Graham & Jenny

We are now safely home in the U.K. We flew into Glasgow to be met by Katherine which was lovely. Peter also came to Scotland and then we went down to Sheffield to see Christoper + meet Rachel + her parents. The wedding is June 8th. We then went on to Leeds to see Mum + Dad who remain remarkably active and are busy with visitors. It is lovely to be back in spring. We have been pleasantly surprised after the gloomy reports of the effects of the recession. It has been wonderful to be re-united with family + friends and we look forward to meeting many more of you over the next few weeks. We are off to London in 2 weeks to meet with our colleagues at the Methodist World Church office for a debrief and to discuss the future. We have had a couple of messages from Munda just to confirm that it was not just a dream. Our thoughts + prayers remain with our friends on both sides of the world.

We prepare this post as we come to the beginning of our last week here in Sasamunga. Although it has only been 7 months with much coming and going, it has become home for now and we leave with some sadness. As always there are mixed emotions as we look forward to seeing family & friends again in the U.K. and are excited about our return. We also have 2 weeks back in Munda, our other home here in the Solomon Islands. As Jenny enjoyed her morning mug of tea sitting on the seashore with the moon reflecting on the water and the early dawn light rising behind her, she felt grateful for this chance to live and work in such a remote location. It has been a busy time: a gentle knock at the door at 3-30am was the wake-up call to an unconscious convulsing 18 year old, the nurse on duty struggling to put in an I.V. cannula by torch-light. With help to hold him down this was achieved and he was given the necessary drugs to stop him fitting. The initial malaria slide was negative, but the decision was made to treat him for malaria anyway, and a subsequent blood slide was positive. He needed quite a lot of medication to stop his convulsions and this morning (Sunday 11^th. March) he is slightly improved. Whilst still busy replacing his drip which he had pulled out in his confusion, an antenatal mother arrived and delivered. With only one nurse aide on duty, we had to send for reinforcements, but thankfully we managed, only resuming “normal” duties of seeing out-patients, doing dressings etc. by mid-morning.

The community here is sad to lose “their doctors” after such a short time, but the new maternity unit is almost complete and we hope that the hospital is more prepared for an incoming doctor, if one can be found.

This will be one of our last BLOG entries before we leave the Solomon Islands to return to the U.K. after nearly 3 years and it is with great excitement that we look forward to seeing our family & friends. The last 6 months has been very interesting & enjoyable where we hope we have made some contribution to the health care in this remote location, but lack of internet access and difficulty with telephone communication makes us eager to catch up with you all again. We are both in Munda briefly – a Sasamunga delegation having come to meet Bryan and Rob from Uniting World in the hope of securing a share in their generous giving towards the touring programs.

Writing this to the sound of wailing during the funeral service of an old lady who died last night, we are reminded of the fragility of life. The nurses here still re-live the experience of the tsunami of 2^nd April 2007 when most of them lost their entire possessions as the wave spread through their homes. Fortunately there was not much loss of life, but with no insurance, people had to continue life as best they could, taking food from the sea and their gardens as before and gradually repairing their homes, some taking the opportunity to move further inland. There is no sense of bitterness, only a thankfulness to God for each new day they live to enjoy.

Following interviews for the post of Hospital Accountant in January, Lavinta started work in early February. She grew up in Sasamunga, attended Goldie College and then did a 2 year diploma course in business at the Solomon Island College of Higher Education in Honiara. We hope that she will be able to keep the hospital accounts in order and also do some of the routine clerical work. Appointing a Hospital Secretary has been more difficult and the management committee continues to work on this.

Work to complete the unfinished mother and child unit has been progressing well, but building materials ordered and paid for in the first week of January in Honiara have not yet arrived. Hopefully the wotk will be completed by the end of March, allowing use of the unit for deliveries assisted by the neonatal equipment which arrived from New Zealand last May. Future projects at the hospital include completing the renovation of the x-ray department, renovating the operating theatre, replacing rotten timbers on the main hospital building and the installation of a better solar power system.

On his way back to Munda from Choiseul, Graham spent a weekend in Gizo awaiting the Monday Rava. Four senior members of the Ministry of Health were there at the time, including the Minister of Health. They were there to facilitate the move to the new hospital across the road. The current plan is to move either March or April. Apparently the hospital has a generous amount of medical equipment but lacks office furniture.

Munda continues to change as work on the runway continues and local businesses scramble for land in the main town (Lambete). Graham has spent the week immersed in physical science with the final year students at the College of Nursing, finishing on Saturday morning with the scientific principles of the E.C.G. and a practical demonstration at the hospital.

Jenny plans to leave Sasamunga at 5am on Wednesday with a small delegation from the hospital. They are keen to meet Bryan Cussen on the Australian Uniting Church who is expected to arrive in Munda tomorrow (Monday).  He did not have enough time to make the crossing to Sasamunga.

It is cyclone season, the noise of the ocean & crashing waves here in Sasamunga are a contrast to the calmer waters of the lagoon in Munda. Fortunately Jenny is back from touring. The first week she visited all the clinics in South Choiseul, ending up in Wagina – the southern end of the island where a large number of people from the then Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) were resettled by the British Protectorate in the 1960’s. They have managed to retain their own distinctive culture in this remote part of Choiseul. They still tend to have large families and are a challenge for primary health care. From Wagina she managed to get a lift in the clinic canoe which was going to fetch a terminally ill patient from the Choiseul cargo & passenger ship. The plan to leave at midnight & drop her on North New Georgia was subject to Solomon time. Departure at 3-30 a.m. was too late to drop her first and they arrived to find that the patient had died. A loaded canoe with the deceased, the relatives and the belongings made slow progress and Jenny was swapped to a passing canoe later that morning and finally emerged onto land after 8 hours at sea.

The timing to arrive back in Munda could not have been better. Reverend Aaron Bea, one of only two Solomon Islanders to be awarded the O.B.E. and a much loved father and mentor to many, spent his last years working with the Roviana Bible translation team. He had been fighting cancer for a long time, but had deteriorated and was in pain when Jenny arrived. She was able to use a syringe driver supplied by the Australian nurses to relieve his pain and give him 3 peaceful days with his family before he slipped away. His passing was a major event in the life of the U.C.S.I. and the local community, with several services before his final burial beside his father in the family homeland. Jenny actually missed most of these as she decided to continue with the planned touring from Noro, but she was able to spend some time with his sister Heti before leaving Munda. It has been one of the privileges of being here to have had the opportunity to minister to Aaron. We shared the verse from the book of Romans, Chapter 15: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

We may not feel happy at such times as this, but we can have peace and a deep-down joy because of our hope in a risen Saviour.

Jenny apparently completed her tour down the S. Choiseul coast, ending up in Noro after spending 10 hours in an open canoe, leaving Wagina at 3am ! She arrived back in Munda in time to set up a syringe driver on a retired minister who has been battling with prostate cancer for over a year. The syringe driver administers Morphine slowly by day and night, and afforded him considerable relief. The plan is to tour north of Noro this week, villages inhabited by people from Kiribati (like Rawaki & Baeroko). These villages are often left out of the touring schedule. After that it may be on to Marovo Lagoon for 3 days, starting at Seghe.

Graham has been busy with the accountant from Taro hospital over the last week, using Excel & MYOB.  Fortunately the hospital accounts are now reconciled for 2011, so we can now proceed to interviewing candidates for a new hospital accountant. It seems likely that we will be able to find someone suitable for this post, but that of the hospital secretary is not so easy. The hospital really needs someone who can do this important job efficiently. Clinically things remain quiet in Sasamunga but the plans to complete the mother & child unit are on schedule: we hope to complete the work by Easter.

Whilst Jenny sets of down the coast of Choiseul (if there is any fuel), Graham has the opportunity for a quick visit to Vonunu clinic on the way back from Honiara. This is one of the five health care institutions run by the United Church of the Solomon Islands, the others have previously been described in some detail. The clinic has fairly new buildings (thanks to AusAid) but very little equipment. In Munda people believed that there was not even a stethoscope in Vonunu. Well I am able to confirm that there is one there, but neither an otoscope (for checking ears), mattresses nor electric. The quality of care could so easily be improved by the provision of these three items. No doubt there are many other clinics in the country with little equipment, but it would be good if we could raise standards at least in those run by the United Church. Fortunately things are improving at Sasamunga but it is certainly not easy to make things happen here.

In  Gizo the new hospital remains unused, waiting for a kitchen and laundry but hopefully it will be in use later this year.

With only 3 months left of our time here, our thoughts are beginning to turn towards home and we are looking forward to being with our family & friends again. There is however still much to be done here and we are trying to plan our schedule for our remaining time. Graham is back in Honiara having taken advantage of the ship which brought the outreach team - a 24 hour journey rather than the usual 1-2 weeks taken by the cargo ship. Fortunately some money owed to Sasamunga hospital from AusAid finally got paid to the hospital after persistent enquiries & phone calls (when we could get through). POST INTERRUPTED BY A MEDICAL EMERGENCY IN SASAMUNGA.

Graham is currently in Honiara paying off the debts at Inland Revenue and National Pension Fund, allowing a fresh start when the new accountant is appointed, hopefully later this month. Unfortunately the closing date for hospital secretary has been extended to 14th. January, but we still hope to be able to appoint someone before we leave Sasamunga in March. Work progresses very slowly to complete the maternity unit and x-ray due to lack of finance and also the difficulty in getting materials to Choiseul. The New Zealand Methodist Church has been very helpful in assisting us and we hope that work will start again in earnest. Jenny has been busy planning the medical & dental touring for 2012 which is supported at Helena Goldie Hospital by the Australian Uniting Church; the aim is to extend this to Sasamunga. The plan is for her to tour south Choiseul from 9th. January, visiting the remote communities there, then on to North New Georgia and back to H.G.H.

We have found it very hot over Christmas & New Year and this has sapped our energy. This has now changed, with heavy rain throughout the country for the last week. We have been grateful for the use of 2 bikes allowing us to take rides along the coast, usually on Saturday mornings. Otherwise we continue to swim most days, with waves from the open sea contrasting with the flat waters of the lagoon at Munda.

Happy New Year to everyone. We hope that you have had a blessed Christmas time. Ours has been different again being here in Sasamunga, but fortunately there has been neither gastro-enteritis nor a ‘Flu outbreak this year so the hospital has been quiet, allowing us to take a full part in the Christmas activities. Our singing on carol night (Thursday) led to us being asked to do the nativity scene on Christmas morning. The hospital staff took up the challenge becoming the people of that first Christmas (the wise men dressed in blue theatre gowns with a flower pattern) whilst 3 of us narrated the story. We finished with the Calypso carol. It was very simple but clearly touched the hearts of the congregation who seem to have lost much of the Christmas traditions introduced by the pioneer missionaries in the early 1900’s. In the afternoon we joined the traditional feast laid out on banana leaves in the dining hall. Boxing Day was marked singing & dancing on the beach in traditional style, accompanied by the bamboo band to the great enjoyment of all.

We have been blessed by the arrival of a team from Honiara who came for some outreach and reconciliation in the community. As we start 2012 we have been challenged by the experience of the wise men who sought diligently for the Christ child, rejoiced and worshipped Him. This contrasts with Herod’s reaction who also searched for the child but with the aim of killing Him. Being warned in a dream, the wise men “departed by another way”. Should we be taking another way this year? Will we place Jesus at the centre of our lives and worship him with the kings or will we reject this Christmas gift following Herod’s example? In Sasamunga the only gift that we have seen this Christmas is that of the baby Jesus. What a joy it has been.

We wish you God’s blessing as you start your journey through 2012

This is the last time that we will be able to send greetings for Christmas 2011.

A text message came to us yesterday from Annette, the audiologist attached to HGH, originally from Brisbane. She has been to Australia with Steven, one of the students from Helena Goldie  College of Nursing. He has been deaf for the last 15 years but can now hear thanks to a cochlear implant funded by the Australian company that supplies these items. Annette was with him in his home village on Guadalcanal when he was “switched on ” yesterday. An amazing Christmas present for him! The nursing students at the college are all very happy for him.

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year from us both.