Eye opening week...

So, I said last week was a little dull, and like all things, I think I jinxed myself. This has been by far the hardest and most horrifying few days I have spent in Nigeria.

I have really seen how religion, culture, stigma, lying, poverty, lack of education, illiteracy, etc has truly impacted the African continent, and especially this country and the devastation it causes. The story is this…we have a staff member dying of Aids, he is, I am sure, one of many, but he is truly in his final days. Too proud to admit he has been sick, he has been hiding it for years, and has never sought out treatment. He has had two different wives die, calling them “witches” for casting a spell on him. His third wife will die any day, and their 4 week old daughter Favour died in my arms on the way to the hospital yesterday, watching a human being, even a 4 week old, take a last breath is nothing I can ever describe or want to ever experience again. An adult is one thing, but a brand new baby is a whole other thing. And for some reason, their 3 year old boy Godsend was spared, or has not yet had any effects of HIV, but hopefully, with a name like Godsend, he will be spared.

But, the most interesting experience in all of this, if I can see it from a different angle, is the whole cultural process. This man had gone back to his village, and by village, I mean 5 hour drive through bushland, where there is no network (for mobiles), no gas stations, no restaurants, no hotels, nothing. The roads, if you can call them that, are whatever is left from what rainy season did not destroy. Good thing we travel in huge 4x4 Rovers that are made for this terrain. But even then it was a bit treacherous and a few times we had to get out of the car and have the driver go through as there was fear the truck would roll over…not sure why my life is more important than his, but that is for another day’s discussion. After 4 hours on very dusty “roads” we finally made it to the village, just in time for the monthly market. For those that have not been to Africa, the markets is where life happens, so you can only imagine how things are when there is only one market a month where families have to buy everything they need for the 30 or so days ahead….chaos…one would never think there could be so many people in the middle of nowhere, but there were thousands of people. I finally got my first glimpse of the notoriously secluded Furlani people, as they were selling cattle at the market, and they are a sight. Had I been able to plan better, I would have brought a camera, but it also did not seem appropriate, as the purpose of the trip was to force our staff member back to hospital and off the traditional medicines he was on…more on this later. I was clearly the first white person to ever visit these areas, and while we were there to try to convince, coax, beg, plead with this staff member to come back to Abuja and go to a private hospital where he and his family would get the proper care, it was not that easy. We first had to meet with the family members, and explain the situation and urgency. Once they say us, we were sent on the village elder, who again sat and listened to us, and who then sent for the state leader…absolutely chaotic process, only for them to say they want to continue with the local “medicines”. At this point, our staff member is lying on the dirt ground, ingesting dirty sand and other things, as he could no longer walk, the wife, was in even worse shape, but exposed in the sunlight, because she did not deserve the precious shade that the men needed. Luckily, the sons and younger boys were sitting in on these meetings and they have had a bit more exposure to some sort of education, and managed to convince their elders that their “brother” needed medical attention only a hospital could provide. After much thanking and paying our respects and showing gratitude, we were on our way back to Abuja….only to be stopped a few minutes later….as the white woman I was given 3 live chickens to thank me for coming all this way and for helping out with their family and seeing that they come back alive and well. The last thing we needed was three live chickens in the truck, with 2 very sick adults and 2 small babies, one very sick. So, we decided it best that we just slaughter the chickens on the spot and have a village cookout, as this is really what was expected of us…I again had the honour of slicing the chickens neck….i should also point out that in this area there have been reports of Avian Influenza, so not only am I now having to be worried about exposure to active tuberculosis, but here I am hands covered in chicken blood, which could be contaminated!! In all honesty, TB is not really an issue, as I am healthy so the risk is incredibly low, so nothing to really worry about. After a very long journey back to Abuja, because the roads are so bad, and our staff member and his wife were in so much pain, we had to drive back very slooooowly, so instead of 5 hours, it was over 9!! We got to the hospital in the middle of the night, none of us having slept in more than 24 hours, and 3 very sick people in the truck.

Now, Nigerian hospitals are a sight to never be seen. Hospitals are just a place where you are lucky if you get an actual bed, where basically it is up to your family to do everything…food, medicine, bathing is provided by the family…so what, if anything, makes it different from staying at home? Good question, and one I am still trying to figure out myself, as they just get more and more sick in the hospital being around all other sick people…. It seems that hospitals are where you go to die and not get better, as was described by one patient in there. Very scary sight, with very little support or staff to help the patients.

While this week was horrible and miserable, it has only renewed my interest in working in developing countries, where problems like this are not unique, where it is the little things you can do that could improve one person’s life. So, for anyone interested in working abroad, there is lots to do in Africa, and while there are problems and it is not easy, it is a really great experience, where you learn a lot about everything!

Hope you are all well…I will not write again for a few weeks, as I am off on mission after mission these next few weeks. Bill Gates arrives on the weekend, and it has really turned into a bit of a circus, and feel bad that the media sensitive/shy guy, will literally be harassed by hundreds of journalists! But after that it is holiday time for me…3 weeks in Kenya and Tanzania!!!

love, ange