Home Sweet Home

The sweet smell of the plush verdure
The croaking sound of the bullfrog in the bush
And the shrill sound of the cricket from the thicket

The familiar faces of Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Children out playing in the sun and dirt
‘Boxer’ and ‘Pusher’ wagging tails to welcome me

The sights, sounds and ooh… smell too!

An unmistakable cue of my destination;
Home sweet home!
Forever my abode of serenity.

My Magic

Our fathers did such and such deeds
We proclaim such and such a creed
What I have I am able to share with you
Years ago, it might been for very few

I call it my magic!
Lack of it is tragic!

No one could have preserved traditions
Precisely so for many generations
Without it’s inordinate power!
It’s my magic and superpower

I call it my magic!
Lack of it is tragic!

It is drawn not from sorcery
It’s been used throughout history
It’s the amazing magic of reading
And the wondrous power of writing!

Seems to me everything revolves around READING and WRITING nowadays.
I have allowed myself sometime today to think of something we can and probably should take for granted. Yet I have burdened myself to think of it and write my heart out. Probably someone might also take some time and share in my thought. I call it my magic! READING and WRITING is my magic!
Through the power of the art, you make out letters from a page and suddenly they form a word and make sentences and convey an idea to you.
It’s almost like magic the best of doctors in this world had to read volumes and volumes of ideas and knowledge stockpiled in volumes of books! You start out in kindergarten rhyming all the rhymes and singing all the songs. Now suddenly you must read volumes and comprehend it and produce a good account of yourself. You must read all those reports or better still, write all those reports yourself.
Now you have an idea you must market to your prospective clients. Maybe talking to them will do but even that will require that you WRITE something called a letter to them so they can READ and understand you. May be you have to make a presentation too…Now that will involve some READING and WRITING.
You have a friend you haven’t heard from in ages, you log on to facebook and suddenly you can chat with them. How? You must WRITE your message and READ their message in order for you to communicate.
You want to turn on the microwave and heat some food. How? You must read out the instructions and turn it on to the desired level!
For the greatest poets, writing seems mystical! In writing, they convey a deeper sense of emotion they might never have been able to do. It’s like getting wings to fly out of your own body to communicate with numerous other souls. When we lay our hands on a good piece, we often fall adrift into a new world, exploring ideas and places where our physical bodies may never be.
Consider for instance reading a fiction novel. The impossible is made to seem possible and for a moment as you read, you enter into a new different world. Not that you are hallucinating for once but just exercising your brain.
In itself, it is an exercise for the brain as dormant areas of the brain are suddenly awoken to react to the changing scenes, landscapes, machines and the likes.
It’s a good thing you share in this magic too otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to make any sense out of my little piece. And see; now you share in my thoughts… Mystical! I am sitting right behind my PC and you in your room or in a café yet our minds are communicating on a single subject at least for this moment. Magical!
Let’s empower the young ones to love the art. It’s their way of fitting into this new world.
Thank your teachers who taught you to READ and WRITE. Thank them for imparting this ‘magical ability’ to you… Stay blessed.

DARK NIGHTS

Dark nights, bright stars

On a cold and lonely winter night,
When I looked up, I saw not the moon
The sky darker and sinister tonight
I missed the noise, heat and the light of noon

On my lonely bed, I cuddled myself tight,
Hoping that this feeling would pass quickly soon
Wishing the night would pass to end my plight.
In the solitude was terror and swoon

I looked out my window and saw a bird
At last, a companion for the night

“Look up again friend”
The winged fellow seemed to whisper.
So I looked up, I looked up and saw the skies again
I saw the skies again and saw the bright stars lit up the skies
“The stars are brightest when the skies are dark!” chirped the bird



It dawned on me in extenso, the vanity of having fear of the unknown and giving in to uncertainty. I began writing this piece on the weekend before my MB.ChB Final Part 1 Clinical Exams in Paediatrics. It has taken me exactly three months to finish it up. In between, I have done a lot of traveling and forgotten about it and fallen prey to this canker again. I hope you find some inspiration from my writing.

Dark nights. We all have them. Those days when everything seems dark and gloomy. The days when we can virtually sense doom upon us. Days when we feel lonely and deserted. Days we often label; ‘the day I will never forget’. We have had it before, each one of us and these days will continue to be with us.
Such days will come upon us because we have been forewarned about them. Tribulations will come, we will walk through the deep waters, and we will walk through fire and rain. We will part with loved ones and never see them or enjoy the warmth of their embrace again. Our purses may not always be swollen with legal tender to barter for what we wish for or even what we need.
We never have promises of a trouble-free life. What we have are assurances. Assurance that morning surely comes after night. Assurances that we will never be alone even to the very end of the age. Faith, hope and love.


Ever found hope in the midst of adversity?
Ever seen the little ray of light at the end of the dark and murky tunnel?
Ever stopped complaining and looked not around but up and suddenly felt hope restored?
Ever exhaled desperation and inhaled goodness and peace because your burdened heart was touched by its maker?
Ever had reason to hope beyond all reason and against all odds that surely, morning comes after night?

I don’t consider myself a poet even though I love poetry. I am always looking for ways to communicate in a deeper sense what I think about every day and what I have come to know in a score and 5 years of my life.

I once heard the quote; “Your attitude (how you respond to any situation) defines you altitude (how far you go in life).” This is almost axiomatic in every sense of the word.
Once again let me draw my reader’s attention to a popular analogy used in many a motivational speech. It is the concept of the optimist and the pessimist views. The former says the glass is half full, the latter says it is half empty.

We have at our disposal countless stories in history of how seemingly disadvantaged individuals turned the tide around in their favor.
• It is said that when Thomas Edison’s 2 million dollar house went up in flames, his son (Charles) found him sitting and looking at the flames. Charles is quotes his father as saying this when he said he didn’t know the whereabouts of his mother; "Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives."
The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew."

The above is archetypal of a strong attitude and amazingly, it defined his altitude in life and carved a niche for him in the annals of not only science but of world history too.
There are several countless stories of hoping against hope that has turned into real success stories in the history of our race.

We are called to comfort others with the comfort that God Himself has comforted us too (2 Cor 1:3 – 4). There is a comforting voice comes and reveals our folly to us. Suddenly, we look out the window and see the stars shining so brightly and we forget the absent moon. We find an opportunity to reflect in our moments of ‘apparent’ loneliness. We see a dark world and we light our candles and shine (for a light placed on a candle cannot hide – Mat 5: 15, Luk 11: 33). We think outside of ourselves and radiate God’s beauty, his love and goodness unto others making their life wholesome, uplifting and virtuous too. Our misfortune seems to disappear into thin air when we head that voice of hope, the bird chirping out in the dark. God always has a message for us despite our obduracy at times. It may be the voice of a friend, a preacher man, a song or from reading from Holy Scripture. He promised never to leave us lonely in this world.

In our moments of darkness, let’s us not ask ‘why me.’ (That’s a harsh thing to say isn’t it?) “I tell you, no one who has lost a father, mother or sibling following me will forfeit his reward in the life to come” – Mat 19: 29.

Let’s us not get weary doing good. For the dark world around us only waits in earnest expectation of us. In expectation of us to shine bright as the stars do. We may not be noticed just as the stars sometimes fade from the skies (actually they don’t fade but because of the moon, we don’t see them always). We may not always be treated good in return for the good that we do (but let us remember even our master was rejected by his own even though he came unto his own)
We may be even victims of suspect for our good intentions but we should not tire doing the good that is in our hearts (indeed, God never tires forgiving our very own sins every day. We find His mercies new every morning! Yes, every morning despite our many failings that went by without us noticing them)
We hear them every day; plagued by war and disease, now flooding, protests and bombings, religious clashes and political rifts and hostilities.
Let us always remember, when the world seems awful and a bitter place, we are the salt of the earth. We are meant for seasoning the ‘bitter world’ and shining light in this dark age.

God bless you for your time and please remember; when the nights are dark and sinister, when the moon shines not in the skies and the world around you seems lonely; that is the time you have to light up your candle and shine so bright.


You may want to check out these stories later on;
1. http://www.inspiring-quotes-and-stories.com/nick-vujicic.html
2. http://www.inspiring-quotes-and-stories.com/disaster.html
3. http://www.inspiring-quotes-and-stories.com/jackie-chan.html

Health for Gold

HEALTH FOR GOLD
‘Galamsey hijacks our future’

It used to be a myth, now it is an obvious reality from which is developing a nuisance we have to grapple with every day. Its effect could even devastate the future of a town.
When we were young, we heard stories of how gold used to be so common in our community that you could see this precious mineral in the gutters and gullies when it rained. As I type out these words, I wish sincerely wish it was just as we heard it; a myth!
Why such strong sentiments against discovery of such precious minerals in my area you may ask me?
My story begins now.
I come from Akrokerri, a small town in the Adansi-North District of Ghana. Akrokerri is about 7 miles from Obuasi; a town nicknamed the Golden city due to the quantity of gold that is mined there. Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd started from here and had its largest gold mine and head office here in those days until it the merger which saw its transformation into AngloGold Ashanti. Obuasi still remains an important town on the map of Ghana because of its supply of mineral wealth for Ghana’s economy. Akrokerri may be considered as a suburb of Obuasi in a sense. What has made Akrokerri popular is the location of one of the four Colleges of Education in the whole of Ashanti Region here. As a matter of interest, it was during the 23 years of my father’s stay at AKROTCO (a popular abbreviation for Akrokerri Training College as it used to be known) that I was born. This was where I spent most of my childhood until my father’s retirement some five years ago. We have since moved to the main town some minutes’ walk from the Campus. Akrokerri boasts of one of the best Colleges of Education in Ghana, a feat that has earned it the nickname, ‘Adansi University’.
The Obuasi gold deposits occur along a zone of intense shearing and faulting within Precambrian greenstones. Mineralisation in Obuasi comprises two main types: quartz veins containing high-grade free gold and the main sulphide ore in which narrow veins contain gold trapped within arsenopyrite. Ashanti Goldfields Company was established in 1897 in London and underground gold-mining started about ten years after.(1)
There is a myth held by the local people that the gold underground is some kind of a god with head, hands and feet. The people in my area believe this gold-god has its head right beneath their town. I am not sure my folks are aware of the geology outlined in the previous paragraph but to them, the mineral wealth is from this god beneath. I cannot recall when young men in Akrokerri became as adventurous and daring as to begin digging for the head of this god! Maybe that should have been the title of this article; Digging for the god’s head.
As is common in parts of Ghana where mining is done, illegal surface miners known as ‘Galamsey’ set up their own business and begin their own exploration for the bullions. Galamsey is a Ghanaian lexical item for illegal surface mining. The activities of Galamsey operators have often resulted in conflicts between mining companies that operate in such areas and the youth in the affected communities. (2)
There have been numerous reports of accidents of various sorts including cave-ins, drowning in deep ditches, etc at Galamsey sites.
Despite the dangers involved, every day I see enthusiastic young men each day carrying their tools, walking past my house to their work site. The numbers keep increasing every day.
What could be pushing such young men to take such risks? Social injustice has been cited as a cause. People don’t find it easy getting jobs in this part of the country. Some also claim it is because mining companies cheat the communities they operate within and hence the youth must virtually take back what belongs to their community.
That cited, I must state my opinion on this matter now. I have lived in Akrokerri virtually all my life with the exception of time spent in high school and university. Even now, I come back to this place anytime I have a break from academics. One thing is very clear, I find it true that genuine job seekers are lacking in my beloved Akrokerri. The human resource is also lacking as most indigenes do not take education serious. Most young people dream of getting rich over-night and look for ways of achieving this dream. Some of us deem ourselves lucky to have attended school from basic level through to Junior High school level here and still managed to pass to University level.
Illegal surface mining (Galamsey) has many implications on the environment and the health of the people. Aside the morbidity and mortality associated with accidents at these sites, myriads of health problems arise because of these clandestine activities.
Most of these miners are illiterates and have no idea the hazards or effects of the chemicals used in the process. Mercury is used in the purification of gold. This can have serious debilitating effects on the health of the miners and the community at large. Some of the mercury also goes into the underground and surface water sources around. This pollutes the water and poses a serious threat to both flora and fauna in the whole community.
Environmental issues include erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from the mining processes. Just to re-emphasize again, groundwater and surface water contamination.
In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to increase the available room for the storage of the created debris and soil. Contamination resulting from leakage of chemicals can also affect the health of the local population if not properly controlled.
It all started out as very simple and all mechanical with workers using axes, mattocks, shovels and instruments as such. It has become more sophisticated now as electric pumps and other machines are used in addition. This has also added on to the nuisance. The noise from such machines is sometimes unbearable. As if this were not enough, now workers run shifts. This means some work during the day and change over during the night! That translates into 24 hours of complete clamor and clatter! That constitutes a social problem too; Noise pollution.
The most devastating effect from the above is the loss of vegetation and usable landmass. The scars these nefarious activities leave on the environment is as devastating as the health implications it brings. It is not an unfamiliar sight anymore; the mudflows and pits, dirty ponds serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and the general mess of a once beautiful Akrokerri. We are gradually losing our forests and even home environments too.
I almost burst into tears one day as I looked on from a distance at my friend’s house. He was a classmate in Junior High school. Their house was surrounded by what seemed like twenty groups of Galamsey workers. It seemed like an island in a stream. Ponds of water had surrounded it and I could just imagine the sort of problems they had to grapple with every day; the loss of privacy and the general nuisance from the hum and clatter of these machines not to even mention the army of mosquitoes the ditches created will be serving. Here, you could identify all forms of pollution, air pollution from the dust, soil and water pollution from the chemicals, and noise pollution which I found particularly disturbing. All the vegetation that once surrounded the house was gone! The land was bare and desolate, such a pity. I used to complain a lot when these activities were being undertaken about 70 meters from my house and here I was, as close as they could get near Mr. Agyin’s house.
If I am not exaggerating, the ever-increasing proportions of this mess amounts to a calamity. The misery of it is that, the people have come to accept such an ignoble activity as a welcome development. Not being judgmental, in my opinion, this trend hasn’t brought any significant wealth to those engaged in it nor any development to the community. The money the laborers get from their daily activities is spent on alcoholism and other risky lifestyles. Not to sound like a prophet of doom but it seems to me the future for the town hangs in the air. I say this because those engaged in galamsey here were once the major workforce of the town. Carpenters, masons, drivers, farmers and most disheartening of all, students across all levels of the academic ladder. Drop-out rate is on the ascendency as most junior high school kids don’t continue to the senior high school level. Unless there is an intervention from across sectors, I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel for this town.
Obviously, it is not just the physical health of the miners they are trading for gold here. They are trading the physical, mental and social well-being of the whole community for bullions. The future of the community is being traded for a few bucks in the pockets of few.
Government through the district assembly, the traditional council, the youth and all stakeholders must wake-up, cooperate and find ways of developing the capacity of the youth here. They need education and empowerment. After this, force maybe applied if persuasion should fail in the greater interest of the community itself. The mineral wealth could be extracted in a more appropriate and environment-friendly way for the development of the area. The health of the innocent by-stander should be safe-guarded. It is a human right issue since it concerns survival of this generation and even future generations of this community that has produced eminent personalities such as P.V Obeng, a renowned politician in Ghana, doctors, nurses, soldiers and others who are serving the country in various capacities. Not to even forget the College of Education that has produced several hundreds of thousands of teachers serving all over the country.
As a medical student, maybe I can do more than just raise awareness about this canker. I will stop here and get to work on protecting the health of the town and its future in ways that I can. I hope you join me in my quest whoever my reader may be.

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA MEDICAL STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
43RD ANNUAL NATIONAL HEALTH WEEK REPORT
(KASSENA-NANKANA WEST DISTRICT)

INTRODUCTION
National Health Week is an Annual program organized by the Federation of Ghana Medical Students’ Association(FGMSA) This year, the theme chosen was Caring for the lungs; breath is life. This was chosen to highlight some of the major lung diseases and also to relate the relationship between breathing and life. A team of three (3) Students were dispatched to the Kassena-Nankana West District to embark on the one-week intensive health education, promotion and campaigning. The following are the names of the students from University of Ghana Medical School who were stationed in the district;
•Mr. John Godswill Gyasi Banin (2nd Clinical year) – Team leader
•Mr. Stephen Nuworkpor-Gapson (2nd Clinical year)
•Mr. Amos Paintsil Annan (1st Clinical year)
The team left Accra for Upper East on Saturday at 5:30pm. After a grueling 21-hour journey, we arrived in Paga, the district capital of Kassena-Nankana West. The team was warmly received by Mr. Anthony, the District Disease Control Officer since the District Director of Health Services (DDHS) was not in Paga at the time of our arrival. The team was lodged at KUB’s lodged.

OVER-VIEW
Kassena-Nankana West District was carved out of the old Kassena-Nankana District in 2008 which had Navrongo as the district capital. The district being in its infantile stages is under-resourced in terms the capacity of healthcare delivery yet it can boast of many innovations and successes amidst the challenging circumstances. The District Health Management Team has plans of getting a permanent Office complex and also putting up a district hospital and an apartment for medical officers. The District Director of Health Services is Mrs. Vida A. Abaseka and the District Chief Executive is Hon. Thomas A. Dalu.
The local languages spoken here are Kasem and Nankan. Some also speak Hausa and even Twi. We had no problems with communication as other health workers were on hand to help with the translation moreover, a lot of our audience could also understand Twi.
Paga, the district capital is on the border between Ghana and Burkina Faso. Paga has over 2000 inhabitants and most of the inhabitants are farmers. The District boasts of several attractions;
•Paga has two main Crocodile ponds. This is a real attraction as visitors can sit on live crocodiles! The friendliness of these reptiles has its history dating back to the legend on the first chief of Paga called Naveh who was helped by a Crocodile to escape from his foes. The crocodiles are believed to be the soul of the people and as such, it is unacceptable to kill or harm crocodiles in Paga. The team did not miss out on such a rare opportunity!
•Paga also has the Pikworo Slave camp in Nania. This was used as a transit camp for the trading by Hausa, Mossi and Zambrama slave traders in the era of slave trade. The district is also blessed with beautiful landscaping and open fields for farming.
•Paga also boasts of Paga-Pio’s palace. The home of the traditional ruler of Paga. It dates back to the Seventeenth century and has preserved the culture and tradition of the people.

DAILY REPORT
MONDAY, 20TH SEPTEMBER 2010.
This was our first day on the ‘work’ and we were scheduled to meet the District Chief Executive of the district. Unfortunately, we couldn’t meet him or the District Coordinating Director. This was because the D.C.E, Mr. Thomas Adda Dalu was indisposed at the time of our visiting and the Director was I a meeting. We rescheduled the meeting for another date that would be convenient.
The team met with the Officials of the District Health Management Team in the absence of the Director who met us later in the morning in her office. We discussed our schedule for the week. On Monday the 20th of September, it rained almost all morning and this limited our movement. Nonetheless, we made the best out of the situation by visiting the Paga Health Center.
At the Paga Health Center, we were conducted round the facility and introduced to the staff there as well by the Medical Assistant at post there. After this, we gave a health talk on our theme. This was a very interactive session as we asked questions and also answered questions from our audience. Of interest, a patient came forward and shared his success story about quitting smoking. We all applauded him together with the rest of the audience. After the health talk, we stayed to help with the clinical work around. We retired to Kub’s lodge to rest for the next day’s work.

TUESDAY, 21ST SEPTEMBER 2010.
This day had been declared a public holiday in honor of Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday. However, relentless to fulfill our mission, we set off in the morning to the Martyrs of Uganda Health Center at Sirigu, a village in the district and also the Kassena Nanka East (KNE) Health Centre. This was about 20 minutes’ drive from the center of town. We divided ourselves into two groups to be stationed at both centers. KNE Health Center was however less busy because of the holiday and so we later joined and stayed at Martyrs of Uganda Health Center.
At the Health center, we gave a health talk on our theme and answered questions posed to us by our audience.
We had to help with the clinical work at the Health center since the place was over-crowded and the Medical Assistant at post had not yet arrived. This albeit challenging proved to be very fulfilling.
We returned to Paga for our lunch and rested from the day’s activities.

WEDNESDAY, 22ND SEPTEMBER 2010.
This day turned out quite unexpected yet very eventful and fulfilling. The medical Assistant at post at the Paga Health Center had to attend a meeting and the prescriber nurse was overwhelmed with the number of patients he had to attend to. The team assisted with consultation and clinical work at the health center.
This experience served as an eye-opener to the challenges faced by health workers working with limited resources in Paga and indeed in many parts of the country. The Ghana Health Service should do more to equip these areas and also the MOH should consider improving the infrastructural development in these areas. On our part as medical students, we realized the need to brace ourselves up and encourage our colleagues to accepting posting to some of these areas when we finally graduate as medical doctors.
From ‘work’ the team decided to have some fun today. We traveled on foot to Burkina Faso! We crossed the Ghana-Burkina Faso. In the evening, the team was privileged to meet and interact with the manager of our lodging place, Mr. George Kubuga. We are indeed grateful for your kind words.

THURSDAY, 23RD SEPTEMBER 2010.
On Thursday, the team paid a courtesy calls on the DCE (Hon. Thomas Adda Dalu) in his office. He officially welcome us to the district and we in turn updated him on our activities in the district so far and also outlined the rest of our schedule to him.
For the rest of the day, we were to be stationed at the Kassena-Nankana West Health Center at Chiana. We made the journey late because our vehicle arrived late from another important assignment. By the time we arrived in Chiana, the place was virtually deserted. We introduced ourselves to the staff there and had a brief interaction with them, telling them about our mission and also enquiring about their work. We handed over some educational materials and fliers to them and returned to Paga. Our mission was soon to be over in Kassena Nankana West District.



FRIDAY, 24TH SEPTEMBER 2010.
We left Kub’s lodged very late. We were scheduled to give health talks in one of the basic schools around and also at the mosque around noon time. Although the day started on a rather slow note, this turned out to be the most eventful day. Our first point of call was at the Tedam Junior High School. We went together with Mr. Anthony Kuseh, the District Disease Control Officer and had an interaction with the students and staff of the school for an hour. Here, we highlighted on the importance of hand washing with soap and water and also talked on our theme at length. We also asked students questions about the information we were giving them and in turn answered all their questions. Questions asked included questions about Tuberculosis, Lung cancer and even skin cancer. The headmaster of the school advised the team that some of us should consider coming back to the district after graduation because of the inequality in health worker distribution in the country.
Our next point of call was at the Central Mosque in Paga. Here too, we had a hearty discussion with worshippers after their Friday prayers. We communicated through an Interpreter. We spoke on Tuberculosis, Smoking and Lung cancer and also on H1N1 pandemic flu. Questions asked afterwards gave an indication the message had gone down well with them. There were however concerns about the side effects of the H1N1 vaccine. An issue about the vaccine causing death in some people was raised. We however tried our possible best to disabuse their minds on some of these. To this effect, we believe a little more education is needed since some people’s mind have been abused about the potential threat/ side effects of the vaccine.
A day with the crocodiles again was worth the trip. We went to the second pond at Zenga, still in Paga. It was here that we saw the biggest of these friendly creatures (At least, very friendly in Paga!)

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
From our interactions within the community especially at various health centers, we realized the public had some knowledge on what Tuberculosis (TB) is, what causes it, etc. Knowledge on other lung diseases such as Pneumonia, Asthma, etc was however not adequate. We reinforced the knowledge they already had and also explicated on the various diseases they had questions about.
A very encouraging observation made was the good health seeking behavior of the people of Kassena-Nankana. Reportage to the hospital was quite encouraging and it was very remarkable that almost all the patients seen at the health centers we visited were on the National Health Insurance Scheme. The NHIA, Public Health Service and the district officials as a whole deserves commendation on this note.
Obesity is never a problem to grapple with here in Kassena-Nankana West District. Most inhabitants own bicycles and most are also engaged in Farming or other activities that involved some form of physical exertion. The people generally seemed hard-working. It appears this could account for the single case of diabetes in only one obese patient we saw during our entire stay in the district.
Worthy of mentioning is the fact that the whole district lacks the services of a resident medical doctor. Looking at the service burden, it would be appropriate to have a resident medical doctor. This will lessen the number of referrals made to the Navrongo Hospital especially when most of the patients referred to the Navrongo Hospital defer because of various reasons chief among which is the distance and also the wherewithal to do so. This challenged us to consider and also encourage our colleagues to accept posting to areas like Kassena-Nankana West and the many other places in the country that are under-resourced in terms of healthcare personnel such as medical doctors.

RECOMMENDATIONS
To the organizers of National Health Week (FGMSA), more educational materials should be provided as these aids in disseminating information. Visual aids could be employed in the campaigning to make it more interactive and meaningful. Monies given for contingencies and Transportation were inadequate.
To the district health management team and district assembly, it appears the district is doing quite well in servicing the health needs of her citizenry. We were particularly impressed with efforts to make expansion works at the Paga Health Center and also the plan to build a district hospital. The Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and all stakeholders in health should support this noble gesture for the good of the district.
Support for a program such as National Health Week is proof of the concern of district officials to educating the people of the district. We commend the district and recommend that future health promotion activities be encouraged since our interaction revealed a lot of people were still ignorant about some of the common health problems in our communities. The district itself could organize some of these programs and sensitize the people on some pertinent health problems. World Health Day celebrations such as World Heart Day, World Diabetes Day, World TB day, World No Smoking Day could be used to raise awareness on these health problems. The power of the mass media cannot be over-emphasized and the Public Health Service could employ this medium as a means of education by way of health programs on local radio stations in the local dialects.


APPRECIATION
Our most sincere and heartfelt gratitude goes to the almighty God for the guidance and protection throughout our journey here and also throughout our period of stay.
We are very grateful to Mrs. Vida Abaseka, District Director of Health Services for the warm reception and also for her able leadership in managing the affairs at Kasenna-Nankana West District. We will never forget the concern and the warm smile. Thank you and God richly bless you.
Also to the District Chief Executive, Mr. Thomas Adda Dalu. We are indebted to you for accepting to host us in your district for this program. You made us understand your doors were always open to us. Fortunately or unfortunately, we did not have to walk in through the door to your office again because we had a wonderful treatment by your people and had no cause to ever complain. Thank you very much for your commitment to your people.
To our very own father in Paga, Mr. Anthony Kuseh – Disease Control Officer, we say Daddy, God bless you richly. For your tolerance and cooperation, we will miss you a lot in Accra.
Also to Mr. Stephen Putiereh, driver at the District Health Authority and our chauffeur thanks for the time and the education about the places you took us around and the friendliness too. God reward your efforts.
Our appreciation also goes to Mr. George Kubuga, Augustine, Patience and the entire staff of KUB’s lodge. You made our stay one to remember for a long time to come. Thanks for the sumptuous meals too.
Our appreciation is never complete without mention of the numerous other people who helped in one way or the other in making our mission complete. And also o the entire inhabitants of Kassena-Nankana West, thank you very much for receiving us and may God kindly reward your efforts. God bless you all.

Presentations

Presentations

BACK THROUGH THE YEARS…

“So tell us; why do you want to be a doctor?”
“I have an unquenchable passion to help people and also to save lives, I am hoping that when given the opportunity, I will make good use of my passion and knowledge to help save lives.”
Hold on! That wasn’t my answer to that question! What if it were?
Well, this was the most interesting answer she had heard in years sitting on numerous panels to interview prospective medical students. That is according to the dean of the Medical School. I can clearly remember how much our lecturers used to tease us about this after we got admitted and started complaining about the long hours of lectures and study.
Looking back now, I can understand why it was so amusing to them. In their eyes, statements such as this one were made out of ignorance of what laid ahead of us.
Six years of medical school in this part of the world has given me a lot of experience to understand what my senior colleagues have gone through and also what to expect after medical school; a lot of challenging circumstances and lots of limitations and frustrations. Ironically, it also promises a lot of fun, successes with limited resources and a totally wonderful experience too!
A lot of changes; some good, others bad! Sum it all up and it makes that unique and wonderful experience!! Today is exactly four years after hearing news of my admission to the medical school; ‘the crème de la crème of the country’. That is what they called us. That also makes it exactly six years and 3 days after stepping foot on the land of Legon as a first year university student. Then, only 19 years of age.
From cutting open dead bodies(Cadaver) in the anatomy dissection room to injecting frog heart muscle in the physiology laboratory with all sorts of drugs; from trying to understand signal transduction to peeping into the amazing world of microscopic creatures (bacteria, parasites and fungi) and also seeing cells and tissues ‘with eyes of faith’. Those were the times. I can never forget the unique experience of having to wake up around 5am each day to catch the morning bus from Legon to Korle-Bu for lectures and other academic work. The stress, hustle and bustle of standing in the bus when you’re late and sometimes wanting to be gentlemanly, giving up seats for the fairer sex. Such a memory is hard to forget. As I reminisce, tears of fond memories such as these weld up in my eyes. Ooh… I nearly forgot my experiences in the lecture room! I was popular but for one notorious reason; I was only second to a friend who happened to sit by me everyday. Guess what we were culpable of? I was almost always nearly asleep during lectures! Only my seat partner came ahead of me.
Who can also forget the mighty and lowly all struggling to cross the 50% mark? That was all that it took! Cross the line and you are safe… “Either you blow more or you blow less!” perfect description by a late lecturer.
Soon, we moved on, having had a taste of this different life. We found ourselves getting closer to the ‘interesting’ part of the school.
In a blink of an eye, we moved on from the ‘serious side’ of the school to the ‘interesting side’. Suddenly, we were beginning to look like doctors! Carrying the tool of the profession with us wherever we went, the experience of talking to and examining patients. At first, this was a challenging yet thrilling experience. Then this became a boring cliché at least for me. Having my rotation in the department of medicine got me a little burnt out too; having to clerk a patient today and wondering where your patient was taken the day was not a pleasant experience at all. It was only a matter time and this was to pass too.
Seeing one year group after the other graduate fills you with joy and sorrow at the same time. Joy for your senior colleagues, sorrow for yourself. It makes your mind start working on the number of months, weeks and sometimes even days left for you. Sometimes leaving you filled with so many uncertainties about what lies ahead of you.
Today, I look back and I smile with caution. Cautious smile because there are still mountains to climb on the way. I have surmounted many already but I am yet to climb two of the steepest on the road. I smile cautiously yet confidently! Confidently and gratefully. Gratefully and humbly. I look forward with hope knowing that I have a greater story than this one to write one day. I am grateful to God for today, I have always counted these days and in each of them, I have counted His blessings, sustenance and guiding hand. He provided a way for me and led me on. He planted my feet on a high and promised to let the streams flow from a height. He promised sufficient grace and He hasn’t relented on this and he will not. All I ever am and ever want to be…
Through the struggles through the pain, the period of ‘want’ and dry seasons, through the darkness and the foggy days, I have always felt his faithfulness to me. Reminiscing through those times reminds me of the story of a certain young man.
He loved butterflies as a child naturally as his mother had influenced his early years. Soon he was married and with child on the way. One day while returning from work, he chanced upon a cocoon along the way. He picked it up, wrapped it up in his handkerchief and sent it home. He placed the cocoon in a clear glass jar and covered it with a rubber and made holes in the rubber. He then placed it on a height to keep it safe from the prying eyes of his cat. One fine morning, he saw the creature struggling and shaking violently. The shaking became more intense and the young man thought he had to intervene now. He took out his Swiss Army Knife and cut a slit through the cocoon to release its wings. The cocoon came out, open and spread out it wings, circled around the edge of the bottle and stayed at the same place to the young man’s disappointment. He consulted his neighbor who was a local biology teacher and narrated the ordeal to him. The neighbor smiled and said to him. That was the cause of it.
“You see” He went on “It is the struggling that builds up the energy needed to fly.” That is all the man said to this neighbor.
The butterfly could not fly away because it didn’t build up enough energy to fly off. Sometimes we complain too much and we look for easy ways out. We may not have the best of everything, we may struggle at one time or the other even in our Christian walk of faith. We should not forget what the Holy Scriptures tells us in James 1:2 - 4; “Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into various temptations, knowing that the proving of your faith works endurance. But let endurance have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
It’s been and awesome experience for me and I praise God for everything.
Thanks for reading and I hope you lack nothing!!!


Catholic Hymnal 412
Green pastures are before me,
Which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o'er me,
Where the dark clouds have been;
My hope I cannot measure,
My path to life is free;
My savior has my treasure,
And He will walk with me.