It was a brilliant trip and, above all things, reminded me of what a brilliant therapy we practitioners have at our fingertips. Ghana is a wonderful country, the people a joy and it always amazes me how those in poverty or close to poverty seem to be cheerier and more vital than their affluent western counterparts. I particularly enjoyed the outreach clinics. What a privilege and what an experience. My main motive for going was to gain 3D experience of what CCH validates and supports.
The weekend teaching the diploma students was tricky to start with. There were students at different levels of learning within the group and I spent the first part of the session evaluating at what level I should aim the material I’d brought with me. The students were very responsive with clear and relevant questions and the weekend was a joy to teach.
From Kasoa, we went to Mafi Kumase and stayed in the new volunteer rooms and the next day immediately started working with Emperor at the clinic. We stayed here as a base for 10 days and in that time did home visits in the nearby villages and the outreach programme in some villages further away. After a trip to the coast, where we also saw patients, we returned to Emperor’s briefly before journeying to the clinic in Tema.
Here, we essentially ran the clinic, using the cases to teach the diploma students and held evening classes for the recently graduated certificate course students.
All in all, I would like to emphasis what a brilliant project this is and what a tremendous experience it was to participate and to observe what exactly CCH has been involved in endorsing and supporting.
Thanks for going and sharing your experience with us, Mike.
An inspiration to us all to work in a culture that is void of ‘affluenza’