Rotary International Helps Yonkofa and Half Assini Hospital to Eradicate Polio and Provide Water Ambulance
Half Assini hospital is the only hospital in the entire Jomoro district of approximately 180,000 people including refugees. It has the only two doctors in the Jomoro District.
We met this fisherman at the dock. He had been a patient of Dr. Frank’s after receiving an emergency appendectomy. He told us where the boats were made, and that a boat would take about 3 hrs to get a patient or nurse across the water. However, with a motor, the boat would only take about 30 minutes to make the trip.
A letter by Dr. Gabriella Nanci sent to the Escondido Rotary
This is where they make the boats in Half Assini.
We would like to get the hospital a similar boat to the one they are making here, just a bit shorter so it will travel faster across the water. The boat will cost about $1,000. The motor will cost $3,500.
‘’I was visiting one of the doctors we work with and ran across a crazy situation. Dr. Frank now works in a hospital along the coast where he is responsible for people on both sides of a vast river and lagoon. Once a week, on Saturday, a boat brings people from across the water to the town of Half Assini, for market day. This is the only day those people have access to health care.
Yesterday, Dr. Frank delivered two sets of twins by cesarean. Three of the babies were dead. One mother went into labor on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. They presented on Saturday.
Nurses can’t cross the river to deliver vaccinations, so kids on the far side go unvaccinated. Ghana has strong concerns about polio, with two cases of VDP1 discovered this year. These cases are an indication of inadequate vaccination rate.
But the isolation villagers face on the far side of the lagoon means that mothers suffer, babies die, vaccines are not given, and polio susceptibility persists.
Thursday, October 24th, is World Polio Day, [established by the Rotary 30 years ago]. I wonder if Rotary could help us with a new boat and motor in recognition of World Polio Day.’’
Ths is a panorama of the dock showing the waterway and fishing boats. This dock is 1/2 mile from Half Assini Hospital, and is where patients would be unloaded to be transported to the hospital.
The Escondido Rotary responds within hours
The Yonkofa Project has given out approximately 65 of these Personal Energy Transporters (P.E.T.’s) in Ghana, almost entirely to victims of polio. All those affected by polio have been over the age of 35 years. This demonstrates the remarkable work of polio eradication in Ghana. We thank Rotary Club for their tremendous contribution to polio eradication around the world.
Dr. Gabriella Nanci sent this message from Ghana to Wendy Shafer at the Escondido Rotary in California. Within hours, she responded. Wendy contacted her chapter’s International Liaison, Johnny Watson, and they put the wheels in motion, securing the $4,500 needed for a boat. The boat will be manufacured about 5 miles from the hospital, and the motor will be purchased in Takoradi, Ghana. Soon, Dr. Frank will have a water ambulance. The Rotary has shown that polio cannot hide and they are ready to reach to the farthest corners with eradication efforts.
The Yonkofa Project sends thanks to all Rotary members and especially the Rotary Clubs of Escondido, CA; Ojai, CA; Alhambra, CA; and Rotarian Christine Montan, who all participated in this project. The donation of a boat and motor will do so much to assure better healthcare to the rural, under-served villages in the Jomoro District of Western Ghana.
Below are pictures of the boat, with Dr. Frank observing the progress, then a picture of the boat maker, and the finished boat, named “The Yonkofa Project” with the hand-painted Rotary Logo.
