Ryan’s Rambles – June Newsletter

Standing on the dock. The ship is to the right of the photo, behind me are some of our Landrovers and on the left is our protective wall of containe

Sierra Leone: An Optimistic Future Despite the problems Sierra Leone has had in the past the potential for a bright future is huge. It contains some of the richest mineral resources in the world including diamonds, titanium, bauxite, gold, rutile and iron ore. It also has the third largest natural harbour in the world. In addition to its mining potential Sierra Leone has some of the best beaches in West Africa combined with stunning forested mountain scenery. The potential for tourism is huge. The ground in Sierra Leone is fertile and flat. Combined with a good climate, the potential for commercial farming is also huge. Regardless of its potential, Sierra Leone is one of the poorest nations in the world. The GDP per capita is $759 per year. This is 13 times less than that in South Africa. Many accredit the cause of the war to corruption. This problem can be seen on every street corner and is even happening right at the gates to Mercy Ships. Corruption is definitely one of the biggest challenges the post war Sierra Leonean government faces. Despite the challenges the Sierra Leonean people are incredibly joyous people. They are extremely friendly and require very little excuse for a party. They jump at every possibility of singing, dancing and celebrating life. It is common place to see traffic brought to a standstill as one or another organisation parades down the streets singing, dancing and playing drums.

Getting into the swing of things
I am settling in and getting into the swing of things. I am fitting in well socially and slotting into the team with my work duties. Another month has flown by and I got quite a shock when I realised that it’s that time of the month again when I must do all those wonderfully fun things like checking my budget and writing newsletters. This month has had its fair share of challenges such as having one of our team members, Armelle, resuscitated and medevac’d to South Africa. Her and her husband Frank are now back safely and have been reunited with their 18 month old daughter. Thank you very much to all who have held her in their prayers.


Work
I am enjoying work and there are several small projects which I have on the go or which are in the planning stage. These include repainting and maintenance of construction tools and equipment, research for constructing a new incinerator at the city’s main hospital, plans to repaint the eye care clinic and the preparations for the construction of a school/church latrine.

Preparations for Latrine Construction

Loading my bakkie with river sand  to be used for casting blocks for the school latrine. 

In mid-July there is a new team of long term Mercy Shippers heading out to Africa. Before they join the ship they will be carrying out a two week outreach project in one of the local communities. I will be joining them for one week to assist with the construction of a VIP toilet and casting a cement screed floor for a local school. So far this has involved collecting river sand (shown left) and the casting of 700 cement blocks. It has been really great getting out of the city and working with these community members. This has been the highlight of my month.

Plans for the Construction of a Medical Waste Incinerator

Medical waste is piling up in the open. We intend to construct an incinerator to dispose of it.

The threat of infected needles is very real around the Freetown hospitals as medical waste is being dumped in the open. These area are unrestricted and the ground is covered with used needles. In future I will not go back onto these hospital grounds without thick leather boots on. This waste is occasionally cleaned up by people in shorts and slops and dumped at the city dump where it is then combed and picked through by people looking for reusable goods. Medical waste has even been seen washed up on the local beaches by Mercy Shippers. Mercy Ships has been asked by the government to construct an incinerator so that these needles can be safely disposed of. I have been doing a bit of research trying to determine the best way to go about this.

Exploratory Assessment of Inland Hospitals

One of the Makeni ambulances spotted on our inland hospital evaluation.

Myself, Frank and Mark headed up to Bo and Makeni to have a preliminary view of the hospitals there. There is a team of engineers coming out in September to do a full assessment of some of the local hospitals. Mercy Ships has entered into a long term agreement with the government to help upgrade the health infrastructure. The idea is to build a data base of projects which have already been assessed and have government approval so that when somebody has the money Mercy Ships can inform them what the highest priority is. While on this trip we found out about Lassa fever which causes major internal bleeding. It is suspected to be spread by eating rodent meat, a local delicacy which we were planning on eating on the way home. A local ambulance used by Makeni Hospital


Off Ship Projects
The Agriculture Site

Jean Claude, Mark Palmer, Jean Abu and myself at the Ag Site

The Food For Life Agriculture Program is aimed at training local farmers in sustainable farming techniques, as well as nutrition. Working in conjunction with other long term NGOs Mercy Ships selects a number of people from various villages to be trained as trainers. These trainers will then return to their villages and NGOs and then show others the various methods. The methods used are those outlined in Farming Gods Way. Basically don’t slash and burn the land, cover the ground with mulch and don’t use commercial pesticides and fertilisers. The returns of this method are incredible and you can see the difference when comparing the Mercy Ships fields to the neighbouring fields.



To Conclude
This month has been a very productive month and I am settling well. We are in a real spiritual battle here and it has taken a while, but I have slotted in with a good bible study group and am taking part in small worship and prayer meetings. I would really appreciate your intercession though, so please keep us in your prayers.