The Journal:
  Pages 1-2
  Pages 3-4
  Pages 5-6
  Pages 7-8
  Pages 9-10
  Pages 11-12
  Pages 13-14
  Pages 15-16
  Pages 17-18
  Pages 19-20
  Pages 21-22
  Pages 23-24
  Pages 25-26
  Pages 27-28
  Pages 29-30
  Pages 31-32
  Pages 33-34
  Pages 35-36
  Pages 37-38
  Pages 39-40
  Pages 41-42
  Pages 43-44
  Pages 45-46

Life at Kari's Home:  Hopital de Meskine

After traveling across the entire country of Cameroon in two days, arriving at the hospital was a treat indeed. We arrived after dark in Maroua and after wanting to see nothing of that darn bus again in my life, we climbed back in and hitched a ride to the hospital (about 3-4 miles outside of Maroua). It was a lot more comfortable seating six instead of thirty-two.

At the time that we arrived, Kari had been at the hospital a little over a year -- her mother and sister had visited a month before us, but for over a year she had not seen any faces from back home so it was very fun to have her show us her home.

Kari jokes and calls the hospital "Little America" since the American missionaries really have made it a home.  The hospital itself is almost ten years old, so it is quite established.  There are about four houses including a nice-sized guest house -- they have electricity, running water (but not hot water!), satellite TV (not very many channels -- but CNN never looked so good!), and a little library complete with some movies.  Kari's house was brand new and she shared with her roommates three bedrooms, a kitchen, living room with TV and VCR, and a bathroom.  Kari had even taught the African cooks that the hospital employed how to cook western food so we got a unique treat of pizza cooked with mostly African ingredients.

The hospital had about five families involved with it (two of which actually live in the village) -- including one of the founding doctors who had lived there with his wife and children since the hospital was built.  While we were there we got to celebrate one of the boys' birthday so we were able to meet  everyone.  Since the boys had lived in Cameroon almost their entire lives (albeit with almost-annual trips back to the states) they were very well-adapted with the local children and they spoke the native language a little.  I got to play a game of soccer with them, Andy, and some of the local kids.  I did not do well.

I had a lot of free time during the days at the hospital, but Trish went on rounds one day with Kari and really got to see how valuable even rudimentary care can be in an African country.

Maroua is very near the edge of the Sahara desert and it was very much dry season at the time.  However, the wind kicks up a lot of dust, so it is very common to have a haze during the day to keep the temperature down.  I've been much hotter in western North Dakota than I was most of the time in Maroua.

Since the hospital is a Christian mission, the doctors were very active in the church life of the community.  We left on a Sunday so we were fortunate to be able to walk to the very small local Christian church and take part in a church service done in the local language (including traditional African hymns).  It was very interesting indeed.

The gates to the hospital are guarded 24 hours a day. This is the path that
goes to the gates.

On the last day that we stayed at the hospital, a VIP from the national government came
because of the "National Women's Day" event. There was a small parade
and the band from the local village played. These little dudes were more than
happy to pose for the camera.

Kari's Front Porch

A sick girl and her mother in front of the pediatric building.
Relatives of the sick are expected to provide necessary
care such as feeding and cleaning. The families usually
camp out on the ground outside the buildings.

More pictures of the various wards of the hospital.