Hello from Chad and welcome to my first blog of 2016. I arrived safely with all of my luggage on 7th
January and had the first week and a bit to unpack and settle into my house on the
compound here at Guinebor II Hospital.
That first week also enabled me to say hello to my Chadian work
colleagues, 90% of whom are the same as when I was here last time. It has been really good to see them all again. By far my best welcome back was from my
pharmacy colleague Elisabeth who greeted me with a big smile, lots of whooping,
then gave me the biggest hug possible and proceeded to lift me up and down
three times!! Other staff asked after my
family and a lot of people told me, with a big encouraging smile, that I had
gained weight! This is most definitely
not an insult, weight gain is seen as a good thing here as it means you’re
eating well and are being well looked after.
So I’ve been here for 4 weeks now but to be honest it feels
a lot longer. In a weird way it feels
like the 22 months since I left never happened.
They obviously most definitely did, and I learned a lot in those 22
months, but I think that because the UK/France and Chad are so vastly different,
it’s like they’re two completely different worlds. I’ve left my ‘Europe world’ and re-entered my
‘Chad world’ and it feels like I’m just continuing on from March 2014. It’s an odd feeling in a way but also
strangely comforting. I’ve not got to
learn how to live here as I’ve done it before.
I’ve had to relearn my way into town along the dirt tracks though, as
numerous buildings have been built in Guinebor and the surrounding area since I
left, some of which are built where the ‘road’ used to be! Some of the shops in town have moved. Some of the shops I used to buy things in are
now more expensive than others that used to be on the pricier-side. The internet infrastructure is much
better. The airport has been completely
renovated. More roads in town are
tarred. Apart from all that, N’Djamena
is pretty much how I left it in 2014.
The pharmacy team is still the same and seem to be doing a
great job. It’s been good to get
re-acquainted with them and share news.
 |
| With pharmacy colleagues |
My role here at the hospital is still evolving but I am
currently doing some hospital personnel management (cue a steep learning curve
of Chadian employment law, in French obviously), as well as having supervisory
oversight of the pharmacy and the lab.
There’s a lot involved in keeping the hospital running, as I’m beginning
to find out!
However it’s always good to remind myself why I’m here and
it’s to contribute to the provision of high quality compassionate health care
for our many patients.
 |
| Some of the day's patients and relatives |
It’s been a good first month, I know I’m where I’m meant to
be. I am really noticing my improved
level of French, thanks to my studies at Les Cèdres. I am loving the perpetual
blue sky and temperatures of a ‘chilly’ 17C in the mornings and highs of
25C. (I’m enjoying it whilst it lasts!). I’d forgotten exactly how dry Chad is. With a humidity of just 10%, my heels cracked
in the first week as I forgot the need to douse them with lotion!
I’ll leave you with a picture I quickly snapped the other
evening out in Guinebor II on my way home.
I love African sunsets!
 |
| Sunset at Guinebor II |
