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Free Medical Care in Rural Villages in
Ghana, West Africa:
 Ghana Medical Team - Trip Report 2008
Some of the main program highlights of the mission included:
* Some 600 patients were offered and received free medical care. The areas served included N'gani (witch's village), Ekotsi and Bogyano. Care included free diagnostics and medications, the use of our brand-new mobile ultrasound, vascular doppler fetal tone readings, rehydration therapies, malaria and parasite (worm) treatments, vital signs, paid hospital and insurance payments for long-term care patients, and more.
Our "CLINIC WITHOUT WALLS" in witch's village Northern Team: Dr. Amehi, Alidu Zakaris
(interpretor), Gifty Mante, Roxane Richter,
Dr. Tom, and local reverend, Eric Doku.
Getting there's the hard part... It's a 16-hour journey into the remote northern area,
where there's no running water or electricity. All of the diagnostics have to run on batteries.
  
The lines of patients are long... and the team is always greeted by 100's of people needing medical care. Special care is taken by the WMP team to travel into several (three) different areas within the witch's village, so that both the Konkomba & Dagomba tribes are able to get free medical treatment.
Dr. Tom using new ultrasound, donated by "Village Life" WMP - South Team
the Herzstein Foundation. An awesome new tool!
* Four brand new Dell computers and a printer were donated to Wenchi Methodist High School. The children were so excited to see that their school was to have first-rate computer technology!
* Several cases of medication were donated to Yendi Methodist Hospital - Dr. Abankwa
*Several cases of medication donated to Methodist Faith Healing Hospital, Ankaase-Kwabre - Dr. Cameron Gongwer
* A brand new microscope, one centrifuge, one vital signs monitor for surgery, 60 endotracheal tubes, medical books, and several cases of medication were donated to Wenchi Methodist Hospital.
* Donations of $2,000 USD were donated, plus clothing and toys for the triplets as well as several cases of medication and medical books to Marjorie Nintori, RN at the Lawra Methodist Nutriton & AIDS Centre.
* With a $2,000 donation, the "Queen Mother of Compassion" sewing & embroidery training centre in Ekotsi-Bogyano opened. Two utility-strength sewing machines, one knitting machine and one industrial-strength serger were purchased and donated to the new center, which will begin training women and teens in sewing skills in 2009.
The generous donation of Kinapharma medications In 2008, WMP's "Queen Mother of Compassion"
Sewing & Embroidery Training Centre was opened,
where women & teens can train to learn new skills.
But we couldn't do these missions without the help and generous donations
of our wonderful sponsors, who include:
The Herzstein Foundation (2006-2008)
Mr. Mark Ryan (2006-2008)
Kofi Nsiah-Poku of Kinapharma, Ghana (2006-2008)
W.T. Cutts & American Tank & Vessel (2008)
* Honorable Ghanaian U.S. Consul General, Jack & Diane Webb
Mr. Dave Cononie (2006-2008)
MAP International - Merck Pharmaceuticals (2006-2008)
Christus St. John^s Hospital (2006)
Abbott Laboratories (2006)
Mr. Slade Lewis & Lewis Jewelers (2007-2008)
Mr. Alan Wozniak (2007-2008)
Dr. Hopkins (2007)
Clear Lake United Methodist Church (2007-2008)
Ethicon (2007)
And of course all the wonderful people who provide us such great support, including Bishop Joseph Atto & Maud Brown, Marjorie Nintori of the Lawra Nutrtion Centre, Ghana, Anna Holder & family, Dr. Didier Amehi, the Global African Missionary Alliance in San Antonio, Gifty Mante, R.N. (Ekumfe-Ekrawfo region), Dr. Tom Flowers, Virginia Campbell, Dr. Jose Peraza, and the board of WMP...
so we say "THANK YOU" :
Ghana Medical Team - Trip Report 2007
The 2007 World Missions Possible Ghana team was able to provide FREE medical care, medication and services to around 700 patients! Which means, of course, that the team sweated, worked until dark (no electric), and were mobbed by crowds of people at every clinic.
Some of cases were heart-wrenching... like a young 20-year-old man suffering with an infected jawbone, an older man in Ngani with a huge tumor on his throat, a lady with a several-pound hernia, a lady with (probable) breast cancer, and one man whose leg was literally rotting off of his body due to a lack of medical care. In many of these very complex medical cases (neededing surgical intervention or long-term care), WMP paid for the patient^s enrollment in the national health care insurance coverage (about $30 for one year), or asked/paid for medical/surgical intervention on the patient^s behalf.
We served in three primary clinic areas - one in the condemned "Witch^s village" of Ngani (outside of northern city of Yendi), one in Lawra (at Methodist AIDS and Nutrion Centre, at border of Burkina Faso & Ivory Coast), and one in the south - Ekotsi-Bogyano. In addition to the clinics, we donated a brand new EKG, vascular doppler, an automatic external defibrillator (AED), and CPR mannequins.
At Wenchi Hospital, Dr. Flowers of WMP and Dr. Didier Amehi of Togo taught the staff and doctors EKG interpretation and some advanced cardiac life support --- we donated the EKG, AED and CPR mannequins after teaching the "new" Red Cross CPR/Basic Life Support techniques. It was all extremely well received and we also donated a lot of medication - about a dozen cases.
We really feel like we^re finally making a sustainable development footprint in Ghana now --- we^re supporting long-term medical teaching and support at Wenchi Hospital, and are getting the support of government officials, local chiefs and the people... most of whom came to our clinics to be seen! How wonderful that they are entrusting us with their care.
We had several "return" patients from last year... and we got to see the (now cured!) leper, Patrick, and the nine-year-old Zebedee, who was is now walking and running after his successful operation for a terrible six-year hip bone infection.
GHANA MEDICAL TEAM - 2006
In October/November of 2006, WMP sent a volunteer medial mission team to Ghana to provide free primary care. Approximately 250 patients were treated in rural, hard-to-reach areas in northern villages in Ghana. Free diagnostics, medical treatment and medication were provided to the villages of Yendi, Ekotsi-Bogyano, Lawra and Esuyeshia.
Over $42,000 in donated medications and medical equipment (including automatic external defibrillators, vascular doppler, two diagnostic sets and Propaq LT monitor) were used and/or donated to local area clinics and public hospitals during the trip. Donors included Christus St. John’s Hospital, Abbott Laboratories and a $7,000 donation from the Herzstein Foundation.
In December of 2006, WMP provided $1,100 to a nine-year-old boy, Zebeedee, in Nalogni, Ghana, for life-saving surgery for the chronic osteomyelitis on his left leg. The boy’s bone infection, which had received no medical treatment for six years, was so severe that the illness had become life threatening. The surgery was performed by Dr. Chuuba in Tamale in northern Ghana, and was deemed a successful operation which saved the boy’s leg and life.
The 2008 team (scheduled October of 2008) is need of medical personnel, supplies
and medications --
If you hold current U.S. medical licensing or are a retired physician, please review our
"Join Us!" page and consider joining the team and/or sending supplies or a donation for our
planned 2008 OCTOBER team.
For a complete listing of needed supplies, please click here: http://www.charityadvantage.com/worldmissionspssible/Ghana.WMP.MEDICAL_NEEDS.doc
If you have any questions, please contact Roxane Richter, Vice President, here:
roxanerichter@yahoo.com.
Thank You!
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