Reflections on our time in the Congo

Now that our 6 weeks of living in the Republic of the Congo have come to an end, here are some reflections on this time:

1.   With regard to moving Chris’s vision forward, we accomplished all that we set out to do including …

·     establishing contact with staff involved in the Sterile Processing (SP) process at 4 hospitals in Pointe Noire

·       familiarizing ourselves with the sterilizing equipment and tools being used at each hospital

·       observing all of the steps involved in the SP process and flow

·       preparing recommendations for change and providing initial feedback

·       involving SP staff in a thorough decontamination of their SP areas (2 hospitals)

·       preparing information posters for mounting above equipment or on access doors with simple steps to follow in the SP process

·       preparing information sheets and making up a binder including information on the equipment being used and on recommended time and temperature settings for each sterilizer

·       inviting a select number of SP staff from each hospital for a tour of the Mercy Ship SP department

·       informing senior and SP staff of the classroom training plans when Chris returns for Phase Two (Mar/Apr 2014)

2.      It was a wonderful time to see Christina in an environment both on the Africa Mercy Ship and in this Central African country where she appeared comfortable, enjoyed the friendships that she has developed and exhibited a passion to make a difference.

3.      It was eye opening for Olive and I to visit the hospitals with Chris and see first hand how they operate, in particular the sterile processing areas.

4.      I was surprised at the lack of restriction as a visitor to the hospitals we have been in and have walked through rooms where patients were being treated, have observed a C-section and been in a surgery theatre where a large facial tumor was being removed – and did not FAINT!! (Olive believes I’ve come a long way from feeling faint simply by walking into a hospital!).

5.      The people in Pointe Noire that we encountered daily were friendly, they smiled readily and gave the “thumbs-up” sign as a greeting.

6.      The port where the Africa Mercy (AM) is berthed is a very busy port with a constant flow of vehicles: massive forklifts and semi-trucks moving shipping containers, fishing boats unloading their catch onto the port right beside the AM, logging trucks transferring raw logs into the port or beside the ships where massive cranes load them, and through all of this, we walked 20 minutes along a sandy, unevenly constructed sidewalk almost every day to the taxi drop-off/pick up point.

7.      It seems in general that people in Pointe Noire were opposed to having their pictures taken so we had to be very discreet (as in, sneaking photos while driving which does not make for very good photography).

8.      Toyota must be doing well in the Congo, by far the majority of vehicles on the road were taxis and almost all were Toyota’s.

9.      Driving is done on the right side of the road; honking is common and an expected part of driving; allowing oncoming drivers to turn in front of you at any point is very acceptable; conducting U-turns on a busy street is fine; lining up three deep, side by side, on both sides of the road, is expected while waiting to move forward.

10.   Some noticeable contrasts in Pointe Noire include contrasts between modern and traditional in terms of construction (new glass high-rises vs mostly cinder block buildings), a couple of very fancy hotels and expensive restaurants due to the oil rigs prevalent here.

11.   We certainly wish we were fluent in French – could have made for much better communication.

12.   We are so thankful that Chris has laid the foundation for this work and that Mercy Ships is interested in partnering and providing support that is critical to taking this work forward.

13.   Our first 4 days in the Congo at the SUECO guesthouse were not all that pleasant so we were grateful that a cabin opened up for us to stay on the Mercy Ship for all of October. For the last 9 nights, we stayed at the Catholic Guest House (had hot/cold water most of the time; electricity most of the time; clean rooms – yeah!!; close to several good eating places – even an Indian restaurant with butter chicken and an ice cream place!!;  and a little eatery where they’ll cook something fresh for you if you have time to wait) that we/Chris can come back to should we not be able to stay on the Africa Mercy in the future. Knowing what resources are available as well as having established relationships with the local hospital personnel will make it easier to do follow up work when the ship is no longer here.

Our flight out of Pointe Noire was scheduled for Nov 8 but about an hour before we were to leave for the airport we were informed that Lufthansa had cancelled the flight. On the 9^th when we went to the airport (24 hours later) we were pleased to discover that Lufthansa had upgraded us to 1^st class – what a treat!

During our 3 days in Frankfurt, we explored the old part of the city, were taken out for supper by some distant relatives of Dan’s where we enjoyed authentic German dishes and apple wine, participated in a TV interview for Deutche Welle (a German broadcaster) and took a day trip to the city of Heidelberg where we explored the city, its university and the castle up on the hill.

We have now arrived in Bangkok where we are staying at the Alliance Guesthouse and adjusting to the time changes. We plan to stay here until Nov 18 when we head to the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.