And so it starts again…

 Friday sees me flying out from Gatwick to Banjul to start a 2 month stint at Bansang hospital to oversee the rebuild of part of the children’s ward.; me and my big mouth! Hopefully the local builder we have chosen to do the work, Morro, will prove to be as reliable as he appears to be from his regular updates and communications that I have had since my return a couple of weeks ago. At any rate he has got to be a whole lot easier to work with than my nemesis, Dembo!

The work, scheduled to take a mere 6 weeks, involves demolishing and rebuilding about 1/3 of the length of the back wall of the ward. This incorporates 3 bays each containing six beds and a complete shower block, together with excavating the floor which has dropped about 3 inches across half of the width of the ward… I think the problems that have caused this to happen are various and many. Without a doubt the foundations (if any!) put in by the original builder are nothing like deep enough given the sandy make up of the ground. This has then been compounded by two exceptionally heavy rainy seasons, the final straw was then the re-laying of the main Trans-Gambian Highway which runs adjacent to the ward, when the contractors brought along huge vibrating rollers to bed down the red laterite sub-base! Almost overnight a large section of the ward just sunk, with great big cracks appearing in walls and floor. It has now got to a point where we are afraid that another seasons rain may well see walls collapsing, hence the urgency to seek a once and for all time remedy.

However I have many other things which will also occupy my time in Bansang such as the conversion of part of the ground floor of the Mite house into two new staff accommodation units, working out how to reinforce the substandard “charity quality” beds that were supplied by a British wholesale company ! The box section steel from which the beds are made is so thin and of such poor quality that the legs are simply collapsing as the steel just tears. My plan is to take a pro-active approach and to try to reinforce the bed that are still functioning by drilling and tapping the frames then bolting on additional struts to help stabilise the legs… Well that’s the plan.

Firstly though I have a couple of challenges ahead before I even get to Bansang. No 1 is to source some aluminium solar glazed windows for the refurbishment of the Childrens ward to which ends I have an appointment in Banjul with Ahmed on Saturday morning. A spot of shopping followed by a visit to the American International University of West Africa to pay Sulaymans first term fees will then lead on to the first REAL challenge… It seems that at the moment they have no fuel available in Bansang, so may not be able to send the 4x4 to collect me from the coast !!! I haven’t quite worked that one out yet but I’m sure it will all work out. I can always enjoy a few days of sun at Luigi’s whilst I await Sutay’s arrival, or I could hop on a bush taxi !

So tomorrow I leave the haven of Anita’s suburban retreat for the most hazardous part of the trip… yes, I have to brave the M25 enroute to niece Helen’s home in West Sussex from where she and hubby Terry will deposit me with my huge pile of luggage at Gatwick Airport very early on Friday morning. I just hope the plane has enough fuel for the trip; if it runs out of fuel we could be up there all day!

I'm Back !!!

I’m home!!!! Well back in the UK anyway…staying with Anita in Northants for a couple of day to  review the last 3 weeks projects and to sort out what happens next! Should be heading back to Wales Friday or Saturday if all goes well. At the moment I have no idea just how long I’ll be home for, but with the work on the Children’s ward due to start 1st week in March, it’s likely that it won’t be a long stay…  Meanwhile lots to do and to sort both with my return to Bansang and also with the up and coming Scoots 2013 trip, so it doesn’t look like boredom will feature very highly on list !!!

Wandifa, acting CEO with Sulayman, in the new No1 Theatre

It was great to get back and see Anita still looking her usual bright, chirpy self inspite of the Radio Therapy regime she is undergoing at the moment. She is roughly halfway through her course of treatment and is coping with it really well but it is very obvious she is desperate to get back to Bansang and the people she loves so much, a feeling I can understand very easily!

Tonight we have a dinner to attend with a potential sponsor for part of the work at least on the Children’s ward rebuild, I just hope I can stay awake as it was well after 2am when I finally got to bed last night. Before that there are many thing to go over with Anita once she return from her days “zapping” , her description of the Radio Therapy….

The Hospital's Garden Project, growing fruit & vegetables to feed the patients

Hoping to be heading back to Wales Friday if all goes well, although even then it may be a slightly circuitous route back to base, with probably just about enough time to do my washing, open the mound of post that no doubt awaits me, order up a few bits for the Hospital and head back once more…. At least by the time I get back from the next trip the weather may have improved a little.

It’s funny the little wrinkles that life throws at you, my return to Bansang Hospital will see me undertaking a role which I have never ever imagined myself in, but one very familiar to my close friend and fellow traveller, Taz, that of Project Manager to oversee the rebuild work. It’s not a job for which I can claim any particular qualification other than having spent 46 years running various small businesses and companies and a life time of DIY work including gutting and rebuilding my first house in Wales. Hopefully, that together with some help & advise from Taz will get me through the 6 to 8 weeks that the project is scheduled to run. It’s certainly going to be a challenge and one that will I’m sure not only test my mettle but will hopefully, leave me little time to dwell on other issues in my life… The only problem being I guess, that most of them will still be there whence I return once more; as the saying goes “Same shit, different Day”

Homeward Bound

It was a long, hot, sticky drive to the coast from Bansang yesterday, although Sutay made good time. The 4 ½ hours on the road included a stop at a village to buy some Bowboa fruit for Julie and getting stopped and searched at a military checkpoint (much to Sutay’s consternation and disgust!) It really wasn’t a big deal although a bit of muttering from Nick brought the “boss” out to see what the commotion was all about. Thankfully nothing untoward was found and we were soon repacked and on our way.

Arriving at Luigi’s around 5.30pm was perfect… as happy hour, well two hours actually, had just started so by the time the rest of us had showered and changed, Nick had managed to down his first three Juelbrew…. That set the tone for the evening with Nick very generously footing the bill as well as going on line to the Scoots web site to make a substantial donation towards the Children’s ward rebuild project. As the sun disappeared from yet another cloudless sky the temperature also dropped to a sensible level for the first time in 3 weeks, sending Jeanette scurrying for an extra layer! One of Luigi’s superb meals soaked up a little of the alcohol, and being a lightweight, 10pm saw me heading for the land of nod, surprisingly followed very shortly afterwards by the rest of the team. I think the time at Bansang has taken it’s toll and left us all feeling in need of a HOLIDAY! And before you all start yelling at your computers that we have just had one, we were told quite unequivocally by Anita at the start of the trip, on out first night at Luigi’s “This is not a holiday you know!” LOL

Nick & I head off in slightly different directions this morning on shopping trips, Nick, as ever dipping into his pocket to purchase some plumbing waste fitting he wants to send up to the hospital and me heading for the Supermarket to buy some groceries and tasty bits (and wine) for Tanya ! From a text Jeanette received last night, Tanya had a pretty tough day yesterday in theatre and we are hoping she is managing to relax quietly at the house now that us noisy lot have left… although my guess is that it might take her a day or two to adjust.

Later this morning Keba, Luigi’s driver will drop us off at the airport for our flight home. I’ve just looked at the Birmingham Airport web site and so far no delays are being notified, so hopefully 9.50pm tonight will see us touching down on a clear runway for the hours drive back to Orlingbury and a “third degree” debriefing by Mrs Smith!

Ready for Home

It’s hard to believe that today is my last full day in Bansang, 3 weeks have simply flown by, helped of course by the fairly punishing schedule set by “the boss” before we left the UK, to say nothing of the countless emails received from her since. But to be truthful I’ve enjoyed every minute of it (well almost!). The other thing that has made the time fly has been the fantastic people I’ve had the pleasure to work with; Chris & Jeanette, Bella, Tanya and more recently Nick have all made huge contributions to the overall efforts being made to help that staff and patients at Bansang Hospital, and without exception they have all been wonderful to work with.

Today is “mopping up” day, time to finish a few bits and pieces, take photos of work done for sponsors, tidy the house up somewhat so we don’t leave Tanya with too much of our mess to sort out and finally to start the process of packing what we have to bring back, whilst discarding what we don’t. Oh! and we have the awards ceremony this afternoon with countless certificates and prizes to be handed out to all and sundry….. I think overall our time has been well spent and our achievements though small, reasonably satisfactory.

The Theatre suite is about ready to open with just a few bits in ancillary rooms to complete. As I mentioned the other day, the main equipment is all installed and operational. The Autoclave has also now been installed which completes all of the electrical work in there, and the commemorative plaque fixed to the wall. Meanwhile down at the Audiology department, the doors have been fitted, tiling redone, at least one airconditioner fitted (hopefully two!) and most of the debris cleared. A quick sweep out and it to is ready to be photographed.  

Nick, working with the two hospital plumbers has fitted nice new high quality push taps to all the sinks. They have also fitted new push button showers in some of the wards although Nick, being the perfectionist that he is, wants to get some alterations made once he gets some new bits and bobs to me to bring out on the next trip! He also took the metaphorical bull by the horns yesterday and together with his two men undertook a massive clear up outside the maintenance unit… unsurprisingly Dembo beat a hasty retreat under the guise of having a meeting to attend… On a Saturday ? Hmm!

Chris (shelfman) Payne has put up shelves in every available space, nook and cranny, concentrating mainly on the Staff accommodation but also working in the new theatres, Sulayman’s office and also the Library. Meanwhile, Jeanette has been scurrying around as a one woman make-over show, putting up curtains and screens in the labour ward and generally sorting out the place, ably assisted by Dr Tanya.

By tomorrow night we will be back at Luigi’s in Banjul enjoying a cocktail or two (or more) and all this will seem like a distant dream…. Back to Anita’s  for a debrief and get ready to do it all again in a couple of weeks time ( if required) to try to keep the builder on track whilst the work on the Children’s ward is undertaken. That will keep me here until around the end of April!! I might even get a chance to do a bit more work on my second book…..

It's just like Christmas !

We arrived at the hospital yesterday morning to find the Keller’s Container had arrived up from the coast… but still no sign of Dembo! The morning simply flew by as we watched box after box of long awaited and much needed supplies of drugs, dressings and equipment were offloaded to be carefully inventoried by the head of security, Jowel ,and either sent to Pharmarcy, Theatres or “Main Store”. This last repository always gives me cause for concern ( although not as much as “The container”… The simple reason being, that it is overseen and guarded by a fearsome “Head of Stores” who allows none to enter save his worker bees and I have a deep suspicion that lurking within it’s cavernous interior lies countless piles of a whole list of things that are being denied to wards and departments within the hospital simply because nobody, not even the “Head of Stores” knows they exist!

Sulayman was very pleased to find several of the boxes were labelled with not only “Surgical Theatres” but also Sulayman Ceesay” as these along with 2 brand new ex Swiss Army operating tables, surgical instruments, theatre “greens” and a brand new Patient Monitor which he had specifically asked Dr & Mrs Keller for, were taken by us straight into the new Theatre Suite. We discovered two small problems with the tables, firstly there was a part of the cushion missing from each and secondly there were no instructions! LOL . It took us a while to fathom out where all the bits went but eventually we had two fully functional operating tables all rigged up and ready to go. The timing of the container arrival really couldn’t have been better. By the time we had cleared away the debris it was pushing on for 2pm so tired, hungry and above all very thirsty we headed over to the house for a late lunch.

Sitting quietly going through my schedule of jobs after lunch whilst Chris and Jeanette headed back to sort more shelves, my phone rang; It was Sulayman. He had been out to the village by the hospital’s farm project a week or so back to circumcise about 20 of the village boys and had been asked to return to see them “come out”. They are all put together in 1 large hut after circumcision to live and pray together until they are brought back into the village as young men.

Without a doubt the high spot for me was the 10 mile ride to the village which after the first mile of asphalt was bush track all the way; mainly with just a covering of sand but with a couple of sections of rocky, slightly technical bits and a lot of deep soft sand that had us slaloming around like champion skiers. There was no doubt at all as to the better sand rider, Sulayman simply left me in his dust, with his feet plated firmly on the pegs and just went with the flow. Whilst I was to be seen with legs flailing wildly and steering following in a similar vein trying desperately to stay aboard; I don’t think I’ll enter the Daker then !!!

Back at the house Tanya had just had a very tiring and frustrating day, having lost a baby during a caesarean section, and was feeling a bit low. Unfortunately it is still the case that no matter how hard you try, infant mortality is still a fact of life that has to be faced almost daily in Bansang as in many other parts of Africa. All we can do is our level best to ensure that it is kept to a minimum and continue working to reduce it year on year. Since Anita’s involvement at Bansang infant mortality has dropped dramatically  and with new facilities, staff , volunteers and equipment continually filtering through, it will hopefully continue to do so.

This morning I have a further meeting with Moro our new builder to clarify a couple more points and request a couple more estimates. I need to try to ensure that with Dembo still absenting himself, Bunja  knows what is required of him and his team by the time I return from the coast on Wednesday evening with our plumber Nick. Then I will try to get a couple more rooms of the theatre suite cleaned… No rest for the wicked HaHaHa! I must confess that I’m not looking forward to spending two days in the vehicle travelling to the coast and back; I’d rather be here keeping things on track, but I’ve promised Sulayman that I will go to the Uni with him to help sort the degree course that the Scooters in the Sahara Project is going to fund for the next three years, so I guess I’ll have to go with the flow…