Korle-Bu Visit

Thursday, May 12th was Scion’s and Bruce’s birthdays. We want to wish both of them a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! from Ghana.

Thursday was also the dreaded visit to the hospital that Dr Maughan does volunteer work at each week. Stephaney has had a chronic ear problem for many years that other doctors have never been able to resolve. Dr. Maughan recognized it immediately and within a couple weeks had it cleared up. One minor remaining problem required a visit to Korle-Bu hospital, only about 5 miles away from where we live, where he volunteers because he needed the equipment to take care of the problem.

Since he has been here, (he is an ENT specialist), the Church has donated thousands of dollars worth of equipment to help upgrade the hospital.  In fact, right now there is a doctor here for the Church who has come to help them install and learn to use some hearing equipment.

The last time Stephaney had her ears cleaned, it was very slow and painstaking . She was expecting the same this time but knew it needed to be done. Well it was quite different and took 5 minutes to complete. What a difference! He put oil in the ears and sucked out the wax!

Below are some pictures that we took on our way to Korle-Bu, pictures of Korle-Bu and pictures of our return.  Unfortunately you may see more pictures of people carrying their wares on their heads but we are fascinated by their agility to do so. On our way to and from Korle-Bu we pass an market. The below pictures are of people going to the market to set up their booths.  They are very hard working. 

These next two pictures are very interesting. There was a group of people, possibly a family, that was off to the left that were probably responsible for watching and herding these Brahma. This was an open field near an arroyo that flowed into the gulf.  Stephaney didn’t see them in time to get a picture.  Most of our blog pictures are from a moving car.  It is not easy to get pictures here,  as people are suspicious of someone with a camera.

Medical care is socialized medicine and not what we enjoy in the United States. The care is very lacking and we have been told that most people only go to a hospital when their demise is expected. There is even a morg on the hospital grounds. Others that go there are maimed and invalid. From their website we learn -

Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (Accra)

“This is the largest tertiary hospital in Ghana. It also hosts the University of Ghana Medical School and also institutions for training all categories of health staff. The hospital was commissioned on 9 October 1923. It now has over 2000 beds in its various departments making it a very very large hospital indeed!”

This first building is called Korle Bu Teaching Hospital but I do not believe they see patients here.  I suspect it is administrative offices.  We went to another facility. The picture on the right is labeled “Childern Block”.

The first picture shows the building that we went in. We were on the second floor. Just before we went in to the hospital Doc told us that we would probably see 200 people sitting in a crowded waiting area and the halls who had been there since 7:30 am waiting their turn to be seen. Because the Doc volunteers there each week he had us just follow him past the crowds into the clinic and right into an examination room. We saw what he said we would see.

These next couple of pictures are of probably the first building that was built for Korle Bu. Note the date of construction –1920.  It is bleak inside, having had few upgrades or little paint since being built.  But the nurses were in white uniforms and nurses caps, and the doctors in white coats.  It cost us nothing for treatment.

The picture just below on the left was called “Accident Center”. People just have to wait to be seen.  On the right, you see a woman laying on the dirt.  On our way passed this building to the building we were going to we saw a man carrying a boy in his arms that had a heavy looking cast from his toe to above his knee. Apparently a broken leg. Note the plaque on the right.  “To the Glory of God”.  Read the plaque, it is interesting!

The two pictures below are services on the other side of the road from Korle Bu and probably not associated with the hospital but makes you think twice about medical help over here. We are very fortunate to have a very skilled and experienced doctor who is volunteering his time to serve a mission and assist the missionaries, old and young, in the Africa West Area.  Signs like these would not be allowed in the states—shocking!

The route we took to and from Korle Bu actually took us the closest we have been to the gulf.  The next few pictures, again taken from the car, show this.

The pictures above are fishing boats that people use to catch fish with nets and then they sell them along Cleland Rd. The picture on the right shows a group of men trying to pull in a net of fish.

Football “soccer” is the national sport in Africa. This next picture is of a dirt field we passed along the way home where they play soccer.  The next picture is a picture of laundry drying on a line along the highway outside some shacks.  The people live very close together, with little real privacy.

The last couple pictures were taken as we were back near the market area in Accra, just west of the temple. This is the traffic you experience during the week in the morning and afternoon. Also the picture of vehicles that contribute to this congestion.  It is quite common to see motorcycles zooming right up between lines of traffic.  The guys fixing a taxi show that it is quite typical to have vehicles stop right where they break down, and you see people fixing them on the spot!  Everyone just drives around them.

Well, that’s it for this week.  We’ve been busy at the office, with the normal paperwork. and also helping the Area Presidency prepare their area report which will be presented to the Quorum of the Twelve via video conference in a couple of weeks.