Visiting friends in tough places doesn’t get easier. There at a facility we enabled to be built for those with alcohol and substance abuse was a man chained up. He had absconded in search of drugs. Can a hospital; become a prison? Well with mental health our country relies on drugs and chemistry to help so many through mental health challenges. Take that away as you cant afford the drugs and it’s a difficult setting. It was great to meet the caretaker we had known since we began and see the facility being used and helping as best they could.
Daniel Davies came bounding over to me. A man in his 70’s when we last saw him, he was on his death bed. No one cared and we had taken him to a hospital and covered his costs. To see him full of energy was a joy. In the only elderly care home in the country the term “care” seems to be missing. I wonder if a residential home in the UK would twin with them and share some resource and best practice.
To see the children in St George foundation was a stark reminder of the ebola cost here. Many children orphaned and no one to care. When the ebola headlines are gone, these and thousands of children need to find a home. I wonder how many now roam the streets of Freetown.
Elderly, orphan children and mentally ill. Meeting in these hugely challenging circumstances is heartbreaking and yet I see hope in many eyes and a desire among a few to help and make a real difference. What an example to me today.