Malaria, Accra and malaria
on Michael Cashman (Ghana), 14/May/2010 15:27, 34 days ago
Charlotte doesn't feel well enough to go out of the house on Monday, but on Tuesday we get her to hospital. One again our neighbour George comes to the rescue and takes us in.(For the record, the first picture is the drain that George's car fell into on the scorpion sting night, 22nd April).The (Cuban) doctor rapidly diagnoses malaria, even though the blood test doesn't show anything. Charlotte's prescriptions are shown here, with the pills out of the bag being the ones she had to take straight away.I am due to go to Accra on the 4pm bus on Tuesday, and Charlotte insists I should go because she has company and care from Andrea and Fati. So it's a 4 am arrival at the Sun Lodge where our in-Country Training took place in September. Below you can see Aidan's response when Terry had said "hands up who wants to volunteer for..."Actually everyone volunteers for something. This is a meeting for those who want to tailor the organisational development tool/process further  (re-branded as Guided Self-Assessment Process) and/or take on, part-time the role I've been fulfilling of OD support. Present at the meeting are Aidan, Emily and Michael Pitt from Disability/Inclusion; Krista and Olke from Secure Livelihoods; Jemimah for Participation and Governance; and Michael Rubindayo and myself from Education. Michael R has experience from VSO Cameroon. Plus of course Terry who is co-ordinating.#Conclusions from the meeting are reviewed later that afternoon and evening. This is also a chance to meet up with newly-arrived volunteers, including Dorien who will be Management Support Officer in Wa, so I fix to visit Wa in a visit to Upper West I'm planning in two weeks time.I can't get a lunchtime bus the next day, but a great discovery is the OA VIP bus which has wider seats that recline more, for only 30 cedis (£15) rather than 24 cedis. Above is "Circle" (Nkrumah Circle,i.e. roundabout) in Accra. Next photo shows the view in Tamale at 5am - the world will end 21st May 2011, you heard it here first.The bus arrives Walewale at 7am, which suits me much better than the typical 3 am arrival.Charlotte is still not well, and I manage to fix transport to Tamale to the VSO-linked hosptal there, Kabsad, and we both go expecting to stay. (The picture shows cattle crossing the main road North through Ghana). At Kabsad the test shows malaria paraistes present, and some residual typhoid, so the little blighters have survived the first wave of drugs, which Charlotte has completed. So it's a new wave of prescriptions, but back to Walewale to recover.