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As part of the team from Gidan
Bege (House of Hope) we visited three villages in Kano State to do medical outreach. Since
the time was very limited, we were only able to give the most basic care. After driving nearly two hours from Kano, first over good road then 15 miles on a dirt road into the bush, we reached our main village. We found a partly shaded spot under some trees and started getting ready. We had to ask the villagers to bring whatever we could use to sit on and to use as tables.
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Since virtually everyone in the village wanted to see the doctor, or so it seemed, we had quite a job just keeping people in some kind of order. Hundreds were milling around, trying to push forward, trying to collect their medicines, trying to ask questions. Some of the volunteers had their hands full just trying to manage the lines of people. |  |
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With so many patients to see in such a short time, we could only give the simplest types of care. It seemed that nearly all the children had scabies, a skin parasite causing an itchy rash. That's common in the dry Northern areas during the long dry season--there is no water to be wasted on bathing. So I prescribed lotion to kill the bug, a big dose of vitamin A, chloroquine for the few children who had fever, and deworming medicine. | |
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We
immunized some 400 people against meningococcal meningitis, a deadly epidemic disease of
the whole middle African savannah. It's not as "exciting" in the news as Ebola
fever, but kills far more people every year. A single immunization gives protection for
2-3 years, so it's well worthwhile. We had planned to show a film to the villages that night, explaining the life of the One who had sent us. Unfortunately that didn't work out this time. However, the villagers were very friendly and interested, and we hope to have the chance to show the film the next time we visit. |
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