Under the Mango Tree.....

Our first week of clinical, half of us were at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, and the other half at Shekhinah Clinic that Dr. David Abudulai opened in 1991 to serve the poor and destitute. Upon arrival, you see two big mango trees on either side of the entrance, and underneath the left hand side is where Dr. Abdulai performed his first surgery. 

Where it all began....under the mango tree.

Maggie, Krista, Michelle and Tameka with Charity

The energy from the entrance alone makes a person feel not only welcomed, but also humbled. After a tour of the whole property we had three options of where we could volunteer: the OPD (out patient department), the pharmacy/dispensary, and the kitchen. At the OPD, two volunteers in the morning start by giving out ‘medical cards’ which consisted of the person’s name and today’s date.  After they received this, they formed into a line for us to take their blood pressure and pulse. One student was doing the assessments while the other transcribed the patients name and their community into what was the clinic’s book keeping. They see anywhere from 30-50 patients in a day. These patients travel to the clinic from near and far. For those patients who travel far distances, the clinic has small guest houses for them to stay at, as well as providing them three meals a day. For example, If they arrive on Monday, they will be given a number and told to come back the next day. On the Tuesday, they are asked to help clean up the property to maintain its grounds. Then on Wednesday they are able to sit in the lineup at the clinic and be seen by the volunteer doctors. Normally there are two working who will see all patients and write prescriptions that they can go fill for free at the dispensary.

Dispensary

Once at the dispensary, the patient will hand the volunteer their ‘medical card’ from which their blood pressure, pulse, and prescriptions are written. The volunteer will then write the medication name, and draw circles if the medication is to be taken once daily, twice daily, or three times a day onto an small envelope as not every person can read. Each medication has its own separate envelope. The dispensary is small with many shelves labelled for medication types, along with bottles all over the counter. 

The third place students were able to volunteer was in the kitchen. On all three days, each student participated in making and bagging food. On Wednesday, I helped prepare Kenkey, which is a traditional Ghanaian dish. 

Rebecca and Michelle

 

It looked like mashed potatoes wrapped in corn shucks. Along with making meals, the Shekhinah clinic also offers a food program that was started January 6th, 1992 and has run every day since. The food program was started to ensure those who are poor or mentally ill still received food and water daily. Dr. Abdulai himself grew up poor so this was extremely important to him to give back and support those who can not support themselves.  The food is loaded into the back of a pick up truck and it drives through Tamale every day, serving homeless and “mad people.” This is the Ghanaian term for those suffering with mental illness. 

Shannon, Rebecca and Thomas with the food truck

There is not enough words to describe the energy and feeling you have when volunteering with this clinic. This clinic is solely run off volunteers and donations. The joy and happiness that radiates throughout the staff, in-patients, and-out patients is so beautiful to witness. You can feel the love and support  that everyone has for each other, it truly is remarkable. 

Dr. Abdulai's grave

Dr. Abdulai passed away at the end of 2016 after battling cancer, but his legacy of the Shekhinah clinic is thriving more than ever.  The Shekhinah Clinic for the Poor and Destitute has very powerful yet simple goals, “Shekhinah Clinic for the Poor and Destitute aspires to be a source of light, hope, and joy for the poorest of the poor in the society in  order that they may experience God’s free and unconditional love. The clinic exists to provide 

services: medical care, shelter, meal, clothing and other support services to the poorest of the poor freely and unconditionally purely for the love of God and neighbour and depending solely on Divine Providence.” 

All of us are truly grateful to witness and experience the amazing work the Shekhinah clinic offers. Their work touches so many lives within the community and inspires those around the globe. 

Mission Statement

~ Posted by UBCO 4th year BSN students Rebecca Wheatley & Tameka Coulombe