We were invited to attend the opening ceremony for a fistula clinic that just opened in Danja, a village close to Maradi. It is a beautiful facility that will treat women with obstetric fistulas, and it is a project that is the result of a partnership between the (WFF) Worldwide Fistula Fund and SIM (Serving in Mission). The opening of this clinic is the result of years of planning and hard work, and it will certainly go a long way towards improving the quality of life for a lot of women here in Niger, and in the surrounding countries as well. Nicolas Kristof wrote about this project in the New York Times a few years ago, and now it has become a reality.
Along the way we stopped at the SIM hospital in Galmi, and got a brief tour from Deborah Berruti. She is the hospital’s occupational therapist, and we met her when she came to the CURE hospital for the clubfoot training conference. She has a really great blog that gives wonderful insight into life at their hospital. It is huge!
SIM's sign right outside the hospital
We got to the hospital at Danja and really enjoyed the ceremony. There were quite a few people there from all walks of life. There were lots of people from the village, kids and adults, and also pastors and missionaries, doctors, nurses and patients, chiefs, a few mayors, a governor, a representative from the Ministry of Public Health and the American Ambassador. Oh, and there was also a Sultan. I am sure I am forgetting some important people, but you get the idea. Speeches were given, the ribbon was cut, and a new place was born that will change the lives of thousands of women. It was a great privilege and honor to be there to witness it.
The American Ambassador giving a speech
some of the guests at the ceremony
brand new ward
operating room
CURE representatives
Just getting to Maradi was an adventure in and of itself. Maradi is about 700 kilometers from Niamey and a good portion of the road is not paved. It was fun for us to get outside of the city and see more of Niger. Josh drove and I made him stop every few minutes so that I could take pictures. Here are some of them:
The road looked like this for about 250 kilometers of the trip
hut.hut.hut.hut.hut.hut.hut.hut.hut
kids picking up grain that fell out of a sack in the market
brown camel.white camel.
We HAD to stop to buy some sugar cane!
cutting up the sugar cane so we can eat it right away.
Stopped to get Kilichi. Nigerien beef jerky. It is delicious.
Galmi is famous for onions. Everyone sells onions in Galmi.
we bought a huge bag of onions from this guy
See if you can spot what's missing here.
There are so many of these half black / half white sheep. Becca calls them "Oreos"
More Oreos
How many sheep do you see?
How many goats do you see?
I love hearing about your trip. Seeing a clean well equipped hospital makes me so happy. Seeing your smiling faces also makes makes my day.
Wow! Those pictures are really cool. Those round houses look like acorns! And I would love to try the beef jerky!
I knew you’d like the beef jerky picture! And they make it really spicy… it’s no joke!
Love the shots you took along the way!
it is finally open 🙂 they were trying to get the permits when I was in Maradi in 08 🙂
Reading this posting along with Kristof’s article as well is like a kick in the gut when you consider how this cursed city I live in, despite its peerless myopia, never fails to command the world’s attention. If ever there were a clear-cut cause worth investing one’s efforts towards, surely the things you’ve described so well in this blog leave little room to quibble, and yet somehow millions upon millions will forever be convinced that there is nothing more significant than the fate of this here pile of rocks.
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What you labeled as huts are actually onion storage facilities