Bowl of Praise

Maada, who works in the Freetown water company has a passion for Christian worship and once a week he produces an hour’s program on local Christian radio. Over seven years he has also run a weekly meeting of worship leaders from up to 50 churches. They practice songs, and every year put on an annual public event, which has grown gradually in size. This year the ‘Bowl of Praise’ at the national football stadium was the biggest yet. Word reached us that Maada would love to have a sound engineer to give some seminars beforehand and then help out at the event. Bells rang and we got onto our Daniel, who is a sound engineer, and has a similar vision for worship in Scotland. Our church got behind the trip and Daniel got out here for 10 very memorable days that proved a wonderful time for all concerned. Over 3,000 attended!

Embarrassing morning at work

Dave was about to operate on a woman, who had a genuinely huge hernia from previous caesarean section. That morning she was complaining about ‘snakes travelling in her tummy’. There was a discussion about whether this was just fear or intestinal colic from adhesions. Then it dawned that she was actually about to give birth. We bundled her in a car to the local maternity hospital, where she gave birth by caesarean section an hour later, her first live born child after 6 still births. She says that she didn’t know that she was pregnant!

Car art

Most commercial vehicles here are adorned with messages, generally to due with faith or British football teams. This ‘puda puda‘ caught the eye, Puda pudas are a local bus with a flat fare rate of 20p. Generally they don’t move until they are completely packed with their capacity of 20. Sometimes the driver will sit on the lap of a passenger!

On the front of the ‘Orignal Rat Race’ truck was written. ‘Praise the name of Jesus’

Yeabu

Yeabu, aged 19 had caesarean section in August last year for her first pregnancy. She had been in labour 4 days and the baby was stillborn. She had terrible wound infection that persisted for 3 months, and also suffered damage to her bladder (obstetric fistula). She went home to die. Our patient search team however passed her village. They snatched her up and brought her in to Freetown. For 2 weeks before this photo was taken we battled for her life with antibiotics, IV fluids, blood and other treatments. Her father came and wept to see his daughter dying. She survived but remained in a zombie like state with no light in her face until her discharge.

Three months later she came back and we could not recognise her! We repaired her fistula successfully, and her mother visited the centre, wreathed in smiles and thanks. Yeabu herself is continually smiling, and has joined in all the patient activities. She has really been reborn.

1,000th Fistula

Marie Bangura underwent the 1000th fistula operation of the Mercy Ships centre since its start almost 3 years ago. Little celebration occurred, as admin staff were tired from a lot else that was going on. Representatives from our main funding agency were visiting. Also the minister of health with an entourage came that day, which you can read about in the press. http://awoko.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=1803&

Marie had a bad birth experience during the civil war in 1992. After 2 days labouring at home she went to a hospital, but there was no doctor and the baby died. Nurses delivered her with forceps which was terrible experience. During the delivery rebels attacked the hospital, and Marie’s husband evacuated her to the bush, where she almost died. He took her to a small church where a missionary was able to help. Afterwards she was leaking urine.

Once things had settled down the missionary took Marie to a hospital where she had her first ‘fistula’ repair. Unfortunately again the rebels attacked, forcing all international staff to leave and again her treatment was cut short. Her urine problem was unchanged.

Over the next 15 years Marie said that she cried often; she felt shame and sadness for her husband and children. She is grateful for her husband who stayed with her and helped her so much. There were times when she felt so bad that she attempted suicide drinking caustic soda. At last a Mercy Ships team came to Yele, her village and brought her to Freetown for surgery.

Marie’s op was complicated as one uretur was blocked by a stitch and she had to go back to theatre for correction the next day. After that all went well and the day she went home she gave us the biggest hugs ever!