June 2013 - Oshwal Centre
June 2013 - Oshwal Centre June 2013 - Oshwal Centre
Sierra Leone Medical Camp Article by Sachin Shah SIERRA LEONE – MAY 2012 - It all started when I was sitting on a beach in Cambodia and I received an email from a friend about volunteering at a medical camp in Sierra Leone. The charity organising the trip, Better Lives Foundation, run three medical camps a year in a small purpose built hospital in Yonibana, 88 miles from the capital, Freetown. They were reaching out for pharmacists and other medical professionals, who were interested in going to Sierra Leone to volunteer in one of their medical camps. As a newly qualified pharmacist, I thought this would be a great opportunity to use my skills and give something back to the less fortunate. When agreeing to go on this trip, I didn’t know much about the charity, the medical camp or what I was going to do out there. Fortunately, the charity arranged a pre-camp meeting a month before we were set out to fly to Sierra Leone. This gave me a chance to learn more about the camp and meet some of the doctors, pharmacists, nurses and volunteers that I would be working with. To give a bit of background, Sierra Leone is located on the West Coast of Africa with a population of 5.5million; it is roughly the same size as Scotland! Around 60% of the population live on less than a dollar a day and the country only has about 150 doctors in total. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in Africa in terms of infrastructure. It has been devastated by 10 years of civil war that only finished a decade ago. Electricity is scarce and there is virtually no clean water. Life expectancy stands at a shocking 42 years. Being a newly qualified pharmacist, I was worried that I would be completely out of my depth. I therefore did as much research as possible on some of the medical conditions and diseases (e.g. Malaria) that are commonly found in West Africa and the procedures for treatment. The day finally arrived for me to go to Heathrow airport with my little trolley bag and meet the other 24 volunteers (including doctors, pharmacists, nurses, GPs, medical students, engineers, I.T. technicians and general assistants). I was both excited and nervous, not knowing what to expect on this once in a lifetime experience. We were not allowed to take suitcases as our weight allowance was used to transport medical supplies, food, clothes, books and equipment. After a 7 hour flight, we arrived in the capital, Freetown and then had a long, bumpy coach ride to the Yonibana Sai Hospital. Yonibana Sai Hospital is a permanent base hospital that has a guest-house for volunteers. The guesthouse was constructed in 2008 and the rooms were basic, each with 3 or 4 mattresses on the floor. The next morning we woke up at 6am. After a cold shower and some breakfast we walked into the hospital to start unpacking and preparing for the medical camp. The hospital was only partially open on this day but there were still queues of people waiting outside for treatment. We were then introduced to the local volunteers, who are being funded by Better Lives Foundation to become qualified nurses and health-care assistants. I was buzzing with energy and could not wait to see how I could help these people. We unpacked all the medical supplies and began setting up the pharmacy and other medical rooms. We could see the urgent need for the medication as Oshwal Youth Magazine of O.A.U.K. 4 June 2013 Edition
~ Sierra Leone Medical Camp ~ doctors were giving us prescriptions before we were even ready for them. As lunchtime approached, the sun was rising and it was becoming very hot and humid. We were very lucky to be given delicious meals that were cooked by the local volunteers and general volunteers from London, which included shak rotli, rice and dhal, pasta and soups. As soon as lunch was eaten we were back in the hospital, there was always something that needed to be done or someone that needed help. My job was to not only be in the pharmacy dispensary but also assist the various doctors in seeing patients, measuring blood pressure and testing children for Malaria. We came across so many malnourished babies in the hospital, where we began treatment with Oral Rehydration Salts. For one patient who was due to undergo surgery, I even had to formulate intravenous antibiotics. There was one occasion, where we went for a walk and came across a group of children playing, one of whom had fractured his arm. Being poor, his family could not afford for him to see a doctor so we took him back to this hospital to plaster cast his arm. It was inspirational to see the volume of patients who were suffering from various, life-threatening illnesses. They never complained, kept smiling and continued with their day-to-day lives. Even as the days became longer and more tiring as they went on, we were still ready as ever each morning to help the people of Sierra Leone. It was a pleasure to treat the patients and to also work with, and learn from the other healthcare professionals. My goal was to go to Sierra Leone to try and help find and implement life-saving solutions for the patients. I saw first-hand how the treatment made a difference to the patients and as a result, the patients were very appreciative towards us. This gave us the motivation to work together in often emotionally demanding situations where there were very limited resources. I couldn’t believe how fast our time went in Sierra Leone. On our last day, we left Yonibana early in the morning and drove to Freetown where we spent the afternoon looking around in the town and walking on the beach, before we got on our flight back to reality, back to life in London. In the space of just 8 days we saw over 3000 patients whilst working in the hospital. Some of these patients had come from neighbouring villages, whilst others had travelled 88 miles from Freetown. They queued for hours in the heat without any complaints, just to have some time with a healthcare professional. My experience from Sierra Leone made me realise how fortunate I am to live in a house with such ‘basic’ amenities like hot water and fresh food. The people of Yonibana had so little yet lived so happily. Reflecting back on the trip I am thankful to have met so many wonderful and inspirational people; not only the doctors and nurses but the courageous people of Sierra Leone. I would like to thank Better Lives Foundation for giving me the opportunity of going out there to give something back. It was definitely rewarding and is something I would recommend to anyone. Oshwal Youth Magazine of O.A.U.K. 5 June 2013 Edition
- Page 1 and 2: In this edition: • Medical Camp A
- Page 3: Get involved! Here is a short summa
- Page 7 and 8: Life at City University Article by
- Page 9 and 10: Business negotiation game After Bha
- Page 11 and 12: ~ Racquet Sports Tournament ~ Congr
- Page 13 and 14: Samayik is one of the most importan
- Page 15: Activities • Abseiling • Archer
~ Sierra Leone Medical Camp ~<br />
doctors were giving us prescriptions before we were<br />
even ready for them.<br />
As lunchtime approached, the sun was rising and it<br />
was becoming very hot and humid. We were very<br />
lucky to be given delicious meals that were cooked<br />
by the local volunteers and general volunteers from<br />
London, which included shak rotli, rice and dhal,<br />
pasta and soups. As soon as lunch was eaten we<br />
were back in the hospital, there was always<br />
something that needed to be done or someone that<br />
needed help.<br />
My job was to not only be in the pharmacy<br />
dispensary but also assist the various doctors in<br />
seeing patients, measuring blood pressure and<br />
testing children for Malaria. We came across so<br />
many malnourished babies in the hospital, where we<br />
began treatment with Oral Rehydration Salts. For<br />
one patient who was due to undergo surgery, I even<br />
had to formulate intravenous antibiotics. There was<br />
one occasion, where we went for a walk and came<br />
across a group of children playing, one of whom had<br />
fractured his arm. Being poor, his family could not<br />
afford for him to see a doctor so we took him back to<br />
this hospital to plaster cast his arm.<br />
It was inspirational to see the volume of patients<br />
who were suffering from various, life-threatening<br />
illnesses. They never complained, kept smiling and<br />
continued with their day-to-day lives. Even as the<br />
days became longer and more tiring as they went<br />
on, we were still ready as ever each morning to help<br />
the people of Sierra Leone. It was a pleasure to treat<br />
the patients and to also work with, and learn from<br />
the other healthcare professionals.<br />
My goal was to go to Sierra Leone to try and help<br />
find and implement life-saving solutions for the<br />
patients. I saw first-hand how the treatment made a<br />
difference to the patients and as a result, the<br />
patients were very appreciative towards us. This<br />
gave us the motivation to work together in often<br />
emotionally demanding situations where there were<br />
very limited resources.<br />
I couldn’t believe how fast our time went in Sierra<br />
Leone. On our last day, we left Yonibana early in the<br />
morning and drove to Freetown where we spent the<br />
afternoon looking around in the town and walking on<br />
the beach, before we got on our flight back to reality,<br />
back to life in London.<br />
In the space of just 8 days we saw over 3000<br />
patients whilst working in the hospital. Some of<br />
these patients had come from neighbouring villages,<br />
whilst others had travelled 88 miles from Freetown.<br />
They queued for hours in the heat without any<br />
complaints, just to have some time with a healthcare<br />
professional.<br />
My experience from Sierra Leone made me realise<br />
how fortunate I am to live in a house with such<br />
‘basic’ amenities like hot water and fresh food. The<br />
people of Yonibana had so little yet lived so happily.<br />
Reflecting back on the trip I am thankful to have met<br />
so many wonderful and inspirational people; not only<br />
the doctors and nurses but the courageous people<br />
of Sierra Leone. I would like to thank Better Lives<br />
Foundation for giving me the opportunity of going<br />
out there to give something back. It was definitely<br />
rewarding and is something I would recommend to<br />
anyone.<br />
<strong>Oshwal</strong> Youth Magazine of O.A.U.K. 5 <strong>June</strong> <strong>2013</strong> Edition
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