The Guinea Bissau Project

Merry Christmas from Guinea Bissau West Africa

So nice to have some pics to share on this Christmas Day.

Maritza sent us word about a pre holiday party at our school in Guiledje.

Guiledje had about 200 students attending - k to 4th grade. The party celebrated the end of trimester before the holidays. School starts up again on Jan 4.
The kids sang, played games and ate and ate some more!
The party was great fun and for many it was their first party.

Party funding courtesy of Connie from Life Link who sent Christmas money for a party in Djati and in Quebo. Raquel was able to stretch it and so Guiledje was blessed as well.

Thank you Connie!!!

My hero, Fredy with the kids

The school still needs to build two bathrooms and finish up one of the small rooms next to the clinic.

The Magic of Christmas never ends
and its greatest of gifts
are family and friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 

from 

It Takes a Village!

Return to Guiledge, Guinea Bissau West Africa

 Maritza, in her own words....

Our team returned to Guiledge this weekend, doing double brigade, taking visiting dentists and general medicine to help those with malaria and other needs.

One more time the health outreach is a success with many many people coming for help.

I took some pics with my phone so I could send them to you asap since there will be no electricity when I return to Bissau.

There has been over 200 children. All received fluoride treatments and  some dental check ups. The visiting doctors are from a Portuguese organization called Mundo a Sorreir. Raquel knows the woman in charge and they also included Quebo as one of the places they will visited along with Guiledge. The kids all waited for us and when they saw the var pulling in they all clapped.

The new van filled to the brim with volunteers

**(adjust your volume down before you hit play as this can be rather loud)

The kids cheered and waved despite the fact that many of them were sick.

Raquel and the visiting doctors spoke to the kids about dental hygiene.
After the health hygiene chat the dentist started with the fluoride treatments and Raquel went on to see the kids and adults that were sick with malaria, high blood pressure etc.

 

We just paused for an hour lunch and the team has started again.

 

Right now over 200 children and more than 50 adults received medical and dental care at It Takes a Village clinic.

You're Welcome - pt 3 Guiledje Health Brigade

Raquel ran out of quinine, and IVs, and when she couldn't go on, she asked the people to come to Quebo.

We headed back arriving in Quebo around seven. Raquel took some meds and went to bed. We all kept thinking, how grateful we were that so many were helped, but sad that we couldn't help more.  Grateful that It takes a village had this clinic and school available that reached so many. 

After we left, they received more medication, but it was too late for some. 3 people died, one adult and two children.

In the future 2 more of Freddy's and Raquel's African kids will graduate from nursing school. With Gods help the medical outreach will stretch its wings and be able to help many more.

Thank you Devon for building the clinic.

The school will most likely open its doors, desks are needed, black boards,  bathrooms etc but it will all come together. 
It was one of those happy sad times and yet we are very grateful.

Thank you on behalf of the Schafer's and friends.

 YOU'RE WELCOME!

we thank you for all the things you do!!

*note

RE: finances, now (from Sept to Dec) there is an URGENT need for medicine. The end of the rainy season is loaded with malaria, beginning of cooler season loaded with breathing problems.

If you would like to help, please contact me, or click the link on the sidebar for Life lLink our 501c3 partner. Mark your tax free donation "It Takes a Village" 

Thank you

Unsung heroes - health workers are NOT immune from malaria - pt 2

The health brigade used the school and clinic funded by It Takes a Village to treat the local people who were very sick with malaria 

but....

what happens when your head nurse comes down with malaria?

 

more from Maritza

Once we reached Guiledje with its abundance of patients, we could see that there is a need to increase medical outreach, and to do that, we need to add a room for outpatients. Many came, some laid down, anywhere, too sick to walk, too sick to do anything.

I have seen people with malaria and I've had it myself but to see so, so many was heartbreaking. The clinic was used to its fullest extent that day and it saved many lives.

Raquel worked and worked but we didn't know how long we were going to be there. She was burning up with fever, she too had malaria, and was very sick.  After five hours she called it quits. She put her head down on the table. Her helpers gave her pills to bring the fever down along with a warning "this is for the fever!  Get to Quebo Monday, you have to see a doctor!" It was one of those heartbreaking moments, helping and reaching out to many yet unable to help them all.

Malaria is everywhere in The Guinea Bissau and affects everyone. Its associated problems take many lives annually, and the treatment and prevention of malaria are key issues. Multiple infections during the course of one's life is not uncommon, especially with children.

 Malarial attacks are characterized by bouts of fever alternating with asymp- tomatic periods.

 Symptoms of malaria are commonly described as flu-like: fever, shivering and chills, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, body aches and weakness, flushed dry skin, and bright eyes

Come back for pt 3 (conclusion)

what happens to the patients when the doctor is sick?

Just in time - treating malaria in Guiledje Guinea Bissau pt 1

I don't know if you remember Guiledje. It is the location of our 2nd It Takes a Village school/clinic.

Guiledje is a Fula village at the crossroads. It is about an hour from Quebo (Quebo is approximately 3 hrs from the capital city of Bissau). There are 5 ethnic groups in the area, which has around 33 villages with approximately 16,000 people.

(click here  for a refresher on Guiledje)

Maritza was in Guiledje last week and sent the following photos and report on conditions. Life is so different there. We have so many luxuries that we take for granted here in the US and so many things we don't have to worry about, like malaria. But malaria is a deadly disease in many parts of the world and I think it is important to show the "faces" of malaria in Guinea Bissau. I will post in 3 parts.

Part 1, Maritza in her own words

This Saturday, it was amazing. 

Finally made it to your school in Guiledje. 

It took us an extra hour, as the road is muddy and full of puddles that seem like small lakes.

This time it was a health outreach. The patients waited on the main road and the minute they saw the car they started walking towards the school.  There were over 100 patients. For me it was a mixture of emotions, glad Raquel and Freddy do such caring things for the poorest of the poor. 

I was in shock to see so many children burning up with fever, with malaria. Many elderly, some could barely walk, the fever and malaria had advanced. One more week in such conditions and they would have surely died.

Malaria is a life threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. In 2013 an estimated 198 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and 500,000 people died, mostly children in the African Region.

Malaria is the main cause of illness and death in Guinea-Bissau both in adults and children,”  said Jean Dricot, UNICEF Bissau Representative.

Come back for part 2

The Health Brigade