Division of Health Sciences
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’ve 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 do
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.
