More Photos From Tamale

Veronica

Blessing in her New U.S. Dress

Mona and Joanna

Woman With Her Children in Taxi

Accident Waiting To Happen

Speaks For Itself!

Rahi and Basma

Barbara and Jane

My Recent Protector Outside Our Front Gate

New Baby Goat Residents In Our Neighborhood

Together Is Good

Always "Bitter-Sweet" to Say Goodbye

I will not especially miss the "spoiled" pump which has recently had our water stream close to a trickle, or the 104 F temperatures which thankfully are now beginning to welcome some occasional rain, or the hair-raising misses as the taxis, motorcycles, bikes and lorries vie for their place on the road.

I will miss, however, good friends, a certain peaceful, slow-moving way of life which allows one to think, the feeling of accomplishment when a particular challenge is met, and of course, Jim, to whom I've become rather accustomed for the past thirty-seven years of marriage.

I am thankful for our good health and well-being; I am forever proud of the difficult and amazing work that Jim faces daily. I pray for those in need - the serious medical problems of Wetani who is now in Accra and Abdulai, who we have helped to get a German visa and air transport enabling him to undergo appearance-changing reconstructive surgery after the removal of a tumor of the jaw.

With a few more photos taken here in Tamale, I treasure my memories and look forward to a return in a few months.

Young Ghanaian Family Visit

  Today was Independence Day in Ghana - a national holiday, so Jim had a relaxing break from the hospital. This afternoon, we had a nice visit from my friend, Rahina, her husband, Musah, and their two young children: Basma (3 years) and Muslim (8 months). All four came on their motorcycle. Unfortunately, helmets are the exception rather than the rule in Tamale. Musah is a teacher of the Dagbani language in one of the Junior Secondary schools and seemed happy to give Jim and me a very welcome home tutoring session.

Wetani

Generally, I am not of much help in the hospital aside from doing some occasional clerical work for Jim, but for the past several days, I was able to interact with a lovely, young patient of his who came from Burkina Faso. Wetani is a pretty sixteen year-old girl who speaks French along with her tribal language, but no English. She is seriously ill and was transferred to Korle Bu Hospital in Accra this morning where she can be seen by a hematologist. Yesterday, after showing her some photos of my family, she asked if we could take some pictures together with her mother and grandfather. I pray Wetani will receive the treatment she needs and does well.

Happening in Tamale

The box of crayons that I gave Blessing for her third birthday occupied her for all of five minutes, but she certainly liked to model her new NYC t-shirt.

Sadness fell upon Tamale Teaching Hospital this past week with the passing of a well-liked young 30 year-old doctor. He leaves a wife and young daughter, extended family and many friends.

The soccer stadium hosted a colorful trade fair. Products of the local area were on full display - baskets, drums, jewelry, traditional smocks, dresses, wood carvings, paintings and plenty of shea butter in various containers of assorted shapes and sizes.

Not My Best Week

This is the particularly hot season when no rain is in sight; the temperatures are  easily in the mid to high 90s (F) during the day, often rising above 100. Not an ideal time for our refrigerator (brought over in a container from the U.S. eight years ago) to bite the dust - with the help of my carelessness.

Even a basic understanding of physics has never been my strong suit and while attempting to make use of an extension cord, I inserted a 110 volt U.S. plug into a 220 volt Ghanaian outlet without remembering to use a converter. Alas, all the fresh produce purchased yesterday in the market (including two dozen eggs) now rests in a warm frig, begging to be cooked and eaten.

No sympathy from Jim, who always has much more important things on his mind - two young boys who can barely breathe and a young woman with problematic bleeding.

Lunch with Philomena

Typical shopping display - much longer than I could capture with my camera!

Seeing Friends

The friendly woman with the small convenience stand across the road was so happy to receive some photo prints of her which I had made in the U.S., as was Grace at the COLWOD batik shop and Veronica, who continues to work hard at helping to keep the Harmattan dust under control in the house.

When stopping to greet Rahi at Melcom's general store where she works, she presented me with three beautiful Ghanaian dresses that she had specially made for our granddaughter, Scarlett. What a nice surprise!

We went to the festive wedding of one of Jim's nurses, Faustina, on Saturday and I joined Barbara, Jane, Annelyse & Ziblim for our always enjoyable weekly lunch on Sunday. We tried a new place, Don's - a bit off the main Bolga road. A number of items on the menu not available (common occurrence in Tamale!), but the veggie pizza was good.