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PUG, We Care Solar, and the Solar Suitcase Project Published on April 5th, 2012 by Lynn McConville

The University of Pennsylvania PUG Student Chapter is taking the lead in providing  a Solar Suitcase to try out in a health clinic in The Gambia!  Developed by We Care Solar, these small, portable solar power systems have two 20 watt panels and LED lights, cell phone chargers, battery chargers, fetal heart monitor and backup battery all in a bright yellow suitcase - ready to take to a remote clinic and plug in with minimal fuss.  For small clinics, this is a quick and easy way to get lights when you are far from the electrical grid.  We look forward to trying these out, and getting feedback on their suitability from the Gambian clinic staff.  If the suitcases work well, we look forward to placing more of these small systems in remote health clinics. We are working with the Gambian Ministry of Health to identify the clinics that could best benefit from this little system.  From large hospital-sized solar power systems to small clinic solar lighting systems, the design flexibility of solar energy systems will help us to provide an appropriate "fit" between the health facility and the amount of electricity provided by various sizes of solar energy systems. Want to learn more about our partner non-profit We Care Solar?  They were just interviewed on PBS News Hour.  Check out the video.

Last Day Published on January 21st, 2012 by Lynn McConville Last Day My last day in The Gambia was amazing. Mr. Badgie was an incredible help by accompanying and driving me to my various appointments. First, we stopped by the Ministry of Health to remind them of the importance of getting our MOU signed before my flight in the afternoon. The Minister of Health was very busy helping prepare for the presidential inauguration later that week, so her deputy ministers were unsure whether they could get her approval and signature on the document. However, they said they would try their best and we agreed to return later in the day. From the Ministry, we went to the Gambian Training Technical Institute. There, Mrs. Faal, one of the top administrators, gathered together a group of other top administrators to witness the signing of two MOUs that document the beginning of our partnership to establish a solar energy system training curriculum. We spoke about the significance of our partnership and the importance of training local solar technicians to manage the country’s solar energy systems. Next, Mr. Badgie and I went to the lawyer’s office to sign all the necessary charity registration paperwork. After we email one last form, the lawyer’s office staff will submit the paperwork and within a week or two we should be officially registered as a charity in The Gambia. Lastly, I again called our contact at the Ministry of Health. He said to meet him at the football stadium where many government officials were making preparations for the presidential inauguration. There I signed the MOU that the Minister of Health had already signed. I was very impressed that we were able to obtain this signature and very happy to finally have formal documentation of our partnership with the Ministry of Health. With all three big missions of the day accomplished, I felt happy and satisfied. After stopping in to say one last good-bye to Mrs. Badgie, Mr. Badgie drove me to the airport. Sad to leave but excited to go home, I felt amazingly fortunate to have the opportunity to make this trip to The Gambia. Thank you to all our supporters who make our work here possible! [caption id="attachment_758" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Mr. and Mrs. Badgie on my last day."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_756" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Mrs. Faal and I holding our MOU that documents our commitment to establishing a solar energy technician training course."][/caption]
Gracious Host and Hostess Published on January 17th, 2012 by Lynn McConville [caption id="attachment_753" align="alignright" width="314" caption="Mr. Badgie’s gorgeous daughters and nieces."][/caption] Mr. Badgie and his wife Sousa are so kind to host me again in their home.  Both are going out of their way to make me feel at home.  Sousa has made me delicious lunches and dinners, and Mr. Badgie is driving me to my last-minute appointments and to the airport tomorrow.  They also bought me two lovely Gambian tie-dye summer dresses.  One is meant for my mom because she made Sousa a beautiful necklace.  Mr. Badgies daughters and nieces are also very sweet and welcoming.  I have spent most of the evening watching TV dramas with them while typing this blog.
Last Minute Business Published on January 17th, 2012 by Lynn McConville I am working hard to finish up important last minute business for Power Up Gambia in the capital.  First, I hope to get our two MOUs (memorandum of understanding) signed with GTTI (Gambian Technical Training Institute) tomorrow to formally establish our partnership to create a solar training course.  I have been back and forth with emails, so we have two finalized documents ready to be signed tomorrow morning. Second, I plan to stop by a lawyer’s office to sign and submit all the paperwork necessary to register Power Up Gambia as an official charity in The Gambia.  There is a slight glitch here because we need signatures from all our American board members, which I will be unlikely to get by tomorrow morning.  Instead, I will sign all the documents and send the board members’ signatures later.  This should work fine, because the charity registration process should only take about two days once all the paperwork is submitted. Finally, I am hoping the Minister of Health has the opportunity to sign the MOU that documents our partnership with the Ministry of Health.  I have been calling health officials all day but the Minister has not been in her office.  They hope she will be in tomorrow morning to sign the document.  Inshallah!  (I will also ask my contact at the US Embassy to make a call to put some extra umph into the chance of getting it signed.)
Drive Back to Banjul Published on January 17th, 2012 by Lynn McConville [caption id="attachment_747" align="alignright" width="314" caption="The ocean-view road near Banjul on the trip to RVTH."][/caption] Today I drove back from the hospital to Banjul.  To save on fuel costs, I decided to go with an ambulance taking a patient to the tertiary care hospital in Banjul: Royal Victorian Teaching Hospital (RVTH).  The patient was named Ida.  She was 28 years old and 32 weeks pregnant with her seventh child.  She had not felt any fetal movements for the past four days.  No fetal activity or heart beat could be seen on ultrasound.  She was diagnosed with an intrauterine fetal death.  She needed to be sent to RVTH to have her uterus evacuated, because SJGH has no maternity operating theater or obstetrician surgeon.  She was very sad and had tears streaming down her cheeks for the majority of the ride. I have been reading more of Dr. Cham’s research on maternal health deaths in The Gambia.  His recent audit of the maternal deaths that occurred at RVTH during the year 2010 found that the majority of deaths (about 70%) were patients who had been referred from peripheral health facilities like SJGH.  The patients came into RVTH in more critical condition because of the delay in care associated with the referral.  With this in mind, I kept thinking about ways to use the electricity Power Up Gambia provided at SJGH to help enhance the hospital’s obstetric services.  Maybe there is a way we could use telemedicine, such as Skype, to allow midwives to consult with obstetric experts in the United States.  This type of electronic communication could also be used to teach midwives how to handle some of the more basic obstetric cases independently, meaning that fewer patients would experience the delay in care associated with referral and so more lives would be saved.
Party Time! Published on January 17th, 2012 by Lynn McConville [caption id="attachment_744" align="alignright" width="314" caption="Dancing at the party."][/caption] Last night the Gambian Women’s Initiative generously invited me to their party at Sindola Lodge in Kanali, the birthplace of President Jammeh of The Gambia.  The purpose of the party was to encourage the Gambian women of two nearby villages to join together to form one women’s group and share their skill center.  The party featured delicious food, fancy drinks, good conversation, and best of all, dancing!  There was Jolla dancing, Wolof drumming, and the Kumpo ritual dance.  The Kumpo is a traditional Jola figure dressed in dried palm leaves.  In the past, he came out to dance in times of plenty to thank the gods for an abundant harvest or to appease the gods to prevent misfortune.  Now he is used primarily for entertainment, employed for parties like our own.  He has a spike in his head that he plants in the ground and whirls around.  It was a very fun party and a wonderful way to bring my trip to a close.
Bwiam Market Published on January 17th, 2012 by Lynn McConville I visited the market in Bwiam on Sunday to look for souvenirs for friends and family.  I discovered that the market sold predominantly fruits and vegetables with some clothes and other goods, such as containers.  Unfortunately, there were no souvenirs or gifts.  Apparently there is one woman that makes scarves, jewelry, and bags but she was not there that day. This theme came up later in the day in a discussion with the accountant of the women’s group in Bwiam.  They had invested a lot of money in making tie-dye cloth but they had not sold a lot of it.  The American and European women recommended that they use the cloth to make finished products, such as table cloths, napkins, and scarves, which would be more attractive to tourists.  They also suggested that the Gambian women try to sell the products at the hotel where they were staying.
Female Genital Mutilation Published on January 17th, 2012 by Lynn McConville I came across a book in the maternity ward about female genital mutilation in The Gambia.  Apparently, the incidence of female genital mutilation varies by tribe with the highest frequency in Mandika women and the lowest frequency in Wolof women.  Because Mandika is the largest tribe in The Gambia, the country has a high rate of female genital mutilation.  Recently a large amount of public discussion about this controversial topic has been encouraged by international groups.  However, the frequency of the practice remains constant, meaning that around 80% of Gambian women continue to be victims of female genital mutilation.  Both Fatou, the midwife, and Isatou, the local leader of the Gambian Women’s Initiative, confirmed this.
Family Published on January 15th, 2012 by Lynn McConville [caption id="attachment_736" align="alignright" width="235" caption="Kotobo making his omelet sandwich."][/caption] The fluid concept of family in The Gambia amazes me.  Gambians seem to have endless generosity in accepting other members into their family to care for them.  One example is Fatou, the midwife, lives with a niece who attends school nearby and cooks for her.  Another example is Saiku, who recently moved in with Mr. Beyai’s fifteen-year-old nephew Kotobo.  Mr. Beyai, SJGH’s principal nursing officer suddenly left to work in Tanzania.  He had been living with Kotobo, who had been attending the local school in Bwiam.  Mr. Beyai asked Saiku to move into his house to live with Kotobo.  Kotobo joined us at the solar team party last night.  He was incredibly helpful, getting us extra candles, getting out the plates, serving the tea, and later collecting the dirty plates.  He wants to be an accountant when he grows up, so I encouraged him to stick with school and continue to do his best.
Solar Team Party Published on January 15th, 2012 by Lynn McConville [caption id="attachment_732" align="alignright" width="235" caption="Saiku making his omelet sandwich."][/caption] Last night, I brought the three young men on SJGH’s solar team – Saiku, Alieu, and Yunusa – together for a small celebration to reward them for their hard work.  I bought the supplies, and they showed me how to make the dinner Gambian-style.  We made deep-fried omelets with onions and Jumbo, a spice mix that includes garlic, onion, vegetable fat, and sugar.  We then made sandwiches with the omelets and Gambian traditional bread, called tapa-lapa, which looks like medium-sized white flour baguettes.  We also had tea and coffee with canned milk. Despite my initial hesitation (I had originally planned to buy the sandwiches already made), everything worked out well and the party ended up being a lot of fun.  I think the men really appreciated the thank you, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know them better. [caption id="attachment_733" align="alignleft" width="314" caption="Everyone at the solar team celebration: from left to right, Yunusa, Saiku, Kotobo, Alieu, and myself."][/caption]