Medical visit in the tropical forest.

Early Thursday morning, the Landrover, already well loaded, arrives at the dental clinic to pick up Henry and Wannie and all the dental material for this excursion. They load everything on the roof and it's off for more than 10 hours of driving. The privileged ones - of which I am part - go to the small airport of the city on Friday morning. There, a helicopter is waiting for us! For us, the 10 hours of driving are transformed into 1 hour of flight. What a grace! We fly over the city of Monrovia and its surroundings, the beach and then, little by little, the forest, the forest and only the forest. Where do people live? No road? But what do they live on? And what do they do in case of a life-threatening emergency? For them, no helicopter, no ambulance and no hospital.

Patients waiting for their turn.

In the village

When we arrive in Gbadiya (Click to see the village on a map), a crowd is there, at the edge of the small soccer field. They welcome us with songs and dances "Glory to God, he has brought you to us!", their faces are lit up. The Landrover group and the villagers have already prepared everything: the small village church is transformed into a clinic! Hundreds of patients are already waiting for their turn, wisely under the mango tree. On our side, we can quickly get to work. Henry takes care of the sterilization of the instruments (with pressure!) while Wannie and I do the extractions. No suction, no drill, no chair for the dentists, no fan, no water to rinse the mouth... We have to adapt. But the most important thing is to move forward, we have people who need our care.

Heat

The heat is painful. I'm dripping all over... even my hands are sticking out in sweaty gloves! During this time, the village is a real ant-hill: the pastors pray for and with the patients, they help left and right so that the emergencies can be seen in priority. Some get their eyesight tested, others come to see the pediatrician for their children, others come to see a doctor. Pregnant women, too, line up to see a doctor. At the pharmacy, everyone is waiting patiently for their turn, will we have medicine for everyone? At the end of the day, we send back the last ones who arrived. The news has spread to the neighboring villages. Come back tomorrow morning! The evening is mild. Moses Paye, pastor and organizer of these excursions, gathers our team to debrief. What went well? And what needs to be improved? The discussion is lively and constructive.

Second day

The sun rises on the village, at 7:30 am there are already many people under the mango tree. After a small service for all, we get to work. We know that the helicopter will arrive at 2pm. The departure approaches. The results are positive: We have seen more than 600 patients in total, extracted 60 teeth, saved the life of a 4 year old boy who had not eaten for days, talked about Jesus to people who did not know him. Joy, gratitude and recognition are mixed with a feeling of melancholy, helplessness and injustice. And what about the 23 year old woman who can no longer walk? And those young girls who are pregnant in spite of themselves? These patients who arrived too late... I admire them. And I give them to God.

Melvina

PS: Here is a link to a video, but in French ;)