Blaz Essomba had big plans and turned them into reality. He built a large two story Hospital for his wife, a nurse by training. When the crates filled with modern equipment arrived the hospital was too small. He added its mirror image doubling the size of the building making it spacious and comfortable.
I was introduced to Blaz through christopher Ekom, from the business development office of the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon. Owning a hospital Blaz was concerned about drug access. Christopher knew AIDSfreeAFRICA was working on just that. When I met Blaz it was a meeting of minds. I also met the Prime Minister Philomon Young, who immediately arranged for a followup meeting for me and Blaz.
This happened January of this year (2010). In May when I returned Blaz was at a business meeting in Washington DC. His right hand man showed me the newly opened hospital. There were patients in the wards.
A premature baby had been saved by c-section surgery. Mother ande baby were doing well.
Another women was recovering from having a large tumor removed from her belly.
That Saturday, a dozend or so nurses and staff were busy, but you would not have guessed that the hospital had just opened 2 weeks prior to my unannounced visit. They were a team, working together as if they had been there years. Every place was friendly, colorful with small designs sprinkled into the shiny tiles to break the monotony of hallways and doors.
This shows that where there is will there is a way and a poor country such as cameroon can have a state of the art hospital, with modern equipment and capacity to do surgery and safe pregnent women and their babies.Not to take away from Dr. Christopher Anyangewe from the Alpha Rroyal Clinic in Bamenda, who successfully treated me experiencing a blinding gallstone attack and got me on my feet and back to pursue the mission of AIDSfreeAFRICA, but if I needed surgery, I'd check myself in to Blaz's hospital in Sam/Yaounde/Cameroon.
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