What a day! Up and out of the house by 7am and on the road to Sasstown Clinic in Bomi County. We had to take two cars today, so Shelly, Tony & Marilyn went in one car with the driver Bob Harris and we went with Gretchen, Dr. Sanvee and driver Ghana Boy in another one. We arrived before the clinic people did and as we were waiting they sang songs, had devotions, and gave a health talk, which seems to be a common theme at most hospitals and clinics.
Eventually we turned off the pavemnent and headed down a VERY bumpy road for about 25 miles, which took us about 2 hours. Arriving in Robertsport, we found that the hospital we were looking for was up a very rough road and we decided not to attempt it. Instead we headed down to the beach to Nanna’s Lodge, which was a group of platform tents that at one time were used by vacationers and is now abandoned. Finally we got to see the ocean that we have been hearing over our big fence back at the bungalow. It was beautiful. There were dugouts and fisherman pulling in their nets filled with fish. It was very picturesque. Pulling ourselves away we drove further down the beach in search of a woman by the name of Christy who has a program called Strongheart Foundation that is a groundbreaking healing and learning guidance program designed to help bright, resilient children from extremely challenging circumstances develop into compassionate, innovative problem –solvers and leaders that can affect significant social change. It was a beautiful, large two story house that is being renovated by the foundation, with bedrooms, bathrooms (no plumbing yet, but toilets and water to dump in to flush) and a nice kitchen set up. The best part was a huge covered balcony on the second story that overlooked the beach and ocean. If you didn’t know better, you would think you were at a lovely hotel enjoying the cool Atlantic breezes on a tropical vacation. Let me back up, the part that I personally enjoyed the most was holding a sweet little three month old girl named Corrie Rose the whole time we were there. When we went out on the porch there were two girls minding her. They were on the internet and she was fussing. The girls had her stuffed in a cardboard box with blankets. They are part of a seven member family whom the director brought over from the refugee camp in Ghana (all children – their father was killed in the war and their mother died in the camp). Corrie Rose is the daughter of one of the girls. Anyway, anytime I get to hold a baby it is a special moment.
Next we were off to find a place to have our picnic, back to the VERY bumpy road and down several miles of road to the shores of Lake Piso, which is a very large lake that empties into the Atlantic. Dr. Sanvee had us pull off to a site by the lake that had several round gazebo looking buildings which she said probably belonged to someone that used it as a vacation spot. In essence we were squatters. We enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches (ham, cheese, pickles and unidentified sauce – rolled up in a large pita looking bread thing), Pringles, peanuts and some digestive biscuits. Also, we had a cooler of Coke, Fanta, beer and water, which we stopped along the road and bought ice for from a street vendor. The breeze was nice, as the heat was somewhat stifling. While we were eating a man came up in a dugout canoe and tried to sell us his catch of fish. Dr. Sanvee asked what they were and then told him she did not like that kind. He got back in his boat and paddled away.
Once again we were bumping along, heading towards Monrovia when in our car the smell of hot brakes overcame us and we insisted the driver stop and check it out. Luckily, we were on a part of the road that had a rural village right across from it called Fandoh and the children were all getting out of school. It wasn’t long before we drew a crowd while the drivers worked on the truck. They asked where we were from and before you know it, they were singing for us and then we were singing together. They knew “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, ABC Song, and “Head, Shoulder, Knees &Toes”. We really enjoy their singing and clapping and when we see children we always ask them if they will sing for us.
After stopping at the supermarket, we didn’t return home until 7pm. It was a long day and by the time we had dinner, everyone was ready for bed.
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