10 (1000) Reasons why it’s good to be in Bardai

We have been back in Bardai for 2 months now and thought we would share with you some of the joys of being here.

Sweet smelling flowers (and tasty vegetables)in the garden

Imagine our surprise when we arrived back to see the sweet peas we had planted  in October sprouting well. We have now had 2 flowers and there are many more on their way. Sweet peas in April strange but beautiful. Not only that but  the warm temperatures here although they have not been too high just yet ,mean that everything grows so rapidly. We planted green beans and courgettes when we arrived back 8 weeks ago and have already eaten plenty  of courgettes and some beans. It’s amazing to see and we are also enjoying all the herbs and the spinach that our neighbour watered for us whilst we were away and so kept alive. 

Living an ecological life

Living in the middle of the desert means that we have plenty of sunshine and our house is completely powered by solar power. We have a solar fridge which works remarkably well and  we also have  solar oven. We also don’t own a car so walk everywhere except for occasional lifts from people who find it strange that we are on foot. It’s a much more ecological way of life than when we are in the UK or Ndjamena.

Helping to treat our previous next door neighbour

Our previous next-door neighbour had a major bleed after giving birth and only just survived, when we arrived back she was still very unwell. After admitting her to hospital we were able to diagnose that due to the bleeding she now had another problem, where she was not making the necessary hormones she needed to make breast milk and to maintain her blood pressure. She is making a good recovery now and it’s great to see the improvement and  not only that but MAF were able to bring us the drugs needed to treat her at just the right moment.

Our previous next-door neighbours

Fresh vegetables and fruit

Life is full of surprises here and it was always fun to go to the market and see what had arrived from Libya. When we first arrived back fresh fruit and vegetables were in really low supply and weeks were going by with no fruit. In the last few weeks things have dramatically improved and we have been excited to buy green peppers and Kiwi fruit for the first time here and plenty of carrots, apples and aubergines. It makes meals more interesting and means our dried supplies will last a little longer.

Operating a man badly wounded in the abdomen

Mark with the now recovered patient

A few days after we started back at the hospital a man was brought in seriously wounded by a gunshot wound in his abdomen. He had been shot by someone robbing his lock up store on the goldfield 12 hours before. He had somehow survived the journey but was now shocked and seriously unwell. After resuscitating him he was taken for major surgery and his bowel , bladder and his abdominal wall repaired. The good news is that we were there and he survived the surgery to be able to return home tomorrow after his tooth has been removed! 

Celebrating the birth of our next door neighbour’s baby

Food at the naming ceremony

Three weeks ago I was called hastily to our next door neighbours at ten pm. The baby had been born and the placenta wasn’t coming. Despite my previous advice home delivery had still been the birth of choice. We set off to the hospital after a few minutes, where the placenta was easily delivered, and we were home again by midnight. A week later was naming ceremony day after cutting onions early in the morning and peeling endless garlic it was off to work then back at lunch time for a delicious meal. Since then regular visits have been made as it’s a long time 40 days to spend in the house and there’s plenty of time to chat and drink tea.

Helping with preprarations

Having the toilet with the best view in the world!

A while ago my sister sent me a picture of the view from the toilets in the Shard it is pretty impressive but I immediately sent one back of our amazing view of the mountains and not only that but the clear skies mean that every night we are surrounded by a canopy of stars overhead  and can clearly follow the moon through its full cycle often not needing  our torches  as it shines so brightly.

The view from our loo

Baptisms at church

Baptisms just outside the church

Our concrete basin outside the church was back in use 2 weeks ago and we celebrated the baptism of 2 church members. It was an early start at 7 30 and the water although not plentiful was warmer than it had been in January last year. It was great to be there to witness the lives transformed 

Fondue in the desert

We received a message from our colleagues  who are back in Switzerland for the birth of their baby that we should check out their stores (as they had been unable to return here after our time in Ndjamena)  and eat whatever was out of date. Great news when we found several fondues and the first has already been eaten with home-made bread prepared by Helen our Swiss midwife .

Easter sunrise over the mountains

Breakfast after sunrise

On Easter Sunday morning we climbed up the mountain nearest the town and watch the sunrise .We have done this now each year we have been here and although it involves an early start it has been a great way to remember  the resurrection of Jesus . We celebrated afterwards with a tasty breakfast and then the church service. It’s great to be back and be able to do this again. In Ndjamena there were no mountains and a ladder to look over the wall is just not quite the same.

Sunrise on Easter Sunday

A taste of life in  Bardai -We hope that you too are able to experience in your lives the ‘joie de vivre’ that we have here.