How to Get Involved

"Konk, konk!... (pause)... Konk, konk! Huh?" I groan as I swing my feet over the edge of the bed and shuffle into my flip-flops. On my way to the door, I grab my lappa and wrap myself as I pass by the glow of the kerosene lantern. On the porch stands Pa Malley , the hospital night watchman. After greeting each other, Pa Malley passes me a note from the Pa David, state enrolled nurse (SEN) in charge of the hospital tonight. Oh oh! Looks like another emergency C-section. I dispatch Pa Malley with notes to take to the physician/surgeon and the operating room (OR) assistant. I instruct Pa Malley to tell Pa David, "I deh come." As I return to my bedroom to get dressed, I suddenly notice hundreds of sharp pinches on my lower body. I scream, tear off my lappa, and turn up the lantern. Oh no! I just scuffed through a line of army ants. I stamp my feet on the concrete floor. All the screaming and stamping does nothing to dislodge the ants. I have to pluck each individual ant before I rush off to help with the delivery."

(Recollections of a 1979 night in Kamakwie, Sierra Leone.)

The four years I spent in Sierra Leone as state registered nurse challenged my ideas about work and leisure, professional life and family life, spiritual life and philosophy of living. I found the Krio language more effective in expressing myself than English, my mother tongue. The unrelenting heat of the dry season offset the humidity of the rainy season when everything turned green. Lack of electricity and running water were standards I shared with my neighbours. I gained limited skills in carrying "loads" on my head and cooking on the open-air three-stone stove. All were invaluable learnings.

I received such generous gifts of hospitality and friendship. The memories continue to colour my life.

Hope Graham, a Canadian nurse who loves cross-cultural living and nursing
is currently a nurse educator at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia