The rest of the crew has one day left in this beautiful country. After a 6:30am breakfast, the group is picked up by government officials for the two hour drive to Accra. The Department of Health has a busy schedule for us today and we’re first driven to a Maternity Learning Centre and hospital where we adjust staff and patients.

Minutes later, we see a procession of Ghanaian students from two different schools a few buildings away arrive for their adjustments.  This is quickly followed by a short drive to another school, where we adjust all of the students in our whirlwind itinerary.

What a morning! After a good lunch we have a few meetings with prominent Ghanaian government officials.  They are all eager to incorporate chiropractic care as a main component of their health care system.  It is so refreshing to see chiropractic being so celebrated! During this time, Dr. Robert has the opportunity to share his passion on national television before having to pack up to make our flight.

Dr. Robert speaks on national TV

Now, the fun begins. We arrive to Accra airport several hours before our scheduled flight to North America, only to find out that our flight has been cancelled!  Our plane from Atlanta has been sent to Liberia for a connecting trip and is stranded due to severe wind storms. Thankfully, Delta puts us up in an amazingly modern hotel in Accra (very different from our last two weeks of accommodations) for the night.  We finally board our plane almost 24 hours later on February 11 at 6:30pm.  All of us are ready to take off, but the pilot announces some bad news.  Due to customs not being open in America until 5:30am, we must wait two and a half hours in the plane before taking off as not to arrive early.  The minutes tick on with many passengers’ patience wearing this.  Finally, with a cheer, the plane engines sputter to life and we’re off to Atlanta and to our connecting flights home.

Each team from each side of the net, separated by a kilometer of beach, grunts a group chant while pulling on the rope in unison. The heavy rope, extending almost beyond sight in the distant ocean, moves about an inch or two with each pull. Many early risers from our group (myself excluded today) witness this in the early morning before breakfast. Hours later, following food, conversation, and settling into our room, the daily fishing ritual is still going on. Our whole group returns to the beach. Several of our crew join in the pulling, but our gentle hands are quickly worn by the rough rope. A few of us swim and get a pounding by the relentless and heavy salty waves.

West group pulling on the net

Around noon, the groups have moved from their distant posts together to an integrated position in the middle. Dr. Robert pulls with the unified group for the last forty minutes, hauling in the final catch of the net! The fish thrash around for quite a time while the Winneba fishermen size up their catch. Today was a small haul, but they’ll return tomorrow for another try.

Dr. Robert helps with the final haul

This is one of the many experiences that will not soon be forgotten in this part of the earth that, while distant and foreign, now is starting to feel familiar. Dr. Scott and Clarke leave for Amsterdam tonight.  The remaining seven spend the night in Winneba.

Thank you, Ghana! We will definitely be back!

View Larger Map

Promptly at noon, we make our only stop on the journey at the Adullum Orphanage in Obuasi. Our contact, Peter, and a few others tour us around the dusty courtyard centred in the midst of many aged buildings. We stop in the nursery where our hearts break as we see little babies are everywhere, all seeking love and care. Several from our group cannot resist and pick up the tiny children with outstretched arms. Many are obviously infirmed and we follow our host back across the courtyard (infants in hand) to the main building.

Rows of well-behaved children sit, awaiting our arrival. As we are now used to, the white teethy smiles illuminate the dim room as we set up and begin our care. The crowds are not big, but certainly as important to give love and care to as these children. We’re quickly finished our work here, and fold ourselves back into the van for the final leg of our trip to Winneba.

Winneba is glorious. We check into the highly-acclaimed Lagoon Lodge to an excellent dinner. After the meal, a few of the more daring head out in the pitch black to see the beach, only a 15 minute walk away. We’re not entirely sure where we’re going, but we keep following a path and listening for the waves until we’re standing at the Atlantic Ocean. While we walk the sand, an unexpected blur whips by us into the water. It’s Melissa, who is just unable to resist the beckoning of the warm Atlantic surf.

Breakfast follows as the group helping Nico pack up the van. A quick and delicious breakfast later, we leave Wa with warm hugs and farewells to Brother Bosco.

Since today is literally a full day of driving, I figure it’s a good time to introduce our faithful travelling partner, Samuel. He’s been with us since our first stop in Kumasi, but it is sadly our last day with him.

Samuel Mawuli Bansah: our trusted friend, negotiator, translator, and sometimes navigator - this trip wouldn’t be half as good without Samuel. Samuel was born in Kumasi, the second oldest in a family of five children. Raised in Ghana’s second largest city, Samuel became interested in a local girl named Bridgett and she invited him to her church. On that day in April, Samuel attended St. Anthony’s Parish for the first time ever. That is where he heard Father Moses speak about a Canadian doctor of chiropractic who would be coming to Kumasi the next day. People were invited to come for care if they were interested. Samuel was indeed interested and showed up the next day, not only to receive care, but to learn as much as he could about this new subject. Samuel’s passion for chiropractic was instantly ignited and he spent the rest of the trip helping Dr. Robert in his trip around Ghana. Since then, he has expressed a sincere desire to become a chiropractor in Ghana and has obtained employment at Kumasi’s only chiropractic clinic. Every trip Chiropractic for the World takes in Ghana to loyally assisted by the ever-pleasant and polite Samuel. His assistance is invaluable and his friendship is dear. Oh, and Bridgett? They’re getting married later this year.

Samuel at Notre Dame School for Girls

Our arrival in Kumasi brings us back to Saint Dominic’s where a small crowd has heard of our return. As usual, a glance at the few dozen people adds up to only a few minutes of adjusting, but within moments of setting up, people are streaming in from the streets.  Before we know it, we’ve adjusted a couple hundred people before supper. Where are they all coming from?

Dr. Scott teaches the crowd

Dr. Scott's rapt crowd

A fire on the other side of the compounds stone wall fills the air with a smoky haze.  The weather today is a little cooler, and as the pictures show, the air is dusty and smoky.  The high school girls hide and giggle around the doorways of their classrooms, nervous and embarrassed.  Who can blame them with two such fine looking doctors!

Smokey haze over the village

Dr. Robert, Dr. Rolly, Denise and Melissa leave the first group and make their way to the St. Joseph’s Hospital down the road.  Hospitals are always hard, but when giving, it’s always best to meet the needs of those who need you most.  The heartbreak felt by our group here is tangible.  The faded yellow walls and stained ceilings from too many rainy seasons without repair reveal how poor these people are.  Home-made crutches litter the wing because the hospital cannot afford manufactured pairs.  We enter the Physiotherapy building, set up and welcome all who desire care.  Here both Denise and Melissa have a go at the educating portion as wave upon wave of afflicted approach. Denise, a doula and midwife back in Canada, has the pleasure of addressing a group of midwife nurses and is touched by the opportunity to share her passion.  The head nurse tells us about the previous department head that had a stroke 6 years ago.  Still her friend, she asks us to visit her on our way home.  After we finish up, we return to the school, pick up the first group and make our way to her home.  Dr. Robert and Dr. Rolly disappear into the house and adjust her in her wheelchair.  She cries tears of appreciation as we return home.

Child at the hospital

Adjustments at the hospital

Ghana hospital

Dr. Rolly adjusts the previous Head Nurse

Our last night in Wa is filled with entertainment.  Brother Bosco has organized traditional music and dancing which carries us with rhythm into the night.

We’re moving into our rhythm as we begin the second week of our trip.  The crew is a little bit tired and a few of us have had to sit out an excursion or two due to minor ailments which often accompany international travel.  Fatigue is obvious, but are our hearts are full.  We’re here to serve and happy to continue.  Dr. Robert really has done a tremendous job of organizing this crew and trip.  Not everything has run completely to plan, but he’s contributed an amazing effort and certainly maximized our care to the people of this county.  We are sincerely honored by his dedication.

First stop is at a major cathedral in Wa.  It’s large and beautiful and the crowds attend for care following morning mass.  Since it is Sunday, we are witness to the most colorful and beautiful African dress of the men, women and children.  Their fashion is unique and lovely and all smile when you tell them so.  Here, tragedy strikes our team for the first time when I lose my beautiful pen.  Thankfully, although the pain of loss remains, Suzanne gives me a backup so I can continue to take notes.

Lineup at St. Andrew Catholic Church

Our treasured photographer, Andras Schram

"I want to feel your face."

The fabulous Samuel

We leave for a small journey to one of the surrounding towns named Kaleo, 45 minutes away.  Here we split up again to a school and a hospital in another nearby town.  The towns are small, and the hospital group is done first.  We regroup and finish the school with all four doctors and head to lunch.

The hospital hall where we adjust

Adjusting at the hospital

Child in hospital

Samuel explains chiropractic at the school

Our fantastic support team at the school

School desks

The final stop of the day is the Queen of Peace School in the Nadowlei district, another half an hour away.  Set back from the highway a little ways, we make our way down and connect with our contacts who are awaiting our arrival.  When we arrive, a large (and LOUD) makeshift bell is rung to announce our arrival and summon the students.

Queen of Peace houses a large hall, where we set up.  Fifteen ceiling fans cool the long, open hall and as it fills, we run our down-pat routine again.  Robert delivers a great teaching on the science and importance of chiropractic.  During his conversation with some of the students, a few express their interest in pursuing chiropractic for their own country.  More success!

On the way back, one of the priests from the school asks us to stop and have a drink at a local pub to express his appreciation (“A chiropractor and a priest walk into a bar…”).  A quick drink, a few laughs, and some strong handshakes and waves later, we head toward our temporary home for supper and bed.  This stop is no doubt one we will make again.

A few hours into the night, the city erupts into cheers and wakes those of us who turned in early.  Ghana’s Black Stars Football team has just won against Tunisia in overtime and advanced to semi-finals in the Orange Africa Cup of Nations!

Today we meet Brother Bosca.  He’s put us up at the In Service Training Centre, a full-service Catholic training retreat centre on the west side of the city.  The rooms are nice and we quickly unload our things as we are a little bit late.  A quick lunch follows and then we split up again, off to Xavier Secondary Boys School and the St. Cecelia Parish.

Andras Schram and I stay back in the room to work on some of the photography.  By now, Andras has taken over 4,000 pictures and we are working at distilling them down to the appropriate sizes and undertaking the mammoth task of trying to get the best ones ready for upload.  Below are some of our favourites.

Supper follows where we meet up with four nursing students from Kelowna, BC doing a portion of their third year practicum (whoa! more white people).  Brother Bosca invites us out into the courtyard for drinks, where we all chat for a few hours under the beautiful African sky before heading to bed.

Sister Veronica with her girls

Adjusting in Ghana

Praying to Mary

Denise holding a baby

"We just want to touch you."

Hugs and thanks

Precious little feet

Father Clement speaks

Endless sea of smiles

Outstretched hands

Refreshing waters

Taking notes

A child's eyes

Colourful child

Fast friends

The gift of learning

For posterity

Father Moses' prayer

Slightly north of Kintampo are some famous waterfalls and we stop for an hour to enjoy their beauty.  Some of the more adventurous try to climb the slippery falls, getting completely soaked in the process.  Good thing the mercury is above 35 again!  A few group pictures and a lot of refreshing splashing around later, we head back up the 152 stairs to our van and continue the journey.

Enjoying the Kintampo Falls

"I bet I can get closer to the falls than you..."

Melissa by the falls

Group shot

We turn west off the paved highway onto a dirt road.  For those looking for an authentic African off-road experience, we certainly get it!  A puddle is to ocean as bumpy is to this African road!  There are literally no words to describe the experience of being packed in an overloaded van going over this landscape.  Suitcases fly everywhere and our bums leave the seats many times.  And all this happens while we’re literally only going 15 km per hour.

When we asked this morning how long our trip would take, we heard it would take between five and six hours.  Eight hours of driving later, we arrive at 3:45 at Mole Hotel, the only accommodation in the 4,840-square-kilometer park.  The rooms are nice and the view is incredible.  It’s perched overlooking two watering holes where you can see wildlife drinking or bathing.  Baboons walk around the hotel grounds and a few warthogs dart in and out of the bushes.

At 4:30, we pile back into our van with a guide.  He’s holding a 338 caliber rifle and we head straight into the bush.  Following another worn, dirt road, our next two hours are spent learning about the variety of wildlife.  In all, we see five large Indian elephants (just kidding, they’re African elephants), innumerable monkeys, birds you’ve only seen on the Discovery Channel, and several types of antelope.  A fabulous mini-safari, which we’ll remember for a long time!

Night brings a beautiful outdoor dinner and a gorgeous swim.  The long day of rough roads fades as we all call it an early night in our rooms.

One of the 800 elephants in Mole Park

Group photo in front of the elephants

Baboons

Closeup of a warthog

Elephants playing in the watering hole

Baboon mother and her baby

Today, after some early morning meetings, we are whisked away to Father Clement’s home town of Berekum, about half an hour away from our base at Sunyani.  We meet Father Augustine at St. Teresa’s, a large parish with from 4,000 to 5,000 active members.  With a little bit of time to spare, some of the crew goes a few blocks away to explore the town.  We are rock stars.  Every step we take, we’re followed by a throng of children.  Others stop their work in their roadside shops to watch us pass.  It is obvious that this is a region very few white people visit.

After the first round of adjustments at St. Teresa’s, we pile into the van and Nicholas (our driver) heads down another bumpy African road to a nearby Junior High School.  It is Groundhog Day here in Ghana, but judging from the heat today, there is no shadow; winter is definitely over.  It’s hot and Dr. Scott removes a number of jerseys, shorts, and socks , generously donated by the Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club, from the van.  They are warmly received by the school’s football coach and within moments, an impromptu football game is on.  Since all the jerseys are child-sized, Dr. Scott generously removes his own as a gift to the coach.  It’s a touching moment; we can all feel the immense appreciation.

Shaded adjustments under the trees

Dr. Scott adjusting

Football gear donated by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Dr. Scott Gives his jersey to the football coach

The evening is one of our best yet.  We are welcomed to the beautiful house of the bishop and overseer of the hospitals of Sunyani.  He is keenly interested in chiropractic and asks us a very traditional question asked to strangers, “Why are you here?”  Dr. Robert is happy to describe chiropractic to a man who has never been introduced to it before.  “In life, you’re either making choices towards health or away from health.  If you eat loads of fruits and vegetables, and natural meats, you head towards health.  If you eat sugary, unhealthy foods, you head away from health.  If you exercise, you head towards health; if you’re lazy and never leave the front of the TV, you head away from health.  Happy, healthy thoughts lead you toward health; negative thoughts lead you away from it.  All of life is filled with these decisions.  Chiropractic is a conscious decision to head toward health.  The brain is the master of the entire body.  From it, messages are sent down the spine to maintain optimum health throughout the entire body.  It controls everything from the immune system to the digestive system.  The way God has made the body is that it heals itself.  When disease or problems are discovered by the body, it’s the brain’s job to send the appropriate messages to repair the problem and return the body to health – its norm.  When daily stress and pressures occur, the messages are blocked or slowed down.  Chiropractic simply adjusts the spine to allow the brain to better communicate with the rest of the body, so the body can heal naturally, without the need for drugs.  Chiropractic for the World is here to introduce chiropractic to this area, to offer immediate and continual care to those who can benefit from it, and to inspire people to want to become chiropractors in their own country.”

The bishop nods through the entire monologue and replies quickly that it makes complete sense.  He reports that many people he speaks to already distrust Western drugs, not finding the side effects worth the relief.  The dialogue moves to the possibility of opening a clinic in the area so people may receive affordable care.  Last time we were here, a blind person received his site and many with walking problems found immediate relief from a single adjustment.  This reputation precedes us.  He immediately communicates his support and assistance by offering land to build a local clinic.  He is eager to have things happen as soon as possible.

The conversation marks a major step in the foundation’s progress towards our vision.

Most Rev Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, Catholic Bishop of Sunyani

Group shot with the Bishop

Off to the city of Sunyani, capital of the Berekum region.  We leave before breakfast from our hotel heading northwest along a shortcut known to Father Moses.  We’ve come to learn over the last three days that Father Moses is fond of short cuts.  However, he has yet to produce one that actually is shorter, which is incredibly fun to bug him about.  The bumpy road of this particular short cut is giving the group an adjustment in itself.

Many of the crew try to catch a few winks of sleep as the last two days have been sunup to sundown of rather hard work and travel.  Within a few hours, we’re entering the clean and noticeably-less-busy city of Sunyani.  We’re met outside the Christ the King Cathedral by Father Clement who welcomes us in excellent English, “I understand it is many of your first time to Africa, so you are most welcome.  As discussed on the phone, we will have a quick breakfast and then business will begin.”

Again, our contacts here have busy things planned.  We walk to the main mission building inside the beautiful campus. It is enormous with a large cathedral, a brand new mission house built last year, and two schools (St. James and St. Patrick Primary schools), each housing 1,000 children from Kindergarten to Jr. High.  After a quick organizational meeting of the day, our group splits again into two.  Some will stay at the Cathedral’s land and some will visit another church and school where we are expected.

A common expression following care

Dr. Robert teaches the crowds

All types and sizes come to be adjusted

I have the pleasure of traveling with Father Clement back and forth between the two parishes.  During the trip, I ask many questions including what the favourite part of his job as a priest is.  He quickly states that he loves to address the people.  When I ask him what he spoke about during his last sermon, it is the last word I speak for over half an hour. What an enjoyable memory: driving through this foreign city I know nothing about in a small, non-air-conditioned Toyota Corolla, listening to a rerun of an impassioned sermon in excellent English.  As the sermon is not yet finished, he has no intention of stopping even after we reach our destination.  The car stops and he still takes several minutes to finish his discourse.

Many more seek care but it is time to move on.  At 2:15, we leave and stop for a brief lunch and unload our bags.  A traditional fish and mushroom soup is served, followed by rice, chicken and salad.  Again, our hosts outdo themselves.

The final stop of the day takes us into the evening.  The groups mix up and split up again to visit two Senior High boarding schools.  One to St. James Boys Senior High and the other to Notre Dame High School for Girls.  The campuses are again large and beautiful, and the people so appreciative, sensitive, and genuine.  As much as we bring life and energy to these people, they give back the same with their impossibly magnetic personalities.  At Notre Dame High School for Girls, one kind student named Helena takes me on a tour of the large facility.  Again the strength and quality of the people in this country is beyond description.

At the Notre Dame Secondary School for Girls

Father Clement helps as well

Father Clement, already a good friend