About a week to go

With a week to go until I return to Freetown, things are winding down here in Kamakwie. I've been stressing a bit about writing up my research project, and trying to find enough time to be down at the hospital. It feels like I have to be there, as there are so few (trained) people to just keep an eye on the patients!

Ramadan finished last week, culminating in the Rama Jam at the community hall. It was a bare hall, full of sweaty dancing people, lit with a single strip light, music was provided by a local DJ playing Salone dance music. I'll bring some of it back home, it's very catchy!

The end of Ramadan means the food sellers make more business during the day and can get to bed earlier. My regular 'Kukri' (cookery) lady was very happy and made a special soup to celebrate. Here, soup is sloshed over rice and is usually made with fish. I tried some of the special stuff made with various animal organs (oops). I left most of the stuff that I thought once carried stuff out of a body, and just ate the rice.

I've learned a lot about providing healthcare in a resource-poor area, and a bit of medicine too. It's been kinda nice to fall into a routine of morning ward rounds with Dr Tom, Solomon the Community Health Officer student, the occasional American nurse, and the nurses and nursing aides that work at the hospital. Ward rounds pass through the obstetrics, paeds, mens and womens wards and include a pass through the Alpha Project ward for malnourished children. Afternoon clinic starts at 2 and sees minor cases and the odd patient who we deem ill enough to admit. We get by in Krio, with Solomon doing most of the translating, sometimes needing extra interpreters to speak in some of the other local languages. It's the lack of information provided on the patients' records cards that make in confusing though. They have a funny system of having 2 sets of cards (one for inpatient, one for outpatient although some are mixed). One example of inadequate organisation of healthcare.

In the past few weeks, various people have approached me asking for support for school fees. I get the feeling that people are giving me the bags of groundnuts to sweeten me up in a way. I don't blame them for trying, but I really don't have that much to give away! I get into this problem thinking that it's not fair that only a few receive support, and it's those who are lucky enough to have contacts with foreigners and can already speak English.

I may have found something to help support though. A few nights ago, I met a few people from a local youth cooperative who have just organised themselves to run an agricultural project, and plan on other socially constructive projects. I designed a logo for them and have given some advice on budgeting, strategic planning for the future, and some generic 'how to run an organisation' type stuff that I know. They have plans to build up funds to help themselves through higher education, and to create hardship loans for members who fall ill etc. It's quite inspiring to see the local community organise itself to attempt to provide for themselves, to fill in the gaps that the state's supposed to provide - social security and employment opportunities. I set up an email account for them, it's a little strange to see people struggling to find their way around a computer keyboard, let alone use the Internet. I take it for granted that most people in the UK are computer literate and have the skills to use the Internet and get access to all that stuff out there.

Looking forward to coming back home now. I feel as though I've not really spent to much time with family! But it's straight into 5th year, and it's going to be a tough final year. If all goes well, it's less than a year to go until I start work as a doctor... uh oh.