A fabric vendor in Kejetia Market, Kumasi, Ghana. The women in Ghana buy these patterned fabrics and use them to sew their own amazing dresses. When I saw this on the computer it reminded me in an odd way of the Portrait of Alele Bloch-Baur by Klimt that we saw on our New York layover on the way over.
This post was also written by Leah describing her work experiences in Ghana. I wish I could have her continue to write all of my blog posts for me! – Michael
While traveling in Ghana has been an important part of our trip I did come to work! I spent three weeks working in the pediatrics units at Komfo Anokye Teahcing Hospital (the KATH). It has been amazing to experience medicine and the medical system in another country. The most remarkable part has been the exposure to diseases that I have only read about during my medical training including Malaria, Tetanus, Typhoid, and Burkitt’s Lymphoma. The hospital is large and associated with a medical school and residency training program. Despite the fact that it is a large teaching hospital the lack of resources is striking. There were several times in the last few weeks when a child would need a ventilator or dialysis but these were only available for the adult patients. The pediatric wards are filled, often with two patients per bed and infection control is nonexistent as patients with TB will be within feet of a severely malnourished child with HIV. Parents must stay with their children all day and night and are only given wooden stools to sit on next to their child’s bed. The parents are responsible for giving some oral medications, collecting urine if needed, restricting fluid and salt for patients with kidney disorders, and feeding patients through feeding tubes. There is a national insurance that is free for children, but parents must register and I think that many Ghanaians either do not know about the insurance or just don’t sign up. Even with insurance a patient or their family will have to pay for CT scans ($70-100), chemotherapy, surgery for shunts for hydrocephalus, many types of medications and certain labs. The parents must produce the money prior to the treatment or CT scan and often have to go across town to another pharmacy to pick up medications – this causes a log delay in testing and treatment. Yet despite these delays all the families I worked with were very appreciative of the care and would always say thank you even if we just did an invasive procedure on their child. It certainly puts thing in perspective when compared to what we have in the US and I am very appreciative of the chance to spend time at the KATH. – Leah
I took another stroll through the market today hoping to find some avocados, or pictures, or both. I struck out on avocados but here are a few pictures that worked for me. Leah described the market in one of our previous posts, but I want to emphasize again that the pictures alone do not do this market justice. I was there in the heat of the day and the smells were intense. The best analogy I can think of is that walking through the market is to your sense of smell what watching a Stan Brackage film is to your vision. Raw meat, raw fish, smoked fish, cheese, and body odor all contribute their perfume. The market is definitely an impressive place – you can find just about anything you might need there. Our guidebook describes Ghana as being economically vibrant which I think is accurate – it seems like everyone is busy either buying or selling something. I’m not sure how anyone can stop to buy anything in the market though – I felt like I was always being pushed along by whoever was behind me. I found that after about a half an hour I was completely overstimulated and had to get out. I have a similar experience with Las Vegas, but I can last for about a day there. A white man with a camera generates a lot of protest from the market vendors, especially the women who preside over the small fish (below left), although I did have quite a few people ask me to come photograph them, as the woman below-right did.
I have had mixed reception from Ghanaians about having their pictures taken. I have passed up a few great pictures of people that refused to have their picture taken when asked. Some of the younger adutls actually ask me to take their picture, and children often demand that I take their picture (such as the kids on the bottom right)! In some parts of the central market, the mere presence of a camera is cause for loud protest. Some of my favorite photos from the streets and the markets have been “shot from the hip” – taken without looking through the viewfinder so people are unaware. I have to guesstimate what the camera can see so it doesn’t always work out, but the picture on the top left was shot like this, as were most of my pictures from the market.
No urinating on hospital grounds, please.