Ann's-Mercy-Africa-Service-Trip

As I get towards the end of my Trip (I leave in less than 2 weeks.), I’ve been thinking about the things that I have learned and will take away from my trip. There are several things that I have learned about myself and grown from. There are things that I have learned from and about the patients here, and there are things to be learned about governments or lack there of.

In my time here, I have come to see again the importance of government in improving the quality of its citizen’s lives. Things like roads which are cared for, building codes and standards, clean water, garbage pick up, and health care. The roads in Madagascar are pretty atrocious. The result is that it takes a very long time and effort to get anywhere. This means that cars take a beating and must be replaced more often and prevents people from accessing jobs, school, opportunity.

All of the buildings here were built in the 1930’s when the French were here. From what I can tell there has been very little development of any kind since then. All of the buildings here, including some of the ones that I work in would be condemned as unsafe in the US. I am quite sure there is lead paint, asbestos, poor wiring in most if not all of them.

There is garbage everywhere here. It is an island which makes getting rid of garbage a problem for sure, but it does not seem that anyone in any place is putting any effort into managing garbage. This means that the children here are exposed to anything that is discarded. It makes for an unattractive and unsafe environment and does not promote a feeling of hope or possibility.

Clean drinking water and sewer infrastructure are also big problems here as in many developing countries throughout the world. The lack of clean water and the lack of sewer infrastructure are linked. If people have to use the bathroom outside or dump human waste outside, it becomes a real problem and can contaminate ground water. This in turn can result in the rapid spread of parasitic diseases or things like cholera and result in disease and death.

Health care is out of reach for many people here both in terms of monetary cost and in terms of access. People here are very poor. There are very few (? any) governmental services. This is one of the reasons that Mercy Ships exists.

The result of the lack of all of these things here in Madagascar is an increase in the burdens on regular people who have to travel poor roads, who lack any updated buildings or any building standards, who do not have clean water, sewer infrastructures or health care.

Most of these things are addressed in developed countries by government infrastructure. As I watch from afar and see the dismantling of parts of the government in the US, I have to wonder who is going to benefit from the loss of government infrastructure? It seems clear to me that the average person is not likely to benefit, but rather to bear the burdens.

My own personal growth has occurred in two areas. The first is in learning not to hold onto things that may upset me. I am and have always been a sensitive soul. I am easily upset by things and have in the past held onto things that bother me, perseverating about them in my head.

My supervisor here is kind of a persnickety person and at times seems not to understand how she can come across. At first I let that bother me a lot. In the second half of my time here, when I have found myself starting to go over things repeatedly in my mind holding onto them, I have been able to choose to stop. To let go of whatever has upset me. In the past I have not been successful in doing that, finding the emotions to be so strong that I struggled to manage them.

I’m not sure what shifted other than that I have been beginning my days here with a 10 minute meditation. I think that this practice has helped my brain to be less reactive, to see another way. This in turn has made me less likely to feel the need to react or give feedback, and allowed me to have empathy for my supervisor in her lack of filters (something that I am also personally familiar with).

The second area that I struggled with at first had to do with the conservative form of Christianity practiced here. It’s need to control how people dress; the calls to repent and to loudly proclaim faith at every opportunity multiple times/day. I found myself trying to fit in but not feeling good about that, and questioning if my faith and beliefs were somehow not up to snuff.

I thought about it a lot. I decided that I really believe in a God who is neither female or male (God as the original They/Them!); who is endlessly creative; who made a world of such incredible variety and diversity; who is loving and intelligent; and who wants to be in relationship with us. And, I believe that such a God would not create only one pathway to come to know and be in relationship with them. My faith exists and I am OK with the fact that it is not in agreement with traditional Christianity as practiced in many places. I admire the faith of many of the people here. I just practice my faith differently. This experience has helped me to accept my own faith and to appreciate more than ever my church family of seekers in Vermont.

Other things that I have come to know while here:

• We can ALL make a difference in making the world more just and more kind, in both small and large ways. Dream big! Take steps to ACT!
• People have the ability to rise to the occasion in unexpected ways. While here I have seen incredible resilience by patients with terrible injuries or deformities. I have seen family members step up for each other. I have seen community in the hospital and outpatient clinics in the ways that patients and families step up and support each other

• It is possible to work with and live with and enjoy people who view religion differently and likely the world differently and to find common ground in the work and in being together

• I have come to know again how much I love and love to be with my wonderful husband Terry. I do not ever need to be away from him this long again!

Overall, the trip has been a very worthwhile thing to do. I have learned about a couple of different cultures. I have had the opportunity to help some children and young men to recover function that was lost when they were injured, some a very long time ago. I have grown in my ability to manage myself, my emotions, and my thoughts in ways that I have struggled with a lot in the past. My faith is still a work in progress but has grown during this trip, and been strengthened in ways that I did not expect. I am glad I came and I am very happy to be headed home soon to Terry, to my dog, to my home, my family, my church, and to my beloved Vermont.