Sunday, March 27, 2011

Redemption

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Mass screening #2.  At 14.00 on Friday, March 25th a group of 9 of us, including the Ship Security Officer, left the Africa Mercy to head to the site where the screening would take place the following morning.  We arrived at the site to find very few people already there and were able to take our time unpacking our gear from the rig and setting up 'camp' as we would be staying overnight.  We also took a few minutes to figure out radio call signs for each other.

We split off in a few different directions to tackle various tasks and begin setup of the line.  This time the line setup was along a roadside with a wide shoulder so there wasn't room for a mass of people to gather in one area.  Also, there weren't already a bunch of people who had claimed a space so establishing the line went incredibly smoothly.  In no time we had a single file line established with everyone sitting and no sense of tension or stress.

Some laminated posters had already been prepared (thanks to whoever did that) so that we could show people what kinds of things we treated and we were able, from the beginning, to ask quite a lot of people to leave the line as they were there for things that we couldn't treat.

At 17.15 I went to our field kitchen to prep a simple supper and get some hot chow into the guys as they came in shifts to eat.  I then re-assumed my post on the line and we all generally had a great time chatting with people as they joined the line.  It certainly wasn't easy to say no to people and turn them away but it kept the line much shorter and kept them from the frustration of waiting all night just to be told no in the morning when they finally made it to the beginning of the line.

We rotated out every so often to grab something to drink and use the bathroom or just sit for a few minutes to give our feet a break.  Then it was back to the line.  There were a few minor incidents of people who needed to be told a bit more forcefully that they couldn't stay in the line because we couldn't help them or would try to tell one of the other guys why they were there in hopes of being told they could stay but no one we saw was belligerent or angry, just disappointed.

At some point all of us started to drag a bit as the night wore on but for me, and most of us I think, our desire to see this through as a counterpoint to the tragedy and frustration of the first screening kept us going.  At 02.00 the Off Ship Programs team arrived on scene to assist and give us a chance to have a break.  We regrouped as a team for some coffee (thanks Tracy) and to have our team leader (call sign Papa Smurf) read us a story (thanks Sam for bringing Green Eggs and Ham along).  Shockingly the ex Special Forces Security Officer didn't actually read us the story but did appreciate the joke.

A little after 04.00 the rest of the security team showed up to help with the line and set up stations inside the screening compound.  

After a bit of a break we went back out to work the lines with the Off Ship Programs team.  The line started to pick up around 05.00 and the Off Ship team did an awesome job of keeping it single file and pre-screening people.

I was partnered with one of the guys (call sign 'Baloo') and we were stationed at the head of the line to keep things flowing nicely and ensure the head of the line didn't surge forward as groups were brought up to the medical screening team.  I was called away to assist at the back at one point as things got a bit unruly but that settled down quickly and I rejoined Baloo at the front.  One of the nurses came out (thanks Becca) and did an amazing job of doing further pre-screening the thin the lines even more.

After the lines opened at 07.00 everything went absolutely great.  We reached the end of the line by 08.30.  The medical staff, both outside the gate and in, did an amazing job as did the other volunteers who had come to pray with people we couldn't help and escort patients from station to station.

Those of us who had been there overnight left at around 09.30 to head back to the ship as the rest of the screening team registered the patients inside the compound.  A huge thanks to Lourens who drove us back and did an awesome job, especially as none of us were in any condition to be driving after 30+ hours without sleep.  We arrived back on the Africa Mercy exhausted, dirty, and incredibly grateful of the experience and God's goodness and redemption.

1 comment:

  1. Ah, redemption it is....was your call sign "Shrek"???? :D

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