We've just returned from our annual trip to West Africa to see our son and his family who live, work and go to school on the Mercy Ship, Africa Mercy, the largest non government hospital ship in the world. This year the Africa Mercy is in the port of Cotonou in the Republic of Benin, a French speaking country which used to be called Dahomey. We stayed on the ship for a week and had a great time, talking, playing with our three grandchildren, more talking, visiting places, having meals out together, playing board games and doing the things that families do. It was also a great opportunity to see our son, Olly, his wife Sally, and all the other crew of 400 or so volunteers working hard to bring help and healing to the poor of the world. Despite the average income being less than three US dollars a day we found the people of Benin, like most West Africans, cheerful, friendly and welcoming. It was the rainy season and many homes were flooded with several inches of water, an annual occurrence which the people accept with a shrug. Fortunately for us the rain fell mainly overnight or early in the day, then the sun came out, but on our last day it poured torrentially for 8 hours - for more details and photos see Olly's blog http://www.peetfamily.co.uk/
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