The last stop
In a way it’s a good thing that everything is done with time enough but none to spare as there is little time to think of having to say goodbye. All the last minute things are in the pipeline now and its only in the van on the way back to Kombolche that there is a moment for reflection on what we have come to and are about to leave. Maybe it feels different for the family who have been coming here on and off for the past 40 years and frequently for the last five or so. As the first timer in the group it still feels sad to come, stay such a short while and leave again with little more than a few small but worthwhile gifts and a promise of more to come.
I wondered when I was first offered the chance of coming if I could be of more use ‘on the ground’ as in back in NZ doing fund raising and promotional activities. Now I know there is nothing like experience to make sure motivation doesn’t flag and it was well worthwhile on many fronts making the effort to come. There is something about having branched out from the straight line of things that should be done – responsibilities, obligations, habits – most related to work and although I know how important this is, sometimes its good to remember its not the be and end all.
The promise we leave with is big – about NZ$50,000 or UK20,000 worth. A brand new 4 wheel drive ambulance to get those women in childbirth to hospital and save their lives. But at this point we don’t know those numbers. The visit to Toyota Moenco in Addis has yet to happen three days and many more events down the line.
The last stop in Degan apart from Ron’s quick roadside consultation on an elderly man with curable eye disease is at the Health Centre. This is a closer inspection than the cursory glance on previous days. A chance to shoot some video and to be talked through the shopping list they give us, on request – to take away and fill. Medical books, equipment, money for furniture… running water isn’t even high on the wish list as it is not the most immediate need. They have managed without it for quite some time and it’s a big ask.
Watching people sitting outside waiting for appointments, the coughing penetrates, the body language is part of an easy diagnosis of general ill health and specific problems. The environment is uplifting thiogh, there is hope here and help that wasn’t available a few years before. The staff are increasingly well qualified though that currently adds up to a grand total of the Director who is a former military doctor (probably not much maternity care experience then), the interned environmental health graduate who will be gone as soon as he is able and a qualified clinical nurse who would like to study further and qualify in midwifery but can’t afford to and some semi-skilled assistants. Its not a cast of thousands or Nobel prize winners, but it is what they have got and do a great job with considering.
On the equipment front things are not so rosy. Before getting into the realms of actual medical equipment, there are beds with no mattresses, old worn out beds in the labour room that just don’t look appealing. No water birth facilities here! Few drugs or necessary tools to deal with complications.
One of the gifts Ron and Maria have brought is a great addition to the inventory – a vacuum extractor – don’t ask – use your imagination on what that might be used for in a labour ward.
Another really useful gift for the clinic is money. A reasonably substantial amount at that – gleaned from savings, donations and other bits and pieces that Maria has squirreled away. All of it gratefully received and graciously accepted. The straightforward attitude to this is refreshing. Its easy to ask if x, y, or z would be useful and if not, they will tell you. No cultural complications like accepting because it is impolite to refuse. Good to know exactly where we stand.
And where we stand we can see potential – lots of it – its just needs a few resources, which hopefully we can help to provide. With business completed we take our leave. Not quite as simply and dispassionately as my words make it sound. Some things are beyond my ability to describe. The incentive to get us moving is a date back in Kombolche with the final person to sign the MOU – Ato Endalamaw, the local Head of Concern who has agreed to mediate the agreement in case of any dispute. The experience and reputation of him personally and of his organization locally make this an ideal arrangement. At the moment it’s another hurdle we have to jump over. Well worthwhile but challenging still.
On the way back to Kombolche I remember to shoot some video footage of the gorgeous surroundings on the 20 km trip and the quarry, which deserves an entry all of its own. People young and old, small and grown, breaking rocks for building projects entirely by hand. That deserves and entry of its own so more on it later.
I wondered when I was first offered the chance of coming if I could be of more use ‘on the ground’ as in back in NZ doing fund raising and promotional activities. Now I know there is nothing like experience to make sure motivation doesn’t flag and it was well worthwhile on many fronts making the effort to come. There is something about having branched out from the straight line of things that should be done – responsibilities, obligations, habits – most related to work and although I know how important this is, sometimes its good to remember its not the be and end all.
The promise we leave with is big – about NZ$50,000 or UK20,000 worth. A brand new 4 wheel drive ambulance to get those women in childbirth to hospital and save their lives. But at this point we don’t know those numbers. The visit to Toyota Moenco in Addis has yet to happen three days and many more events down the line.
The last stop in Degan apart from Ron’s quick roadside consultation on an elderly man with curable eye disease is at the Health Centre. This is a closer inspection than the cursory glance on previous days. A chance to shoot some video and to be talked through the shopping list they give us, on request – to take away and fill. Medical books, equipment, money for furniture… running water isn’t even high on the wish list as it is not the most immediate need. They have managed without it for quite some time and it’s a big ask.
Watching people sitting outside waiting for appointments, the coughing penetrates, the body language is part of an easy diagnosis of general ill health and specific problems. The environment is uplifting thiogh, there is hope here and help that wasn’t available a few years before. The staff are increasingly well qualified though that currently adds up to a grand total of the Director who is a former military doctor (probably not much maternity care experience then), the interned environmental health graduate who will be gone as soon as he is able and a qualified clinical nurse who would like to study further and qualify in midwifery but can’t afford to and some semi-skilled assistants. Its not a cast of thousands or Nobel prize winners, but it is what they have got and do a great job with considering.
On the equipment front things are not so rosy. Before getting into the realms of actual medical equipment, there are beds with no mattresses, old worn out beds in the labour room that just don’t look appealing. No water birth facilities here! Few drugs or necessary tools to deal with complications.
One of the gifts Ron and Maria have brought is a great addition to the inventory – a vacuum extractor – don’t ask – use your imagination on what that might be used for in a labour ward.
Another really useful gift for the clinic is money. A reasonably substantial amount at that – gleaned from savings, donations and other bits and pieces that Maria has squirreled away. All of it gratefully received and graciously accepted. The straightforward attitude to this is refreshing. Its easy to ask if x, y, or z would be useful and if not, they will tell you. No cultural complications like accepting because it is impolite to refuse. Good to know exactly where we stand.
And where we stand we can see potential – lots of it – its just needs a few resources, which hopefully we can help to provide. With business completed we take our leave. Not quite as simply and dispassionately as my words make it sound. Some things are beyond my ability to describe. The incentive to get us moving is a date back in Kombolche with the final person to sign the MOU – Ato Endalamaw, the local Head of Concern who has agreed to mediate the agreement in case of any dispute. The experience and reputation of him personally and of his organization locally make this an ideal arrangement. At the moment it’s another hurdle we have to jump over. Well worthwhile but challenging still.
On the way back to Kombolche I remember to shoot some video footage of the gorgeous surroundings on the 20 km trip and the quarry, which deserves an entry all of its own. People young and old, small and grown, breaking rocks for building projects entirely by hand. That deserves and entry of its own so more on it later.
posted by Cathy Gunn at
November 20, 2007
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