Sharing love and compassion

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you so much for supporting me on my trip to Ghana. My team and I were able to make a difference in individual’s lives because of your support. This letter is not only to thank you but also to inform you of the good works that we were able to accomplish in Ghana on your behalf:

Our studentsworked with alongside members from the Ghanaian LLIMED clinic to create a mobile clinic that traveled to a different village each day. In each village we were able to provide free medical care to over 200 people. In total, we saw over 1,000 people in five days. The responsibilities of our team included taking vitals (blood pressure, pulse, and temperature), gathering patient histories and chief complaints. We also staffed the medication table and rotated working with the doctors.

When we arrived to the clinics every morning, there was already a huge mass of people waiting to be seen. After registration, patients would get their vitals taken and histories recorded with one of our team members. The patients then continued on to wait in line for a doctor. We had on average three doctors working with us each day. The doctors saw the patients and diagnosed them based off of the chief complaints and visual markers of an illness. These doctors would prescribe medication for the illness that the patients later received from the medication table. Some of the most common illnesses that we saw were malaria, infections, parasites and arthritis.

One of the most meaningful parts of the trip for me was to reflect on the impact that we were making in people’s lives. We understand that clinics like ours cannot be the only solution to the Ghanaian healthcare problems since many of the problems involving the healthcare system are due to lack of medical knowledge in the villages. For example, many patients are unaware that constant farming creates body pain, a bloody stool can be a sign of an intestinal problem, or the importance of a varied diet. While we able to treat many common Ghanaian illnesses at the clinic, we also saw a lot of patients that required further care in a hospital. I felt that one of the most significant things we accomplished in Ghana was to send people to a hospital who were unaware of the significance of their symptoms. Ghana has hospitals that are located in major cities. However, most of the population is rural farmers who do not have the means and time to go to the hospital for every problem. When they visit clinics such as ours, they are told when they need to go to the hospital for surgery and further testing.

We were able to provide free medication to everyone who came to the clinic. Medication was most often prescribed for infections, parasites, malaria, and body pains. Some of the most important medications that we provided were foreign concepts to us coming from America; some of the most often prescribed medications were de-wormers and anti-malaria medications. . We would not have been able to help so many people with these ailments if it were not for your help. This trip has impacted so many people and will continue to run in the future. One of the ways that our team is working towards sustainability is by gathering data on which medications were frequently prescribed in the villages. With this information, the team next year will be able to provide the appropriate amounts of medication in to help maximize our impact.

The people in Ghana whom we saw were incredibly touched and grateful that people in the United States had come. The orphanage that we visited loved all the toys that were donated. The impact we made in Ghanaian lives was often a direct result from interactions demonstrating that we cared about them. We were not alone in this. I was only able to show love and compassion because you have demonstrated it to me and have taught me how to love and care for all people. Everyone that we interacted with felt your love and support. I hope that the pictures that I have attached can help you understand how many people you helped. I could talk about Ghana and my experiences over there for days so please feel free to call, email or facebook me so I can tell you more stories. Thank you so much for supporting this cause. 

Love,

Keegan