The yellow card it can bring so much joy and hope however it can also show the desperation of the people of Sierra Leone who need medical care and surgeries.
The yellow card is given to each patient that will be given some further treatment on the ship. It really is the only way past the guards that in the port, of course there are always the patients that make their way through by some other means. However for the most part the guards in the port receive very strict instructions as to who is able to pass through the outer gate or we would have most of Sierra Leone waiting outside for medical treatment.
One man came last week that had a yellow card that stated he was for screening that day for a hernia. We examined the card and asked where he received it? He told us a white person at the dental clinic had given it to him. (The dental clinic is near the ship an approximate 5-minute walk.) So we told him that we would just walk back with him to the dental clinic and he could show us the white person who gave it to him. He said he would not remember. It makes us wonder where some individuals are getting their cards? Are there patients who are selling their cards and forgoing their own surgery? Are there cards we have forgotten to take away after a patient has finished their care on the ship?