WEEK THREE IN GHANA

It was our last week in Ghana and the time flew by. Five team members left on Sunday and returned to the US.

The library team continued cataloging books and also wrapping them with a saran type material to preserve them longer. The carpenters were also busy building book shelves so that the next teams prepare the library for use this fall. The dedication of the building will be in January 2011, though the library itself will be in use by early September.

The teaching team did classroom work in the morning and tutored, played ball, soccer and frisbee in the afternoon. The kids especially like the one on one and physical activity in the field in the afternoon. Joyce taught a group of 20 3rd graders at the B. Akoto Primary School in Senchi Ferry. The kids are bright, beautiful, and so motivated. Four or five boys could be found in the classroom during play breaks, eagerly reading new story books. They each made a surprise Christmas card for her as a going away gift, so "you'll remember us when Christmas comes."

The dental clinic continued its steady pace this final week. The team saw over 300 patients during the three weeks with over 400 extractions, 75 fillings, many cleanings, and 35 acrylic tooth appliances. The patients receiving the appliances were especially appreciative since many of them have been without teeth for years. With the many updates of flooring, cupboards, sterilization and storage systems, the clinic is nearing the time when the government will be able to take it into their national health system and provide Ghanean dental staff.

Tonight we make the transition from Ghana to Rome (via Amsterdam), and another project in a couple of weeks.

WEEK TWO IN GHANA

Hello again from Senchi Ferry, Ghana. Week 2 was very active for all team members and the community on a number of fronts. The library team, named the Nerds of Fire, catalogued over 8000 books into the computer and are currently working on a lending plan so books are returned in a timely manner (Joyce was on this team). The outside of the building was painted in a seafoam green with white trim, lending an elegant touch to the community landscape. Book shelves were painted in preparation for placement in the coming week.


The dental clinic also made great strides this week. A new tile floor was placed, new storage cabinets were done, and a new sink with running water was put in. The new autoclave is in place and working. Over the past two weeks, over 210 patients have been seen. This included many extractions, including impacted wisdom and malpositioned teeth, many composite fillings, and cleanings. Also, 20 of these patients were sent to the nearby dental facility where acrylic partial and full appliances were fabricated. These patients were very happy and returned to the clinic to show us their new teeth.

On Thursday a recognition event was held a held by the community Chiefs and elders to acknowledge the accomplishments by the team and community members. The McNally family was acknowledged for spearheading the funding and work on the library. Kathleen Ismail was acknowledged for her work on the Ghana Scholarship Fund for students to attend the new high school nearby. Lewie Pierce was recognized for the work on the dental clinic since its inception one year ago. There were speeches, dancing and singing by team and community members.

On Friday a send out dinner celebration was held for the two week team members returning to the US. In attendance were the Chiefs, clinic staff members, library staff members, teachers, and team members. Jack McNally played and sang several beautiful songs along with several people playing drums.
Overall, it was another excellent week by a a fantastic team who, along with community members, saw major accomplishments happen.

WEEK 1 IN GHANA

Joyce and I arrived in Ghana on May 12 and quickly proceeded to visit the Ministry of Health in order to register to practice dentistry in Ghana. We then rested and toured the city before the remaining team of 15 people arrived on May 15. Team members are from ages 20-72 with a wide variety of expertise. On Sunday we drove to the community of New Akrade, about two hours North of Accra, where we will be for the next three weeks.In the afternoon we brainstormed team goals and got to know each other better. On Monday morning we toured the schools where some will be teaching, the new library where many will be working, and the dental clinic. We also met with the community elders and leaders who did their traditional rituals to call the ancestors to help us in our projects. It was quite a moving experience and gave the team members a sense of being linked to the historical past of the community.

On Tuesday the work was begun in earnest on the library and in the dental clinic.In the library their was painting and unloading and cataloging of over 22,000 books from Books for Africa, a US program with one of its facilities in St. Paul,Minnesota. Along with Ghanean workers their was a grat feeling to finalize the first library for the whole region. The family who got the library funding are here and lots of local people stop to help, and kids on break from shcool come in and help unpack.

The dental clinic is booming. With two team members as dentists we are seeing between 30-50 patients each day, and that is just the beginning. With two other Global Volunteer team members as assistants and two community nurses helping to triage,register, and hand out post surgical medications, we will be able to see many more patients in the next two weeks.

The upgrading required of the clinic for its adoption into the Ghanean national health program, is being done this weedend. A new tile floor is being installed along with new wall cabinets. A sink and running water will be installed before we leave. We purchased a steam autoclave this weekend and will begin to use it. We have been using Gluteraldehyde, water, and bleach with good success. With these requirements. the Ministry of Health has said that a dentist and an assistant will be assigned to the clinic, first on a temporary basis, then on a permanent basis.

Overall,the first week went very well, and everyone is looking forward to launching the library, teaching and treating dental patients.

Joyce and I look forward to hearing from you. We hope you are enjoying the beautiful summer in Minnesota or wherever you are.

WEEK ONE IN GHANA

Joyce and I arrived in Accra on May 12 and quickly proceeded to visit the Ministry of Health in order to register to practice dentistry in Ghana. We then rested and toured the city before the remaining team of 15 people arrived on May 15. Team member are from ages 20-72 with a wide variety of expertise. On Sunday we drove to the community of New Akrade, two hours North of Accra, where we will be for the next three weeks. In the afternoon we brainstormed team goals and got to know each other better. On Monday morning we toured the schools where some will be teaching, the new library where many will be working to launch, and the dental clinic. We also met with the community elders and leaders who did their traditional rituals to call on their ancestors to help us in our projects. It was quite moving and gave the team a sense of being linked to the past, present, and future of the community.

On Tuesday the work was begun in earnest on the library and in the dental clinic. In the library their was painting and unloading and cataloging of over 22,000 books from Books For Africa, a US program with one of its facilities in St. Paul, Minnesota. Along with Ghanean workers their was a great feeling to finalize the first library for the whole region. The family who got the library funding are here and lots of local people stop to help, and kids on break from school come in and help unpack.

The dental clinic is booming. With two team members as dentists we are seeing about 30-50 patients each day, and that is just the beginning. With two other Global Volunteers team members as assistants and two community nurses helping to triage, register, and hand out post surgical medications, we will be able to see many more patients in the next two weeks.

The upgrading required of the clinic for its adoption into the Ghanean national health program, is being done this weekend. A new tile floor is being installed along with new wall cabinets. A sink and running water will be installed before we leave. We purchased a steam autoclave this weekend and will begin to us it. We have been using Gluteraldehyde, water and bleach with good success. With these requirements, the Ministry of Health has said that a dentist and and assistant will be assigned to the clinic, first on a temporary and then a permanent basis.

Overall, the first week went very well, and everyone is looking forward to launching the library and treating dental patients.

Joyce and I look forward to hearing from you. We hope you are enjoying the beautiful summer in Minnesota or wherever you are.

Bio of Dr. Pierce

Dr. Pierce earned his DDS and MS(Prosthodontics) from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. Since 1974 he has lived and worked in 21 countries teaching ESL, constructing schools, and setting up dental clinics. At present he is doing international programs with Global Volunteers www.globalvolunteers.org He has set up a dental clinic in a small village in Pommern, Tanzania where extractions, restorations, hygiene, and preventive oral care are done.
Currently, Dr. Pierce is an Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Restorative Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. His email is:
lpiercedds@comcast.net
cell- 651-338-7809