Letters from Ghana

So, Andrew is in Ghana for a month doing research through the medical school. He is having a fabulous time. Here are some snipets from a letter he recently sent me. He attended a Physician's Assistant Conference where PAs from the United States train the MAs (medical assistants) in Ghana. If you are interested in getting his letters in full, just let me know. And now, words from Ghana . . .

Our hotel is just down the street from the Kintampo Health Training Center. We walk past huts and shacks up a little curved road to the school. There's an elementary school on the way with a thatched roof. All the little kids come to the road and yell "bruni" to us. I guess that's like "gringo"--white people. I'm starting to feel like a pageant winner, they all are SO excited to wave to us and there are so many! They are absolutely adorable! Some the younger girls carry bundles of sticks or buckets and things on their heads. On the weekdays they are all wearing uniforms to go to the school across the street.

The conference was great! The knowledge these MAs can get they take out into their communities and use all year, and about 2/3 of all Ghana’s MAs were at the conference, so it's impacting the entire country. It's so fun to interact with the Ghanian health care workers. They're some of the smartest and most well educated of the African people, and yet they really look up to us like we have something to offer. It feels a little strange. They're wonderful people and they're giving their lives for a great cause. It humbles you to think of how fortunate we are to have the knowledge we do.

We had lunch in this special room with open windows and a seat at the center of the table for a high ranking government official. They have a special cook for us so we don't get sick. The food was so good! Some is very different and people in my group don't like it, but overall I think it's really good. It's spicy, meats and sauces and things. The mango and papaya are amazing!

We had a great time at the conference. I learned so much about how health care is different here. Not just structurally, but you have different priorities and approaches because of the lack of resources. It's a whole different ball game.