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DYNAMIC PERSONALITY IN AGBOZUME VILLAGE, GHANA ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER: Name: ERICA TIMMERMAN, RN BRIEF SUMMARY OF VOLUNTEER INVOLVEMENT & EXPERIENCE: Spent three weeks in Agbozume, Ghana at the 3rd medical missions trip. Launched the medical laboratory training in the village. Quotable quotes: TRAVEL: "Trip to Chicago [from Springfield] went very smoothly considering the number of people and boxes that needed to be transported. Kudos to the person or people organizing the transportation…. British Airways was a good choice…..[among all]……airlines. This was some of the more comfortable flights I have ever made..the service was excellent…..seats were tolerable..[and] I was not nearly as tired when we arrived in Accra [Ghana] as I thought I would be……the van…for transportation in Ghana was more than adequate..all fit in….was air conditioned…Who could ask for anything more?" ACCOMMODATIONS: "..accommodations in the village at Agbozume were much better than I had expected..rooms were comfortable. And ..a private room at the end of the day…was more welcome than I would have imagined…[private room] was good place to collect my thoughts and plan for the next day……[the] guest house is the one asset that will keep people coming to help at the mission…..food was great and kitchen staff were wonderful…" LABORATORY: "Lab was small but adequate…tables are needed for ..microscope and centrifuges…Much of my time was spent trying to fix the Cell Dyne 1500…With the machine down..I was able to work with two young men…who were to be trained in the lab.. They had no background, but they were very willing and eager…and picked up the concepts very quickly....both had very good manual dexterity, an asset in laboratory work..covered white blood cell differentials and malaria smears in the lab training…more time needs to be spent in both areas before the [two trainees]…can be proficient…however, they have the potential to be good laboratory technicians… Erica's vision for the future: "Good lab will be an asset for the [medical] clinic..best scenario would be to recruit a medical technologist to stay in Ghana for several months to a year...
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