It made me wonder how it would be when it rains in Bardai (meaning cold)
in the North of Chad. There it rains but a couple of times a year and sometimes
not at all. It is a very small town surrounded by mountains in the middle of
the Sahara desert not so far from Libya.
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| Thanks to Dave Forney MAF for flying us there and this photo of Emi Kosi |
We flew there a few weeks ago to have a look at the hospital, meet the
missionaries and see if we might feel called to work there. Flying over the
desert in a small aeroplane was an experience never to forget with miles of
sand dunes and then rocky mountains. We even got to fly over the highest
mountain in Chad an extinct volcano.
On arrival after being fed a delicious meal made by one of the very
versatile missionaries with dried meat (no meat available in town except
occasionally camel) we visited the governor. He was extremely welcoming, then to
our delight we were taken to see some prehistoric carvings in the rocks just on
the edge of the town no entry fee or queues just there for all to see. Strange
to imagine that elephants roamed the area at one time.
The next day we visited the hospital a surreal experience it was an
exact copy of Goz Beida but empty .It has been open since 2011 and
as yet no operation has ever been performed despite having 2 fully equipped
operating theatres. Most of the very good equipment was still in its original
packing. The doctors there have about 10 outpatients a day 7 deliveries a month
and anything complicated is referred to Libya a 12 hour drive across desert or
Faya in Chad a 24 hour drive through the mountains. Many staff who are
transferred there are not keen to stay because it is so isolated and the doctor
in charge of the area has no surgical experience and has only been qualified 3
years not an easy situation.
The need is obvious but the population small and life there would
certainly be different, houses are very simple and we slept outside under
mosquito nets to avoid the scorpions,(they are such a problem that the hospital
stocks anti-venom). It was a welcome respite from the heat of Ndjamena as we
huddled together under a sheet, Bardai living up to its name even in the hot
season.
The next day as we left looking down over the town surrounded by the date palms it was hard to imagine the wadi filled with water but apparently just 2m down there was water available and last year the centre where the missionaries work was flooded. Meanwhile we continue to ask where God is leading us and enjoy the water all around us here in Ndjamena as we finish our time here.
