So how times flies when you are having fun and busy, I cant
believe it has been a month since my last blog, so apologies that this is longer than previous posts!!
Well this weekend I finally settled in my permanent
accommodation, my very own little one room house on a NGO compound. I am
enjoying the domesticated bliss of arranging to get furniture made and fixing what
little I have been given, buying material to make my own curtains and bed linen.
However in the meantime I am amusing myself with the limited choice of bed
linen at my disposal, at the moment I am a
professional woman in her 30’s sleeping in spongebob square pants sheets
with a winnie the pooh and piglet pillow, and quite frankly loving the novelty
of it.
My place is nothing flash, just a 2 ring portable gas stove, 2 cupboards,
2 lights, glass in 4 out of the 7 windows, single bed, mosquito net and a sofa however
for the time being it is all mine and it is bliss. I have no running water, so
I have to use water from a borehole and share an outdoor toilet and shower with
the other residents of the compound, which is absolutely fine except during the
current rainy season the residents also include an abundance of mosquitos, who seem to love the fresh blood I
am providing! I have a small garden space where I am excited about growing my own vegetables
and fruits, so any of you green fingered people, I will welcome any advice how
to get started.
Work life continues to be an amazing challenge that has fabulous
rewards (just not the financial kind). As I mentioned before Yei hospital is
not unlike any other, there are staffing issues, often surrounding pay and
conditions which ultimately impacts motivation and attitudes to work. As in hospitals
around the world, it is the qualified staff that support students during their
placements and give them the clinical experience and guidance that they need to
become well rounded practitioners. However when education levels of the staff
vary dramatically from no formal training to college trained and then add pay
and staffing number issues this has meant students are often lacking in
appropriate support and clinical teaching, meaning there is a significant theory/practice
gap and worse still they are frequently learning
by observing poor practice. This has meant my job has two sides one, supporting
the students to learn the correct, current clinical skills and two, supporting
the existing staff to recognise areas to develop and improve the skills they
already have.
So the past few weeks I have spent time in the wards observing
the staff and looking how I can best support them, generally this has involved
getting them to trust and respect me which is hard with language barriers. Most
nurses and patients first language is kakwar or juba Arabic and often english
is limited, which has meant me being very patient and asking for translations
whilst I slowly learn Arabic. I am still getting laughed at when I test out my
vocabulary however I have noticed lots of
people here full belly laugh mid conversation when nervous, awkward or grateful
and pleased about something, so I am learning quickly not to take offence and
that laughter is a sign they are pleased I am attempted to use their language…..
well I hope that’s the case, it could just be that I am talking utter gobbledy
goop!!! Or it could be because I am, yet again, ushering a goat out of the
ward, this always seems to amuse people, particularly children, who with their
fingers it seems permanently wedged up their noses, think it is hilarious to
see a “kawadja” chasing round after a bleating, leaping goat.
The staff on the wards
have been very welcoming and once they adjust to the fact that I am not here to
relieve them of their workload by doing their job, which to be honest can sometimes
be exceptionally frustrating as I witness things daily that I know I could just
whizz round and do in no time at all, whipping the ward into shape, however me
doing that and taking the direct clinical work away from the nurses will not
build their capacity, however me using every power of suggestion, reason and diplomacy,
that I have, to encourage the nurses to
improve their practice and patient care will hopefully have a longer lasting effect
on care provide in the future.
With the staff I am having to take a gently gently approach
and develop new techniques as how to best help them however with the nursing
and midwifery students it is much more clean cut. I am their clinical tutor, I
am on the wards with them each day, teaching them, watching, supporting and
assessing them carrying out procedures and patient care. Wow it amazing to see
how they come out of themselves with a little encouragement and support, the
level of knowledge and skills varies dramatically between students and sadly
many have already developed bad practices, which I am trying soooo hard to
break. However I get a lump in my throat on a daily basis when I see, hear or
read a student conducting themselves in a professional and safe way. I was unbelievably chuffed to receive the
compliment from the rounding doctor who said he could tell which students I had
previously supervised, as those wards where they are working, no matter how
busy, were calm, well organised and prepared, honestly could not have been more
proud of the students!!!
The students are very sweet and there is that old
style respect for senior colleagues, so much so one of them brought in some plastic
wrapping to cover a textbook I keep on the wards for the students reference, as
he said, they use it so much he did not want my book to become damaged……. Ahhhh
it damn near melted my heart. And when I had to take time off due to typhoid,
upon my return several of the students came to find me on the ward to say how they
had missed me and worried when they heard I was unwell, it all feels very 1950s
inspirational movie-esque, however I cant quite believe it is me who is the central
character!
So you might have noticed
I slipped in that I got typhoid, yes unfortunately when you eat out at all in a
place where typhoid is endemic, it was bound to happen sooner or later. To be honest it wasnt that bad, room bound
for best part of a week, didn’t eat for days and too weak to do much more that
walk to the bathroom however as the fever and malaise broke I did get all
creative and manage to hand sew a skirt and dress from material I had brought at
the market during the previous weekend shopping extravaganza.
Shopping in Yei is an experience in itself, it all happens
in the market and the majority of clothes are secondhand. A couple of the other
NGO workers and I like to spend Saturday and Sunday afternoons trawling round
the markets checking out the amazing array of “unique” items for sale,
occasionally trying on dynasty inspired frock or unwanted fancy dress costume, which I hasten to add locals
will often buy and wear with all sincerity out and about round town. I have seen a heavily pregnant woman walking
in the midday heat with a felt santa hat on and an under 5 year old boy with a
full size white adult chef hat on. I get
a chuckle everyday and I like to think of it like a version of “pooh sticks” that
I used to play with my grandmother, if you donate clothes in the UK they will
eventually arrive in Yei market, it just depends how long, and from the look of
most of the clothes its taking about 20 years!!!
Life in Yei is good and other than the lack of variety in eating/drinking
venues, the curfew and restricted movement round town when the heavens decide
to open for 2 days straight, it is made up by the lovely people and willingness
not be taken too seriously, whether it is playing dress up in the market or prancing around in the sweltering
heat, with an uninvited audience of local children peering through fence, to a
davina mccall fitness DVD with other NGO workers, or the juice stall woman
asking for help with her homework (she has enrolled in primary school, she missed
out due to the war) or the amazing
bravery and strength of character of my new friends and colleagues who witnessed and experienced horrendous
atrocities and hardships throughout and following the conflicts and yet whom
still greet me with a big gleaming smile,
a strong hard shake and an optimism that
things will improve. To be honest I am falling for the place, I keep having
those moments of clarity when I am doing my commute work down dusty road, avoiding
the herds of cattle with the huge horns, waving to groups of children screaming”
kawadja kawadja” and bantering with the boda boda (motorcycle taxi) drivers why I “foot it” so fast and never let
them take me to work I realise, THIS
PLACE IS CRAZY, I MISS MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY, HOWEVER……I LIVE HERE……AND I LOVE IT!!!
