In April 2009 a photo exhibition on Sierra Leone was opened in the Bronovo Hospital in the Hague.

Sixteen pictures showing a different part of the world and a different view on Sierra Leone.

During the civil war in Sierra Leone we were confronted with a lot of terrible pictures of war, they are still in the back of our heads.

Since there is peace now, Sierra Leone is not a big news item anymore and we tend to forget about this small West-African country.

What we do not see is the strength and beauty of the Sierra Leonean people building on a better future for their country.

Besides the setting of a rural hospital in the jungle of Sierra Leone with all their shortages and struggles. The pictures also show the power and joy of life that these people emit. After the difficult period they went through it is admirable and inspiring to see their positive spirits.

The money raised through this exhibition will all be donated to the hospital charity fund. A fund that pays the medical care for the very poor.

Visitor enjoining the exhibition

The exhibition can be visited in the central hall of the Bronovo Hospital until the ending of june.

Seventeen year old boy happy with life saving insulin!

Because diabetes does not seem to be the major problem in developing countries it is a highly neglected disease in these parts of the world.

Diabetes can be very severe and without treatment, especially in young people, it can be deathly.

Previously, because of lack of the right treatment we were not able to help these patients in our hospital. This was very frustrating for the doctors, staff, patients and their family. Because we all know there is a good treatment with which we can help these patients.

In 2007 Dr Hennie Zonderland started to treat patients with insulin, which saved peoples lives. Unfortunately it is very difficult to perchace insulin in Sierra Leone, and if it is it is highly expansive and sometimes of poor quality.

Due to a donation of the Austrian organisation “Insulin Zum Leben“, we are now able to supply the hospital with insulin and other diabetes management equipment.

Currently 12 young male and female diabetic patients are treated with insulin injections which they administer themselves. They came into the hospital in a very poor state, dehydrated and unconscious. Due to the treatment and good care of the staff they survived.

One of the diabetes patients coming for his regular check up

Now they visit the hospital on regular basis to have a general check up and to supply them with new medicine.

One of the senior nurses has been trained on the job to treat the diabetes patients and do the follow up if necessary.

We hope to continue our project and keep improving diabetes care in the hospital.

Team proudly showing new solar panels on the roof of the laboratory

Before the war Panguma Hospital was supplied with power from a hydro electricity station nearby, unluckily this was all destroyed during the war and there are no plans or means for recovery in the near future.

There is no electricity grid in this region of the country, and the hospital relies on power supply from a diesel generator that is available only a few hours per day. With the rising prizes of diesel the and the maintenance of the generator the power supply can be really unreliable.

Alternatives of supporting power supply are highly recommended, especially in a hospital where it can be live saving to have light or run vital equipment.

Spring Associates is active in supporting sustainable energy projects in the developing world. In February 2009 Spring has lead the installation of a 1.2 kilowatt photovoltaic solar system for the Panguma Hospital in Sierra Leone with the local staff, making it possible for this remote hospital to have light for emergency activities at night, and store blood in a special fridge, continuously powered by solar energy.

Planning and working together with minimal recources and maximal temperatures!

The Project encompassed the installation of a stand-alone solar system, connected to lighting fixtures and a blood bank fridge in the hospital’s laboratory, and lighting and an oxygen concentrator in the children’s ward of the hospital. For the light energy saving LED light bulbs were used, supplied by Lumotech and LedzWorld, in order to minimize the use of electricity and maximize the amount of light powered by the solar panels.

Sierra Leone is situated only 7 degrees north of the equator and receives an enormous amount of sunlight. Being completely reliable on import of fuels for power generation, the case for solar energy is very favourable in this country. Largely due to the long lasting civil war in the last decade, Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and electricity from renewable sources like solar that need a large upfront investment is not considered very often.

Planning and working together with minimal recources and maximal temperatures!

However, the country is recovering fast,  and with projects like these Spring Associates aims to increase the awareness of renewable energy and its benefits, and to assure that solar energy will play a role in the development of Sierra Leone.

Panguma Hospital wants to thank everybody who contributed to the solar project. And as this was just a start to bring light to Panguma we hope to realize more solar projects in the future!

The fridge to store blood and other vital medication.

Light in the laboratory!