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Dan Bascheira from Nightcliff in the Northern Territory is currently on his first mission as a Logistician with Medecins Sans Frontieres in Kailahun, Sierra Leone. Hello All Another missive from deep in West Africa, thunderous tropical storms mosquitoes, and all. It’s a cooler time now, the roads are muddy, there are cloudy rainy skies, and a beautiful morning mist that seeps through the forest at knee height catching the shafts of sunlight when we go for our morning hikes. The malaria time has hit in a big way. I always knew how deadly this disease was but seeing its' effect on the ground is terribly sobering. Our Artemisinin protocols are working and we are curing much more than losing. However the mothers with truly young ones have only a small window of opportunity before the malaria destroys the infant’s blood. We are always seeking blood donations, as we do not have the refrigerant capacity to store a blood bank. The Australian doctor in our team has had some marked success treating Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a horrible condition that causes an ugly swelling and fatal if not treated. The Lassa fever appears to have retired with the good washing of the land courtesy of the rain. We cross our fingers and hold our breath. We are all well and enjoying the challenge; the team spirit is high. This is quite evident in the medical discussions around every meal table. As you can appreciate the subject matter can create the type of visuals and other effects that immediately destroys the appetite of this sensitive logistician. I have lost 5 kilos and falling, I’m fit as, but still the crazy 51-year-old I was last year. I find my time caught up in the plethora of challenges you face in managing the support and Administration to a tropical hospital employing a 100 plus staff. If I am not repairing a power grid at 3 am in the middle of a tropical storm, I am dealing with staff on the building site. On top of this the expatriate team require me to keep them well supplied with food, electricity and problem solving when the telex doesn’t work at sunset! Africa is as unpredictable as ever, there is an awesome beauty to this place, its forests, the smoky villages, the friendly and not so friendly people, the intense spirituality, the all-night discos in the town centre, the made up ‘devils’ that scour the streets frightening away the spirits (and children) when someone important dies. A man across the street is husking rice while his wife sings to him. Cheers, Dan
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