Monday morning

We have been in Benin for five weeks already. Slowly, word is getting around about the free specialist surgeries, and people are coming to the dock in ever increasing numbers seeking our help. This morning I counted over 150 people lined up (see photo below). Walking through the crowd is quite an experience - I see mums with babies, blind people, crippled people, leaking ladies, big facial swellings, massive goiters, arthritic old hands, and missing limbs. Please spare a thought for Ans and her colleagues who spend hour after hour in the sweltering sun, examining patient after patient to see if their conditions are operable. Olly