Visiting the village clinic

Our next stop was at the village clinic. Again, we had a talk from a member of staff who told us about the difficult situation they have to work in. And again, he asked for donations.

While I realise that there is a huge need for financial help and support for the institutions we visited, we came away thinking that we’d been shown the worst they could show us! In the school, we were seated in a classroom/library that had clearly not been used in a very long time, judging by the thick layer of dust on all of the furniture! There was also writing on the blackboard dated 2015! In the hospital, we were shown a delivery room and a ward supposedly used for post-natal care. Both were empty and in very poor condition. We saw ladies with their babies emerging from another room, which, whilst not the best, was clearly better equipped than the ones we were shown! We were disappointed and fed back to Laban that we would rather have seen the reality.

Following the hospital visit, we walked back to the campsite with our companions. There, we were each directed to their shop (or, in my case, his cousin’s shop!) and invited to buy something – either a painting or a local wooden game. I went for a bespoke painting depicting a map of our trip, with all the countries we’re visiting and the date. I settled on a price of US$40 and arranged to collect it later this afternoon. Back in camp, I found out that other group members had paid anything from US$20 to US$60 for the same thing!

We had lunch and then spent the time relaxing by the lake and photographing the quirky art around the site. I went out to collect my painting at 3pm. and waved the others off on their bike ride. I was pleased with my purchase, even though I probably paid over the odds for it!Read more