Not just on Sudan….!
Although it wouldn’t be hard with the sky here of an evening and of a night.. Last night, or should I say this morning I walked to my tukul, generator off, lights off with only the moon lighting my way…
These moments are a nice break from what has been a busy and hard couple of weeks…
We talk about security; what are the likely outcomes and possibilities before and after the referendum.. What does this mean for us.. Will the country break into war, what does it mean for the project… For me I ask my staff what they want, what they think will happen.. Sometimes I hold back tears, not because their answers are unexpected but just because, well it is sad…
George Clooney paid a visit to Juba, he’s trying to bring international attention to Sudan and the pending referendum date.. Rumour had it he’d be in Aweil, no such luck.. Looks like he just missed his chance with me, I’m sure he’ll be very upset….
We also talk HR.. A LOT!!! It’s not fun for me at the moment actually, not that the issues are fun for the medical staff but I’m the one hearing it from every department.. We’ve a lot of resignations at the moment, a lot of contracts ending and this coincided with reviewing our HR needs makes for annoyed and tired expats, frustrated at not having the staff we need, sometimes not being able to find the staff we need, not getting the answers that they want when they want them.. Such is life I guess, I think we all try to do the best we can do but some days it’s just not enough… I had a big cry last week, the biggest since I’ve been here.. It felt good though….
The week ahead will see more progress and a much needed holiday for me.. Me and Doctor Rupa are heading to Zanzibar… Woo hooo!! We fly into Dar Es Salaam, spend a night there then Rupa heads off on safari for 2 nights and I go to Zanzibar.. I’m staying at the coffee house hotel in Stone Town for 2 nights in a suite… Luxury, luxury!! Double bed, toilets…. Rupa comes after 2 nights and we head to the east coast for 3 nights on the beach. Eating, walking, sleeping, reading.. Oh I can’t wait… We spend the last night in the nicest hotel in Dar Es Salaam with an asian fusion restaurant and a highly regarded rooftop bar….
I haven’t talked much about the program we have here.. So I’ll give you a little introduction.. We work in Aweil Civil Hospital.. The MoH (Ministry of Health) works in one section and MSF in the other.. We’re doing the pediatric and maternal care.. With our 250 odd staff we operate an Outpatient department where sick kids are checked out, an In Patient Department where the sick kids are hospitalised (sometimes from OPD sometimes from somewhere else).. This includes kids with tetnus, premature and low birth weight babies, an intensive care unit and then just generally sick kids who need to be hospitalized.. It’s both amazing and sad to see.. We also run ANC, ante natal care for all the Mumma’s to come to leading up to their pregnancy and a maternity department where they can come to give birth… And as you know from my experience we run an operating theatre…
I had my second experience in there the other week.. There was a pregnant lady who came in.. Her family had been burning the crops and the fire got out of control, to stay away from it she climbed up a tree but then fell out of the tree into the fire.. She was burned in over 60 percent of her body and lost her baby.. In the end she died, but not before I shared the experience of changing the dressings on this lady with the medical team.. Literally from her legs down, her face, all of her arms.. She came into the OT looking like a Mummy… We removed every piece of cloth, cleaned her skin and then put new dressings back on her.. She died last week… It’s amazing how quickly life can change. One week a husband thinks he’ll be bringing a baby into the world with his wife and the next week the baby is lost and so is the to be mother.. Days like this I’m not sure about justice or fairness or life…
This is something we contemplate last night, or should I say this morning… After partying and dancing and singing and grooving… I’m discussing colleague the notion of wisdom.. Where does it come from, what is it, is it ever fully achieved.. This follows my conversation with one of the logs about time and it’s impacts… I love this… Philosophizing about something to which we’ll never know the answer.. Talking to people about the real things in life whilst we sit under the stars in Sudan drinking vodka, laughing…
It’s a good reminder after a hard week.. A good reminder of what we’re doing, of why I’m tired of what we’re fighting for…. Reminded that it is out there, something eternal and beautiful and honest. The only separation is time and that for the moment is filled with other beautiful experiences to make a happy life and a very very content Danii…..
Although it wouldn’t be hard with the sky here of an evening and of a night.. Last night, or should I say this morning I walked to my tukul, generator off, lights off with only the moon lighting my way…
These moments are a nice break from what has been a busy and hard couple of weeks…
We talk about security; what are the likely outcomes and possibilities before and after the referendum.. What does this mean for us.. Will the country break into war, what does it mean for the project… For me I ask my staff what they want, what they think will happen.. Sometimes I hold back tears, not because their answers are unexpected but just because, well it is sad…
George Clooney paid a visit to Juba, he’s trying to bring international attention to Sudan and the pending referendum date.. Rumour had it he’d be in Aweil, no such luck.. Looks like he just missed his chance with me, I’m sure he’ll be very upset….
We also talk HR.. A LOT!!! It’s not fun for me at the moment actually, not that the issues are fun for the medical staff but I’m the one hearing it from every department.. We’ve a lot of resignations at the moment, a lot of contracts ending and this coincided with reviewing our HR needs makes for annoyed and tired expats, frustrated at not having the staff we need, sometimes not being able to find the staff we need, not getting the answers that they want when they want them.. Such is life I guess, I think we all try to do the best we can do but some days it’s just not enough… I had a big cry last week, the biggest since I’ve been here.. It felt good though….
The week ahead will see more progress and a much needed holiday for me.. Me and Doctor Rupa are heading to Zanzibar… Woo hooo!! We fly into Dar Es Salaam, spend a night there then Rupa heads off on safari for 2 nights and I go to Zanzibar.. I’m staying at the coffee house hotel in Stone Town for 2 nights in a suite… Luxury, luxury!! Double bed, toilets…. Rupa comes after 2 nights and we head to the east coast for 3 nights on the beach. Eating, walking, sleeping, reading.. Oh I can’t wait… We spend the last night in the nicest hotel in Dar Es Salaam with an asian fusion restaurant and a highly regarded rooftop bar….
I haven’t talked much about the program we have here.. So I’ll give you a little introduction.. We work in Aweil Civil Hospital.. The MoH (Ministry of Health) works in one section and MSF in the other.. We’re doing the pediatric and maternal care.. With our 250 odd staff we operate an Outpatient department where sick kids are checked out, an In Patient Department where the sick kids are hospitalised (sometimes from OPD sometimes from somewhere else).. This includes kids with tetnus, premature and low birth weight babies, an intensive care unit and then just generally sick kids who need to be hospitalized.. It’s both amazing and sad to see.. We also run ANC, ante natal care for all the Mumma’s to come to leading up to their pregnancy and a maternity department where they can come to give birth… And as you know from my experience we run an operating theatre…
I had my second experience in there the other week.. There was a pregnant lady who came in.. Her family had been burning the crops and the fire got out of control, to stay away from it she climbed up a tree but then fell out of the tree into the fire.. She was burned in over 60 percent of her body and lost her baby.. In the end she died, but not before I shared the experience of changing the dressings on this lady with the medical team.. Literally from her legs down, her face, all of her arms.. She came into the OT looking like a Mummy… We removed every piece of cloth, cleaned her skin and then put new dressings back on her.. She died last week… It’s amazing how quickly life can change. One week a husband thinks he’ll be bringing a baby into the world with his wife and the next week the baby is lost and so is the to be mother.. Days like this I’m not sure about justice or fairness or life…
This is something we contemplate last night, or should I say this morning… After partying and dancing and singing and grooving… I’m discussing colleague the notion of wisdom.. Where does it come from, what is it, is it ever fully achieved.. This follows my conversation with one of the logs about time and it’s impacts… I love this… Philosophizing about something to which we’ll never know the answer.. Talking to people about the real things in life whilst we sit under the stars in Sudan drinking vodka, laughing…
It’s a good reminder after a hard week.. A good reminder of what we’re doing, of why I’m tired of what we’re fighting for…. Reminded that it is out there, something eternal and beautiful and honest. The only separation is time and that for the moment is filled with other beautiful experiences to make a happy life and a very very content Danii…..
