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Low Hanging Fruit. Central Europe <strong>and</strong> Development Aid for Africaconcerned, do you personally feel happy, unhappy or neither” <strong>and</strong> 89 % of the respondentsin Nigeria responded as “happy” (which was a world record shared with Fiji) with 82 % ofrespondents in Ghana reporting the same. When the number of unhappy respondents wassubtracted from happy respondents, the group of African countries scored 66 % with WesternEurope recording 50 % <strong>and</strong>, much more religious, at least compared to Europe, NorthAmerica reporting only 31 %.Before we end this chapter it is apt to pose a question: why did Dr. Chrappová viewthe future of her paediatric clinic in Guinea with such scepticism? Perhaps it was becausein 1967, a few years after the British <strong>and</strong> French colonizers had left most of the countriesin Africa, it was possible to see <strong>and</strong> feel that the subsequent development of the DarkContinent would be full of distress <strong>and</strong> tragedy: “We listen to the reports from the Africancontinent. They are all the same. Three people were executed by hanging there. The President<strong>and</strong> Vice President of Gabon, Mr M’Bemba <strong>and</strong> Mr M’Bonga decided to postpone the date fornew presidential elections for another year. An Indian fakir has robbed the national treasuryin Cameroon. Martial law has been declared across Liberia. A meeting of the OAU has beenextended due to the completely opposed opinions of delegates. State coups, treachery <strong>and</strong>secret murders.”There is nothing anyone can do, not even the most charitable or best doctors.Nearly 50 years since Dr. Chrappová’s expedition to Guinea, a member of parliamentwas elected in March 2012 to the National Council of the Slovak Republic with field workexperience in Africa, Doctor Prof. MUDr. Eva Horváthová, nee Mitterpachová. It remains anopen question at the time this book went to print as to if <strong>and</strong> how the theme of developmentaid would make an appearance in high politics in Slovakia. It is best to remaingrounded <strong>and</strong> be patient, in particular when one considers the reality of post-CommunistSlovakia <strong>and</strong> the fact that the new MP is a member of an opposition party. We’ll close thischapter with her own observations from working in Africa nearly 100 years after AlbertSchweitzer first left for Africa, inspiring generations of doctors for years to come.“My first meeting with the founder, biggest fan <strong>and</strong> father of all the newly created thirdworld aid projects Professor Vladimír Krčméry was by chance, but this gave it more of animpact. In 1998, when one of the first projects in Kenya began, the professor came <strong>and</strong> lecturedduring my studies at medical school. He ended his talk on leukaemia with ease, transitioningto a short <strong>and</strong> incredibly interesting talk about a new project in Nairobi. I decided thatI wanted to go <strong>and</strong> I should set off on my own journey. And I wasn’t alone. Some gave up, orcircumstances didn’t allow them to go, but many of us stayed the course <strong>and</strong> sooner or laterwe reached our destination.My dreams of Africa went with me at the start of my practical training at the PaediatricClinic at Trnava Hospital. Fate decided that after 6 months of experience I would fly out toNairobi, Kenya’s capital. My final destination was the Mary Immaculate Clinic. I had no experiencewith work in the tropics, only the desire to help those in need <strong>and</strong> maybe to experiencesomething that would push me forward. Today I know that it would have been impossible forme to go without that blissful naivety. It’s not about the hard work, the tiring evenings when221

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