Mercy Ship Talk

I attended a talk this year by a dentist who had worked briefly on the Mercy Ships in Liberia. Nigel and I were invited as guests by a surgeon to the members only event that was made up of mostly medical doctors in different disciplines. I was very interested in hearing someone elses talk after Nigel and I had given two already on our experience. Well, no one can quite prepare you for suddenly having background knowledge on what would turn out to be a bit of a scam talk. I can only say that Nigel and I were incredulous as we listened to tales of patients who we had been directly involved in. One funny story he had involved the sunken ship that sat beside our ship in the harbour. He had some elaborate story about how it sunk and a dozen people were killed. They had never recovered the bodies but the ship had been dragged out to sea. The photos show this very same ship, which still sits in Monrovia's dock half sunk. It was being loaded or unloaded and became unbalanced and tipped over. The ship loses the country US$3000 a day in port fees by just sitting there. There are so many sunken ships in the port that the port police have to navigate you through to your own dock. Fortunately, there were no deaths and the ship was still sitting there when we left, despite efforts to refloat it.

UN Women

When I was in Liberia I was fascinated each time I passed the parliament building in the capital city, Monrovia, where I lived. I really liked that Liberia had the first female president in Africa, Ellen Johnston Sirleaf, who was transforming the country. I was even more fascinated with who was guarding the building. It is well known in the area that the best body guards come from Nigeria, and the president herself makes use of them. But to guard the presidential building she chose the only all female UN unit in the world: the Indian Women's Unit. I have to admit that of all the UN country units left in Liberia (the western countries pulled out much earlier perhaps due to lack of media in the area) these women appear the most attentive and fierce. I found this very attractive and was fascinated that such a unit derived from what I considered a very traditional culture. From what I can understand, some of the other UN units from similar West African countries took advantage of their position and there were reported cases of abuse of power involving peacekeepers and Liberian women. To nip it in the butt, President Sirleaf had the women brought in. On an official visit that some of the higher ranking ship members made to see the president, I hitched along and hung out outside with these women. They were shy and giggly, but loved to chat. They told me they were career soldiers who had committed to the Liberia post for 6 months. While there, they either lived in their army base or they were on duty. All of them had husbands, families and children and immediately brought out pictures to proudly show me. When asked if they felt their families were missing them and unable to cope without their mother, I was met with confusion. It became evidently clear that in a culture with extended families all under one roof they were more free to easily go off on a tour of duty. Besides, they said, they all loved getting away and being somewhere completely different. BBC links on these women: Indian Women to Keep Liberia Peace Liberia gets All-Female Peacekeeping Force All Female UN Squad a Success

Mercy Ship: Interior

I have had requests to see what the inside of the ship looked liked that we lived on in Liberia. It is an old converted rail ferry from Europe. It has 8 decks, two of which are underwater. We lived on the 3rd deck, the same level as the hospital. We had a hairdresser on board for all the long-term crew Laundry facilities were on a sign up basis. Everyone had one hour a week. Of course, the hospital was the main point of the ship, as you can see one of 6 operating rooms above. In the midship's lounge there was a Starbucks coffee bar, fully kitted out with Starbucks machines and drinks. They were donated along with the training on the machines. Beside Starbucks was the snackbar with slurpees, popcorn, pop, and junk food. Above is a shot of the cafe seating area. It had wireless internet and was a great place to chat at break time. Above the coffee bar was the lounge with chairs and televisions. There was a computer area. The international lounge was for large meetings or lectures for everyone on the ship. The library (one of my favourite places to hide away in). On the top deck was a pool donated by a family on board. It was a strange sensation to swim in it while looking down at the ocean. An outdoor area for kids to play in. The community kitchen where anyone could cook their own food. The midships lounge again. The dining room where all the meals were served canteen style. The buffet in the dining room. Our couples cabin. The boutique downstairs where people left unwanted things and everything was free to take. WOW! The excercise room. The Ship Shop where you could buy most of your basic needs. Inside the Ship Shop. There were all sorts of other things too...a bank, a post-office, a school, etc...

Liberia: What Does "Failed State" Mean?

How can you help a country that has little running water, no electricity outside the capital and a system of governance that barely functions? Guest editor Zadie Smith visits Liberia, often described as a "failed-state", to consider what the term means. To hear the 16 minute BBC program go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7802000/7802768.stm.

Sudden Surge in Media Coverage

We, or shall I say mostly Nigel, has had a sudden surge in news coverage from our Liberia experience. He was contacted by Mercy Ships and asked if he was interested in taking part in publicity. He said yes, a written document was sent to him to check over and suddenly there are articles quoting him mysteriously saying very distinct Mercy Ship marketing lines. C'est la vie et c'est les médias! We did have an interview with one reporter directly, The Yorkshire Post's Martin Slack entitled, "Honeymooning Couple's African Mercy Mission". The very next day The Sun came out with an almost word for word article and the same picture (above) entitled, "Couple Spend Honeymoon Helping Others" and suddenly we were now in Africa on our honeymoon instead of our first year of marriage. Other stories about Nigel's medical experiences: "Couple Spend Honeymoon Helping Others" (The Sheffield Telegraph) "Hope on the Horizon" (Mercy Ships) "Hospital Volunteer Recognized for Work" (ISSUU) "Hospital Ship Celebrate Success in Liberia on International Volunteer Day" (IMPA) "Mercy Ships celebrates success in Liberia" (Christian Today) And Nigel's worm episode in surgery that he had published as a letter in Anaesthesia News: "More Than Just Secretions"

Liberia: Guess the Department

While I was on the ship I had wanted to do a blog called Mercy Feet. I would photograph every department's feet only and then it would be a guessing game as to which feet belonged to which department. I only got two departments along before I left Liberia, but you can see the glitzy feet that gave me the idea while I was sitting in one of my department meetings. The other shot is of Nigel's department.

Liberia: Running

We had a blog request almost half a year ago now from two young nephews asking to document the amount of sweat we produced while running in Liberia. Liberia is near the equator and therefore extremely hot and extremely humid. These two elements combined makes one want to faint after being outside for more than 5 minutes. The shade is not much cooler, but has the advantage of not getting you burnt. Skin is always wet or sticky with sweat. One just tries to get used to it while there and grabs a ride to the beach whenever possible. We decided to get up before dawn to begin our running regime. We imagined running in the dark would be considerably cooler. Waking up was difficult (I am not a morning person) as we put on our running clothes and headed for the exit door of the air conditioned ship (the air conditioning is essential otherwise the ceilings start dripping with water which destroys operating room machines and becomes a huge health hazard for the hospital). We stepped outside in the dark and were literally hit by a wall of humidity. We were stunned. In fact, it felt hotter than in the day because there was no breeze. I wasn't sure I could run. I staggered slowly, much to Nigel's dismay. I am not a natural runner. I didn't like running in school, particularly long distances, but started about 5 years ago to feel better mentally (think endorphin "drugs"). I run for 30 minutes and no more. I don't want to start avoiding running because it takes up too much time. Nigel on the other hand only started running in Liberia and is obviously a natural runner. He is faster than me and has far more stamina. We regularly did 6 laps from the end of the long dock all the way up the UN road to the main highway outside the port. We sweated profusely. It was about the same amount of liquid as if we had stepped clothes and all into a shower. Eyebrows that were meant to funnel off water from your eyes, were sweat-logged and we were continuously wiping sweat out of our eyes. I could feel a steady stream of perspiration filtering down my spine. By the time the last lap came around I was usually feeling overheated and a bit nauseated. I desperately insisted on walking for a minute just to cool down while Nigel ran on ahead. Then we were finally done as we walked it out for several minutes while the sun began to rise. We walked up the gangway and stepped back into the air conditioned ship which felt like bliss. If we were really desperate we would stand right in front of the big outflow fans at the entrance which blasted cold air. I always suspected the stomach ache I got from doing that must indicate I was moving from hot to cold too fast. Hmmm. To end the whole experience and to make sure our body temperatures came down properly (because sometimes they didn't) we would jump into a completely cold shower. It was a shock at first, but after a few seconds it was nice.

Liberia: UN Tanks

4 years after the bloody civil war it was still not uncommon to see tanks rolling through the streets of Libera. There was a permenatly parked one in the city centre of Monrovia, the capital, draped in green camophlage. I am not sure who it was fooling other than someone in a flying craft. When we visited the Firestone Rubber Plantation we were told they really destoy the roads which are paved very thinly on the cheap side. The tanks crack up the concrete.

Liberia: Dwellings

There were all sorts of dwellings that people lived in in Liberia. Some lived on the river in shacks. I am not sure what happens in the rainy season when the river rises. Some people squat in shells of buildings left over from before the 14-year civil war. Some places don't look to bad at all. This was very common to see in the country side. Housed made out of woven reeds. I imagine it is not that great in the rain. Occasionally you would see a fancy villa from a distance. Or a uninhabited structure that looked newly built. These places in the country looked like nice surroundings, but no water, electricity or sewage. Another newer looking development. More thatched walls. A bit windy in this one. I think this one might double as a shop.