Irving’s Story

My name is Irving VanderVegt and this is my experience traveling to Cote d’Ivoire in March of 2020.

I was introduced to Project C.U.R.E. through a colleague from the college that I teach at.  We discussed me wanting to do some work overseas and she immediately mentioned Project C.U.R.E.  She has not volunteered with them but knew of them.  

So that evening I visited the website and, instantly, knew this was for me.  I originally signed up for a trip to Cambodia but that was cancelled due to lack of participation for the trip.  I was contacted about the issue and then signed up for Cote d’Ivoire.  A decision I knew was right from the beginning.  

My excitement was beyond belief as I received the confirmation to be part of the team.  I was so excited to go that my bags were packed one week before my flight.  The planning meeting was a bit nerve racking as I was the only male going on this trip.  Sitting in a room of NP’s and RN’s was not uncomfortable at all.  It was exciting.  I introduced myself as a Paramedic and stated I was ready for anything they needed me to do.  

Forward to the trip.  Meeting most of the team in Paris was nice and finally with people I knew.  Landing in Abidjan and meeting the rest of the team was extremely exciting, as well as meeting Abraham and Eric, the two gentlemen that would be our companions and guides, gave all of us such an amazing welcome. 

Forward to our clinical days - My heart sank as we walked into hundreds of people waiting for us and a standing ovation as we entered.  The first day People have been waiting for us since about 6 am as we arrived around 11:00. We set up quickly and got to work.  Me being placed in Triage was perfect for me.  A chance to meet everyone coming for our care was going to be a thrill and an honor.  All ages ranging from children to the elderly, everyone touched my heart in one way or another.  But the one person who captured my “reason for being there” was a woman who was eight months pregnant and was glowing and excited to become a mother.  Her vital signs were perfect, her weight was perfect, and she was healthy, and I wanted to find the baby's heartbeat.  I asked for her permission to put my stethoscope onto her stomach so I could listen for the baby.  She agreed.  When I found the baby's heartbeat I smiled and gave I put the stethoscope into her ears so she could hear the baby also.  The smile that came to her face was beyond anything I could have imagined.  The joy of my heart had never been fuller.  My love language of “Acts of service” had never been so fulfilled.  My cup runneth over.  To make that moment even more special her husband, who was standing close, was next to hear his baby’s heartbeat and the joy on his face was not to be ignored.  Love to the highest degree felt between the two.  

Most of the people were healthy, lots were not, struggling with poor eyesight, body aches, hypertension, headaches, and body sores.  Everyone had a reason to be there and nobody was going to be denied our care.  

I watched a group of caretakers work so well together it was like a machine.  None of us had ever worked together before, yet we were a team like no other.  We connected like nothing I have ever witnessed.  We were all focused on the job at hand, we knew what needed to be done and we did it.  No rest but for lunch.  We looked after each other to make sure we were taking care of ourselves also.  Drinking water, eating well and resting well.  

Abraham and Eric tended to our needs and wellbeing throughout the trip.  Such things as arrangements for lodging, travel, meals, conversations and a host of other exciting things.  Even meeting the retired General and Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire at his house and enjoying a wonderful traditional dinner that his wife and family prepared for us.  Very unexpected and heartwarming.  

After all that it would be hard to beat what we had done so far.  Three days of hard work, hot sun, rainy evenings.  Yet my heart was filled even more the third evening we were at the clinic site.  

I had finished my Triage for the day and my work area was clean and ready for the next day.  Everyone else was finishing up with their patients (several still waiting) and I was not doing anything.  Well my favorite people to be with are kids and that evening there were a lot of them just hanging around and wanting some attention.  So, I started hanging out and playing with them.  It was fun but missing something.  Then I remembered Cathy, one of our NP’s, had brought some soccer balls on the trip.  My new quest was to find them.  Finding out they were in our bus, I retrieved one of them and carried it to an open space at the clinic.  No sooner did I turn the corner from the bus to the clinic area did a swarm of children gather around me like bees to honey.  You could only guess what happened next.  I could count no less than 20 kids playing soccer on the dirt area.  Some with no shoes but that did not matter to them.  They first played keep away, then a gentleman stopped them and created teams.  Hence a game between shirts and skins started.  Rocks were placed on opposite sides of the dirt field; goalies were assigned kids took their positions and that went on till dark.  

Another fulfilling day, a truly fulfilling trip.  Cut short due to COVID but the memories will last me a lifetime.  

I am looking forward to my next trip, hoping for Cote d’Ivoire in Feb 2021.  If not there, then wherever the next trip lands.