Nursing an African dream
Being able to come to Africa to work as a registered nurse fulfils a long held dream for UniSA graduate Cynthia Mchawala - one that she did not consider would be possible until her youngest son turned 18, and when friends were telling her that she should be considering retirement instead.
Here she shares her story.
I am working as a registered nurse in Africa at last, based in a community for orphaned and destitute children in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region. The community has four households. One for babies 0-2 years and the volunteers, one each for girls, boys, and another for a small, mixed group in the Tanzanite mining village of Mirerani.
My work is seriously challenging, and at times wildly rewarding. It is a mixture of housekeeping as well as real nursing skills. It’s not just the babies who require attention, but staff, as well as elderly patients who require treatment for terminal cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and generalised problems often associated with age.
During the malaria season we had a run of very sick babies and I took them to bed with me if I felt there could be a crisis. Until recently we’re had to carry out malaria tests at a Catholic mission, where the only needles available were adult-sized ones – so not only did the babies scream, I did too! The great news is that we’re now in a Tanzanian malaria-testing trial and have been able to buy the latest paediatric medications for treating malaria using money sent from home.
Every month I attend three different village outreach clinics with Dr Mushi and Sr Grace (a Tanzanian nurse), as well as one that I alone look after in the Maasai district in southern Kenya using donor money to buy petrol and medications.
Conducting clinics in the Maasai district was the most challenging experience for me. As the only medical person there, I played doctor and nurse to about 300 patients in two weeks – without feeling very confident in either role!
It did not take me long to realize how little I knew about tropical diseases, especially when one person complained of severe stomach pains, which turned out to be typhoid. Infected wounds, third degree burns and leg ulcers were treated with a remedy from Dr Chew at the Repatriation Hospital in Adelaide made from household bleach 1:20 mixed with drinkable water and dressings covered in local honey straight from the hive. It really works! Importantly, the Maasai saw firsthand how to produce this simple remedy, which was affordable.
On-going medical problems in the area relate to the collection of water. Here women suffer enormously with severe head, neck, back and shoulder pains.
Aid money for medications is vital in the short term, but unless it’s balanced by long-term solutions (pumps, pipes, donkeys to carry the water, etc), the many medical problems that arise because of lack of water and cleanliness will inevitably continue.
With food donations from the USA, a feeding program was set up in Mirerani to cater for some 400 malnourished children. Once the feeding program started, other medical problems became apparent. When additional donor funds become available an on-going medical clinic will be established.
Now my dream is to work in Africa for several months each year in the medical clinics. I have had amazing opportunities to learn so much during my time here and am aware of being kept safe in God’s Hands. It is always good to come back to my family, though, and to see my many friends.