It's nice to see the seasons changing in Africa. Until now I never spent enough time in one place to see this actually happening. In July the long rainy season started for which we were warned by several heavy storms...and when I say heavy, I really mean HEAVY - read as: your room is flooded the next morning. This was followed by long days of grey skies and soft, but long lasting rains. I will not elaborate on my frustration about the decision not to allow us cycling during this season. There is definitely a correlation between my mental health and the amount of kilometers done on my bike.
This week the treatment centre in Bo opened and has already seen 32 patients passing, of which several died quickly. The team has also been faced with difficult social consequences of the disease. A baby of 1,5 years old was brought to the centre but turned out to be negative. You would say, she is lucky, but she has lost both her parents and has no one to return to. And how can you comfort a baby like that wearing a spaceman suit? We are doing what we can in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, but it is very sad to see that the worst is yet to come.
I used to write long emails to friends and family about strange situations in the forest, working for conservation organizations. It helped to get it of my chest and to have a reality check with what the outside world was like. It was a life saver as taking Lariam for too long resulted in completely becoming paranoid and accepting situations that turned out to be unacceptable: it seemed almost normal being held hostage in the village or having to climb a tree because it is not safe to spent the night alone on the ground in the middle of the forest after being abandoned by your, again drunken, guides.
I didn't do that this time in Sierra Leone...maybe I accept my way of living, and other people also don't email me weekly with their daily adventures. Thank God there is Facebook!
As I am writing this, a big storm is roaring outside and it is actually quite calming, a bit like a winter evening back home. I think I am ready for hibernation...
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| Construction of Bo Case Management Centre, Sierra Leone, 2014 |
