Safari in Pendjari

Last Thursday I set off with 5 other people for northern Benin - a national park called Pendjari. The group consisted of Shawna, Ryan, Katelyn, and me from the U.S., Corrine from Australia, and Ingeborg from Norway. We got on the Coton Bus (which we later found out it was the worst bus we could have chosen) around 7:00 am. It was basically a really old coach bus. The seats were small, there was barely any room for our legs, no air-conditioning, and the bathroom was being used for storage. We stopped about every couple of hours for people to stretch their legs, buy food from street vendors, and do as nature intended on the side of the road. We reached Natitingu 8 hours later. We had been communicating with 2 French ladies, Nadine and Dany, who owned a small "hotel" in Natitingu where we made reservations. Because none of us spoke French, and the French women didn't speak much English, this made things challening. But we were so happy when they drove up in their van with a sign that said "INGEBORG & CO." They brought us to the hotel, we got settled, then had a dinner of lamb curry. The rooms were separate little huts. Each room had a bed with a mosquito net and a bathroom attached. There were showers, but they didn't work the first night because Natitingu has a water shortage. Here's a pic of the hotel:

Because we hadn't really planned past getting to Natitingu (many people had told us we could try and make plans, but not to really count on them because "this is Africa, afterall") Nadine and Dany contacted someone they knew who gave tours of the park. He came to the hotel and gave us his proposal. He had brought his wife from Nigeria who spoke English. He asked if we accepted the proposal, and we said we did as long as his wife came along to translate. They said that would be fine. We got up at 5:30 the next morning to have breakfast and leave by 6:00. Our tour guide, Marcel showed up with not his wife, but another man who didn't speak English, Tousen. We asked where his wife was and he said she couldn't come because she has 3 kids at home... Of course.

Well, we headed off anyway in their SUV. We got to the park 2 hours later, and stopped outside the entrance to climb on top of the vehicle. Not once were we given any instructions to keep our hands in, hold on, watch out for branches, or anything to prevent us from becoming lion bait. We all mused at how long the waiver would be in the U.S. to be able to do something like this. Anyway, the countryside was so beautiful and it was such an exhilarating feeling flying throught the bush with the wind whipping through your hair.

That morning and afternoon we saw baboons, antelope, deer, hippos, crocodiles, and water buffalo. More excitement came after we took a siesta at the hotel in the park. We checked in about noon, and napped until 4:00. When we went out that evening we saw an elephant! We never actually saw a lion, but we heard one. We went back to the hotel that evening and I felt so sick. I realized I must have been dehydrated (although I was drinking lots of water throughout the day, you don't realize how much you're sweating when it's instantly being dried by the wind). I chugged a liter of water, then felt so sick I had to just lay down to try and keep it down. I went to bed about 8:30 that evening. The next morning we got up before the sun and saw more of the same animals. We stayed in the park until about 11:00 then headed back down to Natitingu, stopping at a waterfall on the way, where we went swimming, climbing, and jumping (no, I did NOT climb the waterfall; yes, I am a chicken). We got back to Nadine and Dany's, and they took us to this neat restaurant that was in an old traditional house made of mud. We had duck - I never knew I liked duck! The next morning we got up early once again to catch the bus back to Cotonou. We ended up getting there an hour early and Ingeborg and I realized we needed to use the bathroom before we got on the bus. We asked Marcel (our tour guide - don't ask me why he showed up at the bus station, but he did) where we could go and he brought us to a house next door. He asked the owners something, then pointed to the back of the house. Well, we hiked back there, relieved ourselves, then thanked the homeowners. After another grueling 8 hour bus ride we made it back to the ship safe and sound. Needless to say, my safari in Pendjari was one I will never forget.

Hospital Visit

It's been a long time, I know. I am sorry for that. It's party because I felt I didn't have anything to write about, and partly because of laziness. But I've given myself a pep talk, and here goes.

We are wrapping up the outreach in Benin. All the patients are gone, and the hospital is closed. There were a few people we had to send to clinics, and one we had to send to a hospital because she had a giant wound that was not healing. We head to Tenerife next week, and will hopefully arrive about 10 days later.

A couple days ago I went to two different hospitals here in Cotonou. One of the day volunteer translators brought a group of 5 nurses and 1 dietitian. The first was a public hospital. All the units were in separate buildings, connected by outdoor corridors. We went in to the emergency room and saw about 10 people laying on gurneys with ancient-looking IV fluids running (although about half had run dry). They were people who couldn't pay the hospital fees. They were waiting for money before they could be admitted. Some had enough money for the IV fluids and a few drugs. We walked around the corner and were hit by the most horrendous smell. There was a man laying there with just one leg covered by a sheet and flies all over the sheet. We were told he had been in a motorbike accident and needed his leg amputated, but couldn't pay for it. He was waiting for money to be brought to him and his leg had become gangrenous. He had waited there one week. He was clearly out of it, breathing extremely fast, glazed over eyes, and laying in his own feces. Now here are some sad financial facts: one night in the hospital is $9, or for a private "VIP" room about $60. To have your leg amputated costs about $160, plus $12 for the CT scan.

There IS some good happening to health care in Benin, however. For example, the government will pay for any Beninese person who needs dialysis. We witnessed this, and were amazed by the modern-looking dialyses machines. The government also covers cancer costs and cesarean sections, which brings me to my next hospital visit. It was a Catholic hospital a few miles away from the public hospital. Things looked a little better here, but we still felt like we were in 1940. We talked to many of the patients, heard there stories, and prayed with them - there is no HIPPA here in Benin. We walked by the operating theater and saw that it was in use. There was a woman on the table, about to have a cesarean section. Our tour guide asked if we would like to watch. We quickly agreed, but refused to take pictures when he insisted we could. We all watched through a window. I have to say, from what I could see they kept it sterile (I guess gauze could work as a face mask?), but their monitoring equipment was a little lacking - the woman had a pulse-oximeter on and a manual blood pressure cuff. As there was no infant bed in the room I wondered what would happen with the baby. Well, as soon as the baby was delivered and the cord was cut she was placed on a tray and handed, through the window we were observing from, to a nurse on the other side. The nurse then brought her to the nursery. When we asked if we could see the baby the nurse was more than happy to bring her outside where we were waiting. We all got to hold her and take pictures before the mother held her - quite strange.

The next day on the ship some nurses got money together to bring to the man who needed his leg amputated. Unfortunately by the time they got to him he had died. Apparently his brother had scrounged up the money, the man got the surgery, but then died - more than likely of sepsis.

The hospital visit was definitely an eye opening experience, and it has made me greatly appreciate health care in the U.S., even when you think you have good dental insurance and end up paying an arm and a leg to have 3 wisdom teeth taken out. At least I could have the darn things taken out.

Well, I hate to end on a sad note like this, so maybe I will blog about my safari experience in a couple days. No promises though. Excited to see everyone very soon!!