Easter March/April 24

This month we were fortunate to be able to visit some local churches including a catholic catherdal and an evangelical church. See picture carousel below. The highlight was the week of Easter with a series of services led by the Chaplains. The Cross to the left was part of a special Tenebrae service. We have to remember that people come to serve from all denominations and motivations. Some short term volunteers are yet to find faith. 

Work wise I have been busy learning in greater detail the functions of the Finance team. From 1 April we have a new new staff member from Cameroon joining and completing a full team. 

Patient selection has begun and will continue for the next month or so. This is a challenging time as many people come hoping for surgery to help their conditions but we may be unable to offer them this opportunity. Care has to be taken in selecting who can be treated given the time and skills available for surgery. At this stage the initial selection process has closed and now those selected will have further medical assessment to see if they are able to cope with surgery. Things like severe malnutrition or high blood pressure can preclude patients. 

We were excited to meet a new crew member and find out she was from Australia and had brought us some vegemite! Amazing what you miss. 

A few weekends ago we got to do a trip to Plum Island - about 2 hours boat ride off the coast of Toamasina. It rained pretty much the entire day but it was a lovely day despite this. We climbed the working lighthouse to the top and then we snorkelled on the reef. The water was warm, clear and beautiful with many little fish and some coral.