Some photos from the high seas...

So far the sail to Tenerife has been a mix of smooth sailing and a few days of stormy weather. I've seen a hammerhead shark, dolphins, flying fish and a little spout from a whale!

Off to the Bush Bush Bush - The Mercy Ships Agriculture Program in Togo

One of the fun parts of my job in Togo was getting to work with the Agriculture Program. This field service Mercy Ships Agriculture Program partnered with local NGO's in Togo to train them in sustainable farming practices, animal husbandry and nutrition. The goal was to train the trainers, who will then go and continue to teach the concepts in their communities. The participants were provided with teaching, demonstrations, print materials and animals. It was always an adventure to go and teach at the sites, it was really rewarding to see how receptive and enthusiastic the students were to learn. It was also an experience to go out in the "bush bush bush" as Eliphaz, the main trainer for the Agriculture program, said every time we drove out to the remote sites. 

Demonstrating how to give chickens injections in the animal husbandry portion of the Agriculture Program

Eliphaz teaching composting to the trainers

Students reviewing the nutrition teaching handouts with each other

Agriculture teaching upcountry in Togo

One of the NGO's healthy African chickens

My translator, Esther, and I doing our nutrition teaching under the palms in one of the villages

Rabbit cages for the animals donated by the Agriculture Program 

All of the  NGO's fed us lunch and buckets of sweet tea :)

Growing Moringa trees at one of the Agriculture sites. Moringa is a plant high in many nutrients that grows easily in West Africa. One of the goals of the Agriculture program is to promote all the different uses of the Moringa plant and encourage people to grow it. Since it is a good source of protein and many vitamins it can help improve the health of rural communities and prevent malnutrition. 

The last participants posing in front of a successful compost pile

twins update

Remember the twins? Atsou is much fatter now, weighs 6 kg and just got his surgery for the cleft lip.

Atsou gained 2.5kg (5.5 pounds) in 12 weeks, quite a feat for a little guy. He still hasn't quite caught up to his sister Obey yet but that will take a while longer.  Unfortunately their father died last week leaving their mother with these twins and her other set of twins who are older.  

not the only ship in Togo

Recently the US Navy HSV-2 Swift docked behind our ship for a night. It's a hybrid catamaran used for support/humanitarian missions. The initials HSV stands for High Speed Vessel (and according to Google also Herpes Simplex Virus). Since we are a ship of mainly nurses; single, good looking nurses at that, the prospect of Navy guys caused quite a stir. Unfortunately for them, they were only here for a night and only a select few went for a tour. 

Across the port there was also a cruise ship docking for one day, the Ocean Princess. Yes, apparently people do take cruises to Africa! This one had started in South Africa and was on its way to London. After Togo it was stopping in Ghana and then continuing up to Morocco and Spain. 

surgery and saying goodbye

Every time one of the babies in the feeding program receives their surgery I have to admit it's bittersweet for me. I'm overjoyed they are getting surgery. It's amazing to see the moment the moms have been waiting for, when they get to see their baby with a new lip. However, it's then I realize it is now the end of the road for me. My job is done. I might see them a few more times to make sure they're still gaining weight, but afterwards I'll be saying farewell. The 2 or 3 months I watched them grow and gain weight is now over. Realistically I'll probably never see them again or even know if they make it to their 5th birthday. I can only pray they stay safe and healthy. While I love the work I do and the life changing transformations we see every day, there are times I wish goodbyes were not a part of it. 

Today Baby Komlan is getting his surgery for a bilateral cleft lip. He has been in the feeding program since February and after his mom learned a few different techniques he's been able to do really well breastfeeding. His mom is only 18 and not so confident as a new mom, but his proud grandma picks up any slack.  He is now a fat, happy 3 month old and will soon have a new lip!

I always forget how big Africa really is....

The Twins

Meet the twins, Obei (pronounced "Obey") and Atsou (pronounced "Achoo"). Believe it or not they are twins, 5 months old.  They've both been breastfed since birth, but the difference is Atsou has a cleft lip and palate. The cleft palate makes it almost impossible for him to create enough suction to get enough milk. No matter how much he breastfeeds he will never be able to get as much milk as Obei. In fact he's most likely been burning more calories feeding than he has been able to take in.

In this photo Obei weighs 7 kg (about 15.4 pounds) and Atsou weighs 3.5 kg (7.7 pounds). While Obei looks huge in this photo, she is actually normal size for a 5 month old. Atsou is just that small!