked to meeting of the agriculture society that that Manitoba group was involved with.  It is a program started by a Congolese man -  Basically it is a type of co-op program that helps farmers start up but also requires them to form associations to support healthcare clinics in their area.  It is also involved in developing sustainable farming practices, machinary and high yield crops. 
Edgard with the experimental cavassa/manihot plants which are a staple food.

 

To be continued.....