Ghana With The Wind: "If you aren't in over your head...

We love this quote from TS Elliot, "If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?"

Since coming to Ghana to finish up a 10-year humanitarian (Audiology Master's Degree) program for the Church, we have felt in "over our heads" for the majority of the time. With only a couple weeks left, we can now look back and see what has been accomplished.

1. First Ghanaian student to attend a AAA conference in the U.S. (wish there could have been more!) and now our students are starting their own professional organization in Africa.
2. Completed academic courses (John taught 6 while here) for the first graduating class of 6 Masters degree Audiologists. The first ever educated in Ghana. Formal graduation in Nov. of 2013.
3. 4 more students ready to graduate next year and 7 new students have been invited to join the program this Fall semester.
4. We have worked on this transition period to allow continuity as LDS Charities withdraws from the program and the KorleBu Teaching Hospital and the University of Ghana work on sustainability.
5. We have identified off campus supervised sites for the students to spend their 3rd year in a clinical situation.
6. Initial clinical equipment that has been donated is in place with more on the way.
7. We hosted a 2-week humanitarian effort that combined students from Utah State University and our Masters Degree students here working together to serve the people of this country. Our students were so inspired that they have continued on to another deaf school and have completed another 600 screenings.
8. We have laid a foundation with our students to write political legislation for a program in Hearing Conservation in Ghana.
9. We have pioneered Telehealth in Ghana and are in the process of developing a model for Africa. We have recommended the use of satellite equipment for the new Ministry of Health vans dedicated to ENT/Audiology in order access the Internet for testing.
10. Strengthened the new neonatal screening at the KorleBu Hospital
11. We will participate in a week long celebration at the end of July which will commemorate the 10-year commitment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to this program.

Elder Ribera has worked tirelessly on this project the last 7 months in Ghana (and even before that). We feel it has been a good use of his experience and knowledge and a great way to wind up a career. We have grown to love the Ghanaian people and especially "our" students.

Above we are out to dinner with the new President of the Accra West Mission, President & Sister Hill. They are on the left and Elder and Sister Wall are on the back right (Mission office couple) and Elder and Sister Nielson from Monroe, Utah who are north of us out in the "bush". That is a tough mission with very intermittent electricity and Internet only at the church house and water delivered daily. The new mission office is right next door to us.

Above is one of our wood carvers, Richard. He stopped by the other night after having completed an order for us. We were showing him how our i-Pad takes photos.

Then we were on our way to our little neighborhood store (Koala) and found two surprises!
First...they had Cheetos!! First time we had seen them in 6 months. Whoohoo!!
Second....someone in Ghana was expressing their personality. On the last turn, we found a newly painted house. Wow!

Above is a bulletin board which shows one of the larger health issues in Africa. In the US, the infant mortality rate is approx. 6.05 babies/1000 live births. In Ghana, it is 40.9/1000 which is better than it was in the 1960's when it was 130/1000. The death rate for mothers is 450/100,000, mainly due to poor staffing at outlying hospitals, no access to medicines, poor education, and self-induced abortions.
Unacceptable in our book.