Africa Journal Day 8

Saturday, April 30, 2005
Day 8
Mkar Guesthouse
Our time in Mkar is drawing to a close this morning; John Orkar, whom I have known since the early ‘70s from our time in Halifax where he was studying for his PhD, will be picking us up this morning for a few days in Jos, before moving on to Cameroon. Jos is about 4000 ft above sea level, thus cooler. I am hoping we might even find a pool there! There used to be a pool close by here, at the Benue Cement Company’s expatriate staff housing complex, but the whole place was run down. They are making cement again, and the living quarters are being renovated.
Yesterday morning I gave a short talk at the morning hospital chapel service, usually attended by all staff and students. It’s quite a crowd all told, probably 200 people. My words were to encourage them and to challenge them to raise the bar a notch. Andrew and I then had a tour of NKST Rehabilitation Hospital (former BLS). Here most of the trauma, stroke and polio cases are rehabilitated. They also treat some sports injuries; a professional soccer player was there for treatment of his knee. I was really impressed by Fidelis Iyor, the physiotherapist-very personable with a genuine desire to improve his skills in order to help his patients. I asked him about cases of chronic pain, which if you look for, you will find. Many of them suffer silently. I also met a nurse with training in mental health, who is part of a community based mental health project. I quizzed him about the common mental conditions he encounters, mostly schizophrenia but very little depression or bipolar illness.
For lunch yesterday, we joined the Heads of Departments of Mkar Hospital. I encouraged them, and challenged them to think long range, and plan not only for the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but also to address the rising incidence of high blood pressure and diabetes. I saw far more obesity now, then twenty years ago, I am sure from increased use of vehicles as opposed to walking. They also expressed their appreciation for our coming and help, and honoured us with a gift of traditional Tiv dress.
As I reflect of our week in Tivland, several things stand out:
· Hospitality of the people. As I expressed my gratitude for their hospitality, one of the hospital staff said, "Hospitality is Africa’s second name."
· Respect for seniority, authority and elderhood. I saw very little evidence of teenage rebellion, and when asking some university students about drugs, they said there is some hemp (cannabis) and cocaine, but it doesn’t appear to be a major problem. I remember seeing cases of hemp induced psychosis. I didn’t see much alcohol consumption either, although there probably will be today at the weekly Mkar market. A local brew was also popular there.
· Secure maternal-infant attachments. Babies sleep with, and are virtually inseparable from their mothers, until weaned. I have a theory that this secure attachment helps them with their resilience to difficulty and the lack of depression. Recent neurodevelopment research bears this out. Children are highly valued in this culture.
· Emphasis on relationships. I already commented on how relationships, looking after your extended family, and taking time to relate supersede most other things. With a paucity of TVs, early darkness (about 6:30 pm year-round), people spend their evenings talking, telling stories, playing games and enjoying each other. From what we know about the importance of relationships to health, I am sure this contributes to their resilience.
· Spirituality. These people are very spiritual and the church is thriving; everywhere you drive or walk, you see another church. Their approach to their faith is much more holistic than in the West, and some of my friends here like Terkegh, Achir, and Peter Dzawua, are men of integrity and maturity, whom I deeply respect.
Things are far from perfect here, though. The rich keep getting richer, while the poor get poorer. As all over the world, greed still feeds corruption. The advent of plastic wrapping is wreaking havoc with the environment as non-compostable garbage piles up all over the place.
I am grateful for our first week. Time with these people has enriched mine, and my relationship with my Creator. It has been so rewarding to see the fruit of our labours of our years here from 1979 to 1985.

Africa Journal Day 5 & 6

Day 5
Mkar Guesthouse

Tuesday, April 26th was a wonderful day in our lives—seeing Andrew revisit his birthplace was very touching. We have pictures of him standing on the very spot where he was born, and we have talked to nurses who were present at his birth. People see him as one of their own.

Andrew is getting more used to the culture today—yesterday was overload for him. After sleeping and getting a feel for the importance of relationships in this culture, I think he is rather enjoying his time. Achir showed him around the village, and will climb Mkar Mountain with him tomorrow.

I did my first clinic today at the hospital and am starting to get a feel of the prevalence of the conditions that interest me from a research perspective. Depression continues to be very rare, and antidepressants are rarely prescribed. Suicide is also rare; my friend Terkegh knows of one completed suicide. Chronic pain is also relatively rare compared to home, and this hospital does not stock opioid pain killers.

After clinic today, we visited Terkegh’s compound and met all his family; he has four lovely children. We had our first feed of ruam, which I enjoyed more than Andrew. Then back to Gboko to post yesterday’s blog. Today, the Internet Café was like stepping into another world; the air conditioning was working, and for a moment, reading Cathy’s email put me back home. Technology can shrink time and space,

This evening visitors kept streaming by our room. I had a long chat with a dear friend, Peter Dzawua; he and his wife head up a Christian ministry that is impacting many lives. He said that people here are very open to faith, and are not embracing secularism as we see in the West. And Member, who frequently babysat Andrew as a baby, stopped by with her own family of five children. Her husband was just recently elected into civic politics.

All in all, a pretty full day; haven’t had much time for reading. I am thankful for the opportunity to be encourage local leaders to persevere. Speaking of perseverance, two staff I saw today deserve medals for longevity of serving—a nurse who heads up the Under Five’s Clinic, still serving at age 80, and an Operating Room technician, still there at age 90!


Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Day 6
Mkar Guesthouse

Andrew and I are sitting on the veranda at the guesthouse enjoying a rain. The wonderful thing about rain in rainy season is that it only lasts an hour, and everything cools down. Today was desperately hot and muggy; almost too much for me, not having had time yet to acclimatize. No one has a thermometer around here to actually document the temperature, but I suspect it is mid to high thirties, with high humidity.

Andrew climbed Mkar Mountain this morning with Achir; they hoped to see some monkeys that are known to hangout there, but didn’t. I had a full clinic day, and had my first face-to-face encounter with the African AIDS epidemic. Three of the people we saw yesterday tested positive; all were in the prime of life, and are likely to have several years of suffering before succumbing to their illness. I think I can already start to spot them. We will see a lot more AIDS in Malawi, where Dave and Joy Schellenberg work with AIDS orphans.

Supper today was with Rev. Joshua Yakubo, an American trained PhD in theology who is currently working on a translation revision of the Tiv Bible. He reminded me of the time I treated him for typhoid fever in the early 80’s, something I had completely forgotten.

The thing about Tiv culture that stands out the most is that these people are so relational—stopping to greet a friend or relative is more important than anything else. For example, we were riding back from Gboko last evening with a physiotherapist who works in a sister rehabilitation hospital (former BLS), when he saw a lawyer friend along the road. So he stops on the road in the middle of heavy traffic to say hi. Others seem to understand and just go with the flow. Everybody greets everybody. I suspect the reason for some of the resilience that we see is because of the strong social network these people have. My other theory is that the value placed on children here, stands them in good stead later. I can’t prove that, but I hope to demonstrate an association.

The highlight of my day was having a few moments with the student nurse helping me in clinic today; she had some spiritual struggles and questions, which I trust I was able to help her with through counsel and prayer.
We’re expecting Terkegh back shortly to take us to Gboko to check our emails and post my blogs. If you are following along, please send us an email to havisser@wholenessfc.com I would love you hear from you.

Africa Journal Day 4

Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Day 4
Mkar Guesthouse, 6:00 am
I am sitting on the porch of our guesthouse, after awakening to the sounds of roosters and chickens. Someone is sweeping the night’s leaves and debris from their compound across the way. The power is still off after the electrical storm of last evening. I was napping yesterday, when the wind blew up, followed by the heavy downpour and thunder, so typical of rainy season. Unfortunately, NEPA, the national power grid is still very vulnerable to electrical storms. But our guesthouse is wired to the hospital generator that ran until 10:00 pm.
What an incredible day yesterday was! Andrew slept off his jet lag most of the day, but I was far too excited to sleep. I wept as I embraced my dear friend Terkegh Tsegba (James), who had kept up a long-distance relationship with me for twenty years. We chatted at the guesthouse, and later he and his wife Dooshima, took me to Gboko (the next major town) to email Cathy and post my blogs. On the way back, we picked up some “take-out”—fired yams with pepper sauce, and a type of rice cake with roasted (and peppered) beef. Andrew was awake enough to enjoy it with us as we reminisced and shared together at the guesthouse. Terkegh has a memory as sharp as a tack (he picks people out of pictures that who names I long forgot).
Several heart-warming moments standout this morning as I reflect. Some of the children and nursing students whom we invested time in twenty to twenty-five years ago, are now leaders and doing what they can for their community, and their church. Achir is one such young man. We have a picture of him holding Andrew, when he was eight, and Andrew was a baby. Achir dropped by last night; he is married, is working with youth through Boy’s Brigade, and his big smile speaks volumes of his joy. Another moment was earlier in the evening when a man, in his middle years, had a group of children around him. I watched them from a distance. Later, I found out that he has a passion for youth ministry, and this was a “catechism class.” I was struck by the children’s respect for him, and the rapport he obviously had with the kids.

Africa journal

Saturday, April 23, 2005
Day 1
Halifax Airport Departure Lounge
Packing for this trip to Africa with Andrew has elicited all kinds of mixed emotions—from excitement to revisit Andrew’s birthplace with him, to sadness leaving Cathy and Nathan for five weeks (the longest Cathy and I ever have been separated since we started dating in 1973). Memories swirled as we dug out pictures of our time in Nigeria from 1979 to1985, and on the drive to the airport, Cathy read me her journal of a trip we made to Kenya in 1982, one of the fondest vacations we have ever had. One that Andrew and I will retrace on our return journey to Canada.
When Cathy and I first went to Africa in 1979, we were just kids, but full of ideals and passions to serve humanity through medical missions. Now, in midlife, and with Nathan graduating from High School, we are poised for a new season of life. I wonder how African culture will impact me this time. I’d like to dig a little deeper under the surface, not only to understand African culture, but also to gain a better view of our own, and where it’s headed. And to get a bitter grip on the upward spiral of ADHD and mood disorders we face.
I brought some good reading material to stimulate my midlife thinking, No Time by Heather Menzies, and The 8th Habit by Stephen Covey. Will get started on the flight to Toronto, where I will meet Andrew coming from Calgary, and have a short visit with my nephew David from Belleville.

Sunday, April 24, 2005
Day 2
Heathrow Airport, London
My flight to Toronto last night was uneventful and it was good to see Andrew who had arrived an hour earlier from Calgary. We had a short visit with David before going through security and awaited our overnight British Airways flight to London. Transatlantic flights from west to east leave you with a short night, and maybe an hour or two of poor quality sleep. So we are feeling it today. And we have another overnight flight to Nigeria tonight, so we’ll be wiped tomorrow!
We did make use of our twelve-hour layover by taking in some of the London sights—London Tower and St. Paul’s Cathedral. We saw Big Ben in the distance from the top of the double-decker bus, and rode through Trafalgar Square. We walked along a stretch of the River Thames and crossed the Tower Bridge on foot. By then we were too tired to take in Buckingham Palace, so we made our way back to the airport by bus and train. So here we sit.
I do look forward to seeing familiar faces tomorrow. Hope it won’t be too hot to sleep!

Monday, April 25, 2005
Day 3
Mkar Guesthouse, Nigeria
We have arrived and as I write this, Ugudu, our cook is just clearing the lunch dishes off the table. Ugudu spent most of his years cooking for missionaries and he cooked a western style meat and potatoes meal for us. But fresh mangoes for dessert (they are in season!). Andrew is really tired, had a nap after arriving, and just had a cold shower. So he’s perking up a bit. It will soon be time to take a walk around.
The drive this morning from Abuja to Mkar quickly revealed that apart from cell phone towers around the countryside, not much else has changed in twenty years. Ordinary Nigerians still live the same lifestyle as I remember it. The roads this morning were good for the most part, but the driving hasn’t changed a bit. Those of you with experience abroad will know what I mean (beep beep). We passed our former house on the way into Mkar, and it was hardly recognizable. We will take a closer look, and some pictures, on our walk.
For me it’s great to be here. Andrew’s eyes were just a popping on the drive down, so I am sure there’s a bit of culture shock. I am anxious to find out how the Church is doing here, how things are medically, and whether there has been an increase in depression and chronic pain as there has been in the West. As far as I can see, parenting methods haven’t changed.
Looking forward to my first feed of ruam (pounded yams, the Tiv staple).