This trip to Nigeria, West Africa was such a success. Our team consisted of myself, Dr. Heidi Weinhold, a naturopathic physician from the South Hills, and Danielle Wagner (my daughter), a laboratory scientist.

This year we visited hospitals and clinics in Lafia, Azara, Jos, Bauchi and Yola, across 4 states and covering many hundred miles. We set up diabetes screening clinics at each site, screened nearly 2,000 patients, collected data on each, and donated glucose meters, strips, drugs, and “diabetic” vitamins to many of the needy patients. This year I concentrated on treating the patient with diabetic neuropathy, and was able to present a lecture on education and treatment of this painful affliction at three locations. We supplied 3 hospitals with new Anodyne machines used specifically to treat neuropathy symptoms.

The team was especially welcomed to Yola, a city in the far east part of the country. The many hundreds of patients that showed up for the clinic never got to meet an “American doctor” and were very receptive and appreciative of our efforts.
They told us afterwards that we truly bring the people “hope” for a better health.

Sanu, Sanu! (that's means Greetings! in Hausa, one of the traditional languages of Nigeria)

In a word, this trip was INCREDIBLE! Truly, an experience I will cherish forever.
Our group made its annual volunteer trip to five cities in Nigeria to do diabetes screenings, give out free medications and donate glucometers and other equipment to hospitals in this underdeveloped country. This year our team consisted of Dr. Dan (my dad), Dr. Heidi Weinhold, and myself.

We held clinics in Jos, Bauchi, Lafia, Azaura, and Yola. People were so gracious and appreciative of our services. We screened over 1200 people. Diabetes is a growing problem in Nigeria, most likely because of the high consumption of soda drinks. Unfortunately, for them it is often less expensive to drink soda than it is to drink clean water.

Being around the hospitals, we certainly saw a lot of suffering. There is such desperation, especially when it comes to health problems. So many people just cannot afford treatment or medications. In a way, we were viewed as these all-knowing white American health professionals that had the cure for everything. Some people would wait all day just to see us for two minutes. Since diabetes was our main project, we didn't have meds for the myriad of health problems people presented us with. There is such a need for good health care.

Apart from helping so many people, the other joy of being there was submersing ourselves in the culture. In general, Nigerians seem like happy people. There is a huge divide, though, between the haves and have-nots. There is a small middle class that are comfortable and able to send their children to schools and universities. But, the vast majority of the population lives in poverty. The average Nigerian makes the equivalent of $1 per day. And even there, it is difficult to feed one person on that income. This results in child labor. Many children are forced to sell goods in the streets all day for extra family income and consequently will never go to school. 1.5 million young girls alone have this fate.

As you can see in some of the pictures, we really enjoyed interacting with the children. Many of them were somewhat in awe of us at first. Some have never seen a white person. But once they warmed up to us, they were just a joy to be around.

If I could fix two things in this country it would be to provide clean water for all and to pick up the garbage! There is no regular waste management services, so there is garbage everywhere. Sanitation is a huge problem. Nothing is clean. Even in the hospitals, nothing is sterile. And, if people had access to clean water, it would solve half their problems. Parasites, dysentery, these are big problems over there.

Another great experience was becoming friends with several Muslim families. In our country, I know we all feel this notion of Islam-phobia ingrained into us. But I am reminded of the quote by Mark Twain, that "travel is lethal to prejudice." I had quite a few religious discussions with Muslims, and I heard time and time again that Islam literally means peace. Many are frustrated with the extremists in their religion, and insisted that the Islamic suicide bombers are not true Muslims. It is sad that they give the religion a bad rap in the eyes of Americans. In my opinion, I've never seen such devotion to faith in my life. Muslims pray five times a day. In fact, all the Muslims and Christians we met over there really walk the walk and talk the talk!

I have tons of stories and experiences worth sharing, but these are just some thoughts I had. What is most difficult to see is the injustice in the world. Unfortunately, there, the government is very corrupt. Even though Nigeria is one of the biggest oil producing countries in the world, its people do not reap the benefits.

But, if I learned anything, it's that no matter where you go in this world, deep down we are all the same. We all suffer, we all feel pain, we all feel joy and happiness, and we all just want to care for our families and connect with each other.

And the universal language wherever you go, is indeed, a SMILE :-)

In health and happiness!
Danielle Wagner