Six Weeks in Ghana: A Summary

Well this is it. My six weeks in Ghana is up. I can’t believe it’s already over. In this post I’m sharing my thoughts and feelings about my experiences in this beautiful country. Over the past six weeks we’ve seen over a thousand locals in need of eye care. It’s been such an eye opening (pun intended) experience for me.

Something that really stuck out to me on this trip was the complete love and kindness of the locals. From local patients to the doctors, I have definitely felt welcome and loved. This has been one of the recurring themes of this trip. The people that we have worked with over the past six weeks work endlessly to support and uplift each other. I remember during an outreach, we were assisting a woman who needed to purchase glasses. When she realized that she didn’t have enough to pay for the glasses, a woman in line right behind her immediately decided to help and give some of what little money she also had. It was indescribable to see the charity of this woman who was probably in a similar situation as the woman in front of her. This experience helped me do a little bit of self-evaluating. In the spur of the moment, how willing would I be to help someone else in need?

“I have my own problems—my own concerns and needs. Only when I’m ready, will I help my fellow man. Now just isn’t the right time. “

Do we find ourselves looking more inward than outward in circumstances such as this? In the moment, I couldn’t understand how someone with so little was so readily willing to give it up. It’s this sort of selflessness that I’ve taken away from this trip. Through simple acts of sincere kindness and love will we be able to propel this world in a positive direction.

Ghana has been great, but as I go home, it will become nothing but another memory. However, the friends I’ve made and life lessons that I’ve learned I hope to carry with me moving forward.

"You Are the Gift", Charity and Learning to Serve

You Are The Gift

The past couple of days have been absolutely great. We have continued to work with St. Thomas Eye Center. We have continued to serve the people of Ghana by assisting St. Thomas Eye Center. This week we visited an outreach close to a local primary school. It was a treat to work with not only adult patients, but with students as well. The aim of some of the clinics we work with is to treat any eye-related issues during youth age before those issues become irreversible. Like we did three weeks ago in Kumasi, we helped many students check that their vision was okay.

This trip is almost over. It’s zoomed by. One of the things we are required to do over this trip is to read a speech given by Sharon Eubank titled Turning Enemies into Friends. Sister Eubank, then head of LDS Charities, asked us about what we do in our spare time. As people with various and numerous responsibilities, we hardly ever have free time. And if we do, how do we spend it?

For some reason I always convince myself that I’m busy. There has been a lot of time in my life that I have wasted on menial things when I could have been doing something more meaningful. This trip has helped me realize that there are more important things to be doing. After spending the greater part of six weeks here in Ghana, I feel like I have a better understanding of service. It must be done with whole and willing heart. Sometimes we serve others to put ourselves on a pedestal, resulting in admiration and praise. This should not be why we serve. After thinking about it, I’ve come to understand that we should serve out of pure love for others, regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic status. If we try to emulate Jesus Christ’s example of pure love, I believe that we can uplift and restore the afflicted. In what is now becoming a selfish world, we need those who are selfless. If we use our time wisely to help others in need of aid, the world can become such a better place. I’ve seen people here in Ghana who have never been able to see before. After wearing a pair of eye glasses, their vision improves significantly.  Their eyes lighten up when they see the world clearly for the first time. I remember seeing an elderly woman jump for joy just because she could see for the first time after literally decades. She had never received any eye care until the day we helped her. I know that the quality of life for her has improved substantially. To simply put it, I know she is much happier. This has been such a great experience. I’m glad I can serve. Only a few more days and I’ll be back home. This will simply become a memory. The lessons of charity that I’ve learned here I hope to take with me for the rest of my life.

Observing Surgeries and a Visit to Cape Coast!

The past couple of days have been absolutely amazing. We’ve continued to work with the staff of St. Thomas Eye Center. They are incredibly helpful and very friendly to us volunteers. I’m super excited to work with them for the last week of this trip before we go home. We were also able to go to the botanical gardens in Accra, see the slave castles in Cape Coast, and even pet some trained crocodiles.

One of the main highlights of the past couple of days was having had the opportunity to observe St. Thomas’ ophthalmologist perform surgeries. It’s been a couple of weeks since I have been able to do that, so I really appreciated the privilege to not only see those surgeries, but to ask the doctor any questions about his career and the steps it took him to get where he is today.

This brings me to the main lesson that I learned (and probably something that I mentioned weeks ago.) Doctors, no matter where in the world, require so much technical training to become competent, healthcare professionals. While I was talking to the ophthalmologist, I learned about his story. After completing medical school in Ghana, he completed further training all over the world before being able to regularly practice surgery and medicine. That taught me that hard work and dedication bring success, no matter what race, religion, or social status. That’s something I want to apply in my life.

At the botanical gardens in Aburi

Canopy Walk at Lalim National Park

Canopy Walk, part 2

Found another alligator

Elmina slave castle

St. Thomas Eye Center and Cape Coast

This week has been an amazing week. We’ve been working with St. Thomas Eye Center for the past couple of days now. It has been such a pleasure to work with them this week, as it has been my first week ever with them. Just like with the other clinics, we work with a team of one optometrist, a coordinator, a dispenser, and a driver. We continue to assist the local eye care professionals in whatever magnitude we can. It’s such a fulfilling experience. I love seeing a person regain full vision from a single pair of eye glasses. Like I’ve mentioned before, many of the locals here never have access to eye care. Some go their entire lives without knowing what it feels like to really be able to see. When those individuals put on that first pair of glasses, it’s like a new world is opened to them. I love being a part of that. It’s heartwarming to see that all the donations and work that I’ve put in to this trip have gone towards a good cause. By the end of this six-week trip, local eye clinics that have partnered with Unite for Sight will have seen over 3000 patients from all over the country. Seeing firsthand where all of your contributions go is one of the best parts of this trip. From observing surgeries to the dispensing of simple reading glasses, many lives have been changed.

Something else notable about this week so far was the history of the slave castle that we visited in Cape Coast. In colonial West Africa, most Africans sold into slavery passed through the castle that we visited. It was a humbling experience to walk the halls and visit the dungeons where thousands of enslaved people have passed through.

So I’ll post again this upcoming Saturday. We plan to visit the clinic tomorrow to observe more surgeries. On Friday we have another outreach. Then on Saturday and Sunday we have work off. I can’t believe we go home next week. It feels like just yesterday that we got here. Now the trip is close to being over. I’m so grateful for all of your love and support over the past month. Until next time!

Just another day at the outreach.

Right outside the slave castle.

Graves of English officials at the slave castle.

The slave castle itself.

Fabulous Food

The past couple of days have been absolutely incredible. We worked with Crystal Eye Clinic in the western region of the country. We spent most of our time in areas around a city called Takoradi, a small city just outside of Cape Coast. For the three days that we were there, we screened about 400 patients a day. We would start work at around 11am and would finish at around 7 or 8pm. But just as the previous weeks, we dispensed different medicines and glasses to the patients that needed them.  

One notable thing that I’d like to share with all of you today is actually about the food that we’ve eaten. While I’ve been here many people have asked me what I’ve been eating. Here in Ghana, the staple food is called fufu. Like rice or noodles in other countries, fufu provides locals with the carbohydrates they need to go throughout the day. To make it, locals ground up cassava and plantains until they become a fine powder. Then they slowly mix in hot water until the consistency of the concoction is thick like dough. It’s usually served in a spicy stew with your choice of meat. I usually prefer goat, but that’s because I’m weird. So all in all, fufu, spicy soup, and a huge hunk of meat are thrown into a bowl probably as large as the average salad bowl. Then you eat it—with your hands. I honestly love it. It’s such a messy and fun experience that anyone in Africa should try. Every day we have also had this food called waakye (pronounce wah-chee). It’s just rice and beans mixed together. We’ve had that for breakfast every morning. It’s usually paired with a tomato-based sauce, boiled eggs, cassava flakes, and your choice of meat. I like that a lot too.

Ghanaian culture is so rich in all aspects. From the food to the people, I just can’t seem to get enough. I learn something new here every day. I learn to enjoy this experience a little more with each of those experiences.

Fufu!

Waakye!

The Northern Region

e past couple of days have been amazing. Dr. Wanye offered to send us up to the northern region of Ghana to sight see since the clinic we worked with didn't have any outreaches planned. We were able to be part of a real African safari in Mole National Park. Then we saw a crocodile reservoir and historical slave camp in Paga, a city in the northern most part of Ghana. It was such a treat to see this part of the country. Despite the long travel times, I really enjoyed seeing the differences in regional culture. In terms of religion, Christianity is the predominant religion in Kumasi while Islam is the predominant in Tamale.

The best part about the past couple of days was definitely just being able to see preserved African nature. As volunteers we spend most of our time in busy parts of cities. Over the past couple of days, we have spent most of our time in relatively quiet places. During the day, a co-volunteer and I were able to sit on top of the vehicle we were using. It was very calming and enlightening to hear the wind blowing through the trees. God is good. I am so grateful that I was able to appreciate his creations while in the northern region.

We were also able to learn about a historical slave camp that was used in the transportation of slaves in the mid 1700s. It's hard for me to imagine a time where people willingly stripped other people of their freedom for personal benefit. I'm glad we've progressed to a time where that sort of lifestyle is no longer prevalent or commonplace.

Anyway. That's all for this week. We've done a lot of travelling. This week we head back to Accra for more work. Can't wait!

We gave Dr. Wanye a BYU shirt! So grateful for his kindness towards the volunteers.

In the jungle...

...there are elephants...

...and crocodiles?

K

A Typical Day at Work

So I have been in Ghana for three and a half weeks now. I'd imagine half of you are wondering what I'm actually doing here. In this post, I've decided to shed light on a normal day here working with Unite for Sight, specifically with Friends Eye Center.

For the past two weeks, our group has begun the day by waking up at 5:30AM. We're usually on the road by 6:00AM. Before getting to the site for our outreaches, we stop along the road to pick up members of the staff that help organize the outreaches we work at. Overall, travel generally takes us an hour or so to get to our destination.

Once we get to the sites, we set up shop. At the outreaches we work at, we have three stations: a station for visual acuity screenings (testing how well vision is), a tent where the on-call optometrist performs examinations on patients, and a table where we dispense reading glasses and eye drops to patients. As volunteers, we get to work at each of these stations. At the visual acuity station, we perform all of the tests. The staff usually helps us with language barriers. At the optometry station, we shadow the optometrist. We get the chance to use the scopes they use to look in the back of the patients' eyes. The optometrist then opens up to answer questions that we might have. At the dispense station we learn about the drugs that the clinic offers. I've also learned a lot about inventory and finances.

At the end of the six-hour day, we close shop and take a car ride back home. On the way, we drop the staff off wherever they need to be dropped off. Then we have the rest of the day to rest and adventure until the following day when we work at a different location.

Overall, this experience has been so fulfilling. I've learned that the eye is absolutely vital with our quality of life. If it loses even the slight bit of functionality, life becomes ten times more difficult. I'm so glad that I'm able to help others overcome that challenge. This literally changes lives. I love that.

The Kumasi volunteers!

Our view for an hour and a half before we get to the outreach.

The van we travel in.

The set-up.

A routine examination performed by Dr. Richmond.

Visual acuity!

A Week in Kumasi

This week has been absolutely amazing. Sorry for the lack of updates. We haven't had internet for the past couple of days. So here we go.

After a six-hour ride to Kumasi from Accra, we arrived to our residence of two weeks. It's the guest house of Dr. Wanye, a local ophthalmologist. He's been doing surgeries in a more northern city called Tamale for the past couple of days, so we didn't meet him upon arrival. But he gets back today so that'll be nice. Anyway, we've been doing essentially the same thing we've been doing in Accra. We've been performing visual accuity tests for the locals as well as dispensing medicine for those who wish to have it. We set up our station at about 7am. Where we work just depends on where they need us. Then we work until about 1pm when the inflow of patients slows down substantially. While we work, we help those who one by one until no one comes. That usally happens around 1pm. One unique thing about my experience here, though, has been shadowing the working optometrist. When he does basic check-ups for patients, he uses a retinal scope to look into the back of the patient's eyes for any abnormalities. And he has two scopes. So he let us use one to look into the back of patients' eyes. It is so cool to experience something like that first-hand. At first it was a little tricky to focus the scope because the hole you look through is about a millimeter wide. But whatever. Over the past two days, I've looked at over 200 people's eyes (which makes that about 400 eyes.) It's been awesome.

This week we worked at two primary schools and the communities surrounding those schools. It's been nice to see the welcoming faces of the students. Kids are great.

Overall, this week has been awesome. The staff is great. The locals are awesome. And to be quite frank, Ghana is a dream. I love it here. Helping out had been such a great experience. I'm so glad I still have four weeks to go.

These are some of the students we looked at.

Observing Surgeries and Volunteering, Kumasi Next Week!

The past couple of days have been amazing. Since I last posted, we have been able to do a lot more work. On Tuesday we observed surgeries at Crystal Eye Clinic, one of the few clinics in Accra that offers eye surgeries to those who need it. It was very intriguing to see healthcare professionals in a developing country. We observed Dr. James Clarke, the local surgeon. He has been practicing surgeries for over 40 years now and is very skilled at his craft. He works at his clinic until there are literally no more patients waiting in line for him to perform a surgery. Sometimes he has worked in the clinic for over 12 hours just to get to all of the patients that need him. He is an example of true dedication.

We were also able to work at a couple of outreaches in various villages in Ghana. I continued to assist in administering visual acuity tests to the locals. It is such a blessing to be able to help those in need. Some of these people have never experienced an eye test or even basic eye care. Doing this has helped me appreciate the care we receive in the United States. Though it may seem so routine to us, some in other parts of the world never even fathom getting the same care. I love serving and am so excited to continue doing it for the next couple of weeks.
 
Today we had a break. We got to go to visit the local LDS Temple here in Accra. Then we went to the beach! It has been a fantastic week. Next week, a group of us leaves to Kumasi for two weeks. It's a more of a jungle area. That's what the locals say, at least. I'm very excited and grateful for every moment I have here in this wonderful country.
 

The whole gang.

 

Here is Connor and I performing a couple of visual acuity tests for locals in the area.

 

Don't Worry. I've Arrived in Ghana.

After traveling for a little over 24 hours of traveling and a quick detour in Amsterdam, we have made it to Ghana safely. First off, let me be frank in divulging that I hate planes. Sitting for hours in an airplane is definitely not my favorite. So when we touched down in Accra yesterday, needless to say, I was relieved.

We got here in the middle of the night, so I went straight to bed after I was checked in to my room. And let me say, right from the get go the people here in Ghana have keen so kind. They naturally want to help visitors have a great experience in their country. We went to church this morning. The members here are so nice. They are all very hospitable to the international interns.

Even though it hasn't been very long, we've already learned and experienced a lot. When we got to the hotel, the manager of the hotel welcomed us with the term akwaba. I don't know if it was because I was just so delirious and tired from traveling so long, but that phrase didn't process in my head very quickly. I had NO clue what that meant, so I just responded with drooping eyes "Umm. Hello? My name is Ben." She then answered with "Akwaba means 'you're welcome'." I didn't quite get why she greeted me with "you're welcome" and I'm still trying to figure that out. But ever since then, I've been trying to pick up as much Twi (the local language) as I can. 

Something else interesting about this place is acquiring drinkable water. We had to pass buy a local vendor to purchase little bags of water filled with filtered water. About 3 gallons costs about 75 cents. Interesting.

Tomorrow we start doing the real volunteering. I'll be working with Crystal Eye Clinic all afternoon. Updates later this week.

Please excuse my weird hair. We took this right after church.