Service Day Project- A Great Success!!

Hello!!!

So first off, my apologies for a  long delay in between blogs! I have been traveling as well as having a few small computer/internet difficulties. I have a LOT of exciting updates for all of you, so lets get started. :)

When I last wrote, I was filling you in on the service day project that I had been planning with a colleague. We had the event Saturday morning of July 21 and it was an amazing success!! About 60 Mamas turned out at the hospital early in the morning around 7am, carrying their brooms and smiles. We had some lovely shirts made, one for each mama, out of some polo shirts donated by our supervisor. They are red, dark blue, light blue, and yellow, and we hired a local business man to screen print our Global Mamas logo small in the front and large on the back. We started handing out shirts as they arrived, which was met with a lot of excitement. (Photo above- early morning cleaners)The nurse that I had been working with to organize the event was not there that morning, so she set me up with another nurse to help set people up to clean the wards. We split into two groups, one to clean the children's ward and one to clean the maternity ward. As I walked around checking on people, I was so amazed with the women's energy and diligence for the project. Some of them took leadership roles over small groups, directing the cleaning of the floors, window glass, window screens, outside grass and gutters. One of my favorite moments was when one of the head Mamas pulled a hose into the maternity ward from outside and set up a few people to start spraying the screens from inside out. Can you imagine?!?! A hose inside the maternity ward.. amazing! The hose did work wonders though and you could literally see the dirt running off the screens. (All there is between the outside and the ward is a screen window.) There are some of our ladies cleaning the screens in the picture to the left.

We did a small dedication ceremony where I presented all of our donations to the nurses and the lead nurse also gave a thank you presentation. It was so moving to be in a room with so many wonderful ladies! The picture above is of our ceremony. The lady to my left is Kristin, one of the two founders of Global Mamas. She happened to be visiting Cape Coast one day during her 10 day trip here, so we made sure she could be there for the service day! In total, we donated: labor ward- 53 beautiful batik curtains (45 window curtains to provide privacy to the rooms from the outside and from the hallway, 2 large divider curtains, and 6 large curtains to hang between beds), 8 plastic chairs for the pregnant women to sit in (previously they would sit on the floor or stand!), and 3 plastic fans that they can spread out around the ward. We chose plastic because they will not rust like the metal fans, since the hospital is right across the road from the ocean! Children's ward- a hot water kettle for boiling water, packages of biscuits and juice boxes for the children that get admitted there, and a few small toys- plastic number and letter magnets that they can play with, which we chose because they can be easily sanitized. With the amazing donations from our families and friends as well as other volunteers and interns, we were able to donate such a wonderful assortment of items!! I am so thankful to all that supported this project. I can tell you that the ladies in the maternity ward and the nurses throughout the hospital were so so thankful for all the effort and love that was sent their way. From them to all of you, a very sincere thank you and God bless!

After the service day we all walked as a group down to a local park for the annual awards ceremony. We presented 6 awards to Mamas, which were voted on by all GM staff in Ghana and the US, as well as all the Quality Control staff that work in the Cape Coast office (about 10 people). The awards presented were: Global Mama of the Year, Initiative, Innovation, Leadership, Staff Member of the Year, and Dedication (which is a new award Lauren and I created to give to a Mama that we heard so many positive things about). We hired our dear friend Eli to cook for all of us, so she made some great chicken and rice for the event. (Eli is the lady that lives down the road from our volunteer house. She owns a restaurant and cooks us some lovely westernized dinners when we need them.) We were able to get the park for free, after speaking with the owner and explaining that we are an NGO with little $$, and we agreed to purchase 'minerals' from him in exchange. (Minerals are what they call soda or pop.. we bought Fanta, Coke, and Sprite for everyone, as well as water sachets) Our manager Mel and the QC Staff boss, Wisdom, were the MCs of the event, and it was great fun! We took some really great group shots after the awards.

There is one of the whole crew above, and one of the Quality Control office staff + volunteers + GM staff below. Top left- Kristin (founder), Erin (V), me (V), Matthew (QC), Lauren (V), Melanie (GM S), Amos (GM S), George (QC), Kennedy (QC), Cali (GM S), Tony (GM S). Second row starting next to Kristin- Christianne (QC), Roberta (QC), Annette (QC), Joyce (GM S), Katie (V), Grace (QC). Front row- Erika (V), Suzy (QC), Alberta (QC), Wisdom (GM S).

To get more views of these pictures plus many more, here is the link to my service day photobucket!
http://s1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc477/colleenfulp/Ghana/Global%20Mamas%20Gives%20Back%20Service%20Day%20and%20Awards/
(click the link or copy that whole thing and paste into your browser)

Since that day, Lauren and I have been back to the wards several times to ensure the curtains get properly taken care of and hung. This past Monday we went with Matthew, one of our staff members, to nail up all of the wires to hang the curtains on. We bought nails, hooks, and wire to hang the curtains, and with the assistance of Matthew, were able to nail up the wires in each window frame. We also donated plenty of the supplies to the hospital, so that they can fix any wires or replace them if ever needed. The curtains had been stamped by that time (each ward has their own stamp), washed, and were in the process of drying and being ironed. We went back on Tuesday to see the progress and were able to see how truly beautiful the place now looks! I have some wonderful pictures of the final product which I will upload and share will you all very soon.

Once again, thank you so much to all that were able to donate to this project and those that have been following our efforts and sending support. I feel so proud and happy with what we were able to accomplish together!

More to come soon!