Medical Missions Foundation

They're Back!

The team is back. They are safe. They are sound. They are tired. As soon as they catch their breath, we will be posting some photos and an overview of the mission.

Wrapping up a Busy Week

We received word earlier today that Team Mali is packing up, saying goodbyes and heading back to Bamako for the long journey home. The hope was to see about 2,000 in the clinic and they ended with a whopping 3,000. That is an astounding number in barely 5 days. 

It was a good week for everyone. 

We hope to get even more information once they reach Bamako. Stay tuned!

Communication is Slow but the Work is Fast & Furious

We know many of you are hungry for updates from the team, but as anticipated, contact has been very limited. But, fear not! All is good! Just late yesterday the MMF office received a very quick call from Christina. Here is the nuts and bolts of the conversation:

Everyone is doing great.  They saw 318 patients in the clinic on Monday and the surgery schedule is full for the week.  There were a few cases she mentioned specifically.  Dr. Ostlie has scheduled surgeries to amputate a foot for elephantiasis (a disease characterized by thickening of the skin and underlying tissue) and to remove a spinal tumor from a child.

Our little buddy, Boi, is with them and is doing great!

On Monday, the team participated in a ceremony with the Mayor, Minister of Social Welfare and several congressman which was quite special to everyone. The Minister of Health said health is the #1 priority of the Malian government.  He praised the team and gave heartfelt thanks as he pointed out that the services MMF is providing for free would literally cost them millions of dollars.

That is all the word we have from them now.

In closing, I'd like to share a post from the Mali Team's Facebook page. It comes from a young woman named Lily Punk, who met the team in their hotel in Bamako. She writes:

"hi everybody... few days ago i was in the LAICO hotel at bamako and i met your team, they were wonderful with their yellow T-shirts :-) ... getting ready to relieve sufferings and restore the smile of those who need it... I really wanted to be part of their mission... hope that one day it will be my turn, ... but for n...ow.. I can just congratulate them... you are all amazing...!!"

- Nancy Besa, Communications MMF

  

Hello From Mali!

We just received this email from Christina and the Team. Enjoy!

Hello family, friends and supporters!

I'm sending you all the copious warmth I'm feeling from the West African sunshine this morning. I know I especially owe some to my mom who came from Phoenix to take care of Ethan and Brooke in the frigid and snowy Midwest. (Thanks Mom!!) 
 
I arrived on Tuesday night along with Barclay Martin, our musician, and Shane Evans, our artist. As we walked down the steps off the plane, the air and the people of Mali were warm and welcoming. We crashed at the hotel and Wednesday morning met up with Amagana, our trusted guide and translator. He is an absolute treasure for us. The past two days we've spent gathering supplies and doing tasks like procuring cell phones, money exchange and buying buckets....when the bottom is cut out, it is turned upside down and a toilet seat glued on top, so then it can be used over the 'hole in the ground'. Important jobs! We've learned quickly how to navigate the never-ending, high energy market, and how to survive the lengthy negotiations. I've been to many markets in the world, and none has the frenetic energy as this. All your senses get overwhelmed and it is so much to take in. I just love watching the people, their conversations and expressions, and colorful dress. And I don't think I'll ever stop being amazed at the ladies who have an infant strapped to their back, and a huge bowl of goods balanced on their head while getting around the crowded streets. 
 
Wednesday night we had the opportunity to visit the Rotary Club here. They were very enthusiastic and gracious. What was interesting was that in their meeting they had conversations just the same as the ones we have in my own Club's meetings. It's a comforting and awe-inspiring piece of Rotary - 1.2M people all around the world working on the same goals. 
 
Amagana was taking us to western style restaurants and we said we wanted something more authentic. So yesterday he took us to a stand his friend has that is basically a little outdoor kitchen with stools. It was like going to someone's home. He was excited to have some Americans at his place! We drank the juice of a "Da" fruit, which tasted like fruit punch with ginger (and a lot of added sugar), and strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk. Barclay had couscous with fried potatoes (fried potatoes are loved worldwide, I'm convinced), I had an omelet with vegetables and a red tomato sauce which is popular here, and Shane ate....spaghetti! Aside from the many flies which really don't bother you too much, it was a lovely experience. We were in a neighborhood with children running all around, a goat tied to a post, ladies doing laundry in buckets with a washboard, and the many motorbikes going past on the reddish-brown dirt road, all under a cloudless blue sky.

Last night we were excited to welcome the second advance team - Dr. Tammy Neblock-Beirne, our medical director, Abby Hayo, Dr Doug Hagen, Joe Dietrick and Kevin Hashman (MacGyver). They were weary after a long trip, but happy to make it out of Kansas City on a earlier flight before the airport was closed. They deserved the cold beer we had in the hotel lobby while listening to music and eating fresh roasted peanuts, one of the crops here. Only one bag didn't make it - pretty good!

Things aren't as inexpensive here as you would think. We've had to really work at bargaining in the market. Probably the most exciting purchases thus far were musical instruments that Barclay got. He's hoping to work them into the song he's writing for Medical Missions, and to use at Art for the Children benefit on February 6. (Do you have your tickets yet?? www.MMFWorld.org :) In fact as I'm writing this, Shane and Barclay are next to me singing and playing on guitar and drum. Do I have a great job or what?

Well, I better get moving along. Kevin should be back soon with our oxygen tanks, and we'll them make our way out to the village, Ouelessebougou, for the day. We'll unpack the supplies we have and check on the equipment. We'll also collect our buddy Boi who we're so excited to see! Abby brought him his favorite foods - hot dogs and Culver's hamburgers!! We'll continue to work on setting up until the main team arrives Saturday night. Then we'll move to Ouelessebougou until next Friday and you won't hear from us. I'll try to give you another update after the team arrives. 
 
We appreciate all the good thoughts and prayers you send our way. We feel so grateful to be here to do this work, and are so thankful for your support. I apologize that our efforts to post video to our You Tube channel have been unsuccessful - the connection here isn't strong enough. We have posted a bunch of photos to our Facebook page: 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Medical-Missions-Foundation-Mali-2010/170395243807?ref=tsHave a beautiful day!!

love, Christina and the Team

Team Mali 2010

 

One does not give a gift without a motive.

- Malian Proverb

This week 41 volunteers from Medical Missions Foundation will depart Kansas City International Airport on a journey that will take them to Ouelessebougou, Mali. For twelve days they will leave behind jobs, family, friends and yes, snow and sub-zero temperatures. For many the thought of hopping a flight to a location where the average daily temperature hovers in the mid-90's sounds quite enticing. But we must remember, this is not a Bahamian vacation, this is an African mission.

As Mission Coordinator, Christina Eldridge, cautioned her team, "The only thing certain is change and challenge. Tires may go flat, electricity may go out, suitcases may not arrive . . . No matter what happens, we’ll all just take a deep breath and work together."

And working together they will change the lives of hundreds of children and their families. By intertwining art and medicine and mixing it with a healthy dose of love and compassion, the people of Mali will soon learn that the only motive these Americans have is to make a difference in their lives. And if they need extra proof, they need look no further that to the face of one of their own - a little boy named Boi. His face says it all.

The majority of mission teams post daily blogs on this site. With conditions in Ouelessebougou being primitive at best, daily blogging is not possible. However, we do hope to receive occasional phone calls, e-mails, text messages and hopefully, photos. Please, check back every few days to see what information we have been able to gather and share.  Also, we encourage you to leave your own comments and messages for our volunteers. If they aren't able to view them while in Africa, they will upon return.

Your interest and support means a great deal to our volunteers and the Foundation.

- Nancy Besa, MMF Communications