Chad celebrations
A BMS-supported hospital in Chad is officially opened
BMS doctors Andrea and Mark Hotchkin describe the opening of Guinebor II Hospital in Chad – a special day that included mountains of doughnuts, the arrival of a government minister and a sudden birth!
It’s 7am on Thursday 13 January and there is no sign of the chairs and carpet gazebos which were due to arrive at 6 am so that all could sit in comfort for the official opening.
It’s only 14 degrees but by 11.00 it will be nearer 30 degrees and it’s difficult to be without shade. It’s prayer time at the staff meeting; the nurses are excited all with fancy hairstyles and makeup. It’s time for last-minute cleaning and tidying.
The choir arrive but we don’t have a cable long enough to plug in to the electricity, so they have to move all their equipment to the other side of the walkway. We need to find batteries for the microphone so the speeches can be heard.
It’s now 8.30 and there are still no chairs, so we get out every chair and bench in the hospital and arrange them in the sun. It’s not enough, so we get the mats and chairs from our houses as well not to mention the settee for the minister.
Meanwhile, the big block of beef (30 kg) has at last begun to defrost and an army of cooks are at work for a second day.
Yesterday mountains of doughnuts were made enough to fill a dustbin; today it’s cutting potatoes and grilling them over an open fire.
The gate opens and there’s medical work to do – a lady arrives in labour and gives birth within minutes. All is well.
Now its 9.30. There is half an hour to go and with all the guests arriving, suddenly we have chairs as well. They had been in use for the celebrations of Chad’s 50th anniversary of independence that finished the evening before. Things are rearranged for the third occasion and gazebos put up in record time.
We can seat our 150 guests, including the TV, radio, embassy staff and all the local chiefs and, within moments, all is ready for the unexpected arrival of the health minister (see right) (fortunately not too busy to come after the week’s celebrations).
She arrives with an armed escort, nothing subtle bulging in the pocket but a Kalashnikov held loosely for all to see. The choir sings to praise God for what has been done, and speeches are made in French and Arabic.
The ribbon is cut, the hospital visited and with Coca Cola and plates of grilled meat, potatoes, dates and doughnuts passed around, the hospital is officially open.
The next day, Friday, is normally quiet but we have double the number of patients because they saw us on TV!
We are excited to be serving the Chadians as we have been planning for so long. Whilst BMS has only been working in Chad for the past year, our partner CEF has been following a vision for a hospital in Chad that began with a small group of friends in 2002.
Babies are being born under safe conditions, a few operations have been done and, with prayer and our limited resources, we have cured some very sick children.
The needs are great and we have much to do with our young nurses and organisation of the services but we thank God for his guidance and assistance as we seek to meet the needs of our local and not-so-local population.
20/01/2011