UBCO Nurses in Zambia: "Collect Moments, Not Things"

Hello Everyone,

It is hard to believe we are halfway through our Mongu practicum! We are enjoying every minute of it but the time is going by a little quicker than we would like it to.

My (Erin) week provided me with three different experiences. On Monday, I joined Kristen in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCUB). There were 5 babies and (without us) only one nurse. We were fortunate that this week, a doctor from the Czech Republic had returned to Lewanika General Hospital. Between himself, and the nurse on staff, we learned various ways to take care of such teeny tiny humans in low-resource settings, and other dangers we need to be aware of. Those babies though… heart strings were pulled.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday I joined Kristal at the Sefula Health Clinic. Sefula is an area outside of Mongu, which had us taking a cab for roughly 35 minutes each way –BUT members of the community can walk upwards of 40km to visit the clinic. All of the staff we encountered are AMAZING! On of the nurses/midwives (named Precious) is such a gift to the clinic! She was very welcoming to both us, and the patients who came to her sessions. My experience had me: doing malaria screening (with many being positive), treating severe malaria cases, initial screening/triage, providing family planning/depo injections, antenatal revisits, and listening to chief complaints/diagnosing/prescribing medications alongside another nurse on staff. I was very impressed with the patient flow and resourcefulness at this clinic (also, every patient gets a malaria and HIV test each visit!) - I must mention, Sefula has been WITHOUT running water for over a YEAR AND A HALF!... Can you imagine??? On Friday, they put on a celebration for World TB Day where many children came from school and danced to music throughout the morning and early afternoon – what a party! Once our antenatal visits were complete we had the opportunity to go out and mingle with the local children – at first they were a little hesitant of us, but we soon we all friends!

However, it was the research data collection on atrial fibrillation that stuck with me this week. On Thursday, the Lewanika School of Nursing students joined us on a busy street in downtown Mongu. Here, members of the community would randomly come up to our tables and go through various screening stations (questionnaire, blood pressure readings, pulse, weight… etc.). Myself, and a couple of the local nursing students were placed at the first table and were responsible for completing the questionnaires. We asked numerous questions, including ones on alcohol and tobacco use. As healthcare professionals in Canada, these are every day questions asked without judgment. However, I was quickly informed that these are HIGHLY cultural sensitive questions and that it was important that the local nursing students asked them. I found this very interesting, and was reminded that through every action, and every conversation in this setting, we must remain cautious and respectful – it is so important to not fall into ways that are considered “the norm” back home…we definitely do not want to break the trust that the UBCO School of Nursing/OkaZHI (okazhi.org) has worked so hard to create the last several years!!

This week I (Maggie) was at Save-A-Life Centre, a Christian based organization that works to combat malnutrition in children who are living in Mongu and surrounding areas. In our Global Health class we learned that malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all deaths in children under the age of 5. Unfortunately, this has become evident to many of us, as we have seen children with signs of moderate to severe malnutrition both inside and out of our practice placement settings.

During my week at the Centre, I was able to sit in on their weekly feeding program, where families in need are taught about healthy nutrition and feeding practices then provided enough food to last the rest of the week. I also worked alongside a physician at the Centre's Health Clinic assessing and treating individuals from the surrounding area for various illnesses. Finally, I was given the opportunity to accompany a community health worker on her home visits where we checked in on families who are in the feeding program. Home visits were definitely the most eye opening and educational part of this experience for me. While my few weeks in Mongu have demonstrated how few resources many members of this community live with, seeing their homes and the way they live shed an entirely different light on their situations and ability to access the limited resources that are available. Most homes were made of little more than sticks and clay with a single large piece of tin or grass for a roof. Many people must walk up to an hour to get clean drinking water and then carry it back. To be a part of the feeding program, people must also walk to the Centre to attain their food each week. In some cases this walk is up to 2 hours. There was certainly no lack of strength or resilience in the people I encountered with each visit.

While we continue to learn of hardships and lived experiences... we must also acknowledge the beauty, kindness, and strength we have witnessed in the people we encounter. Each person we have met has greeted us and asked to hear our stories with genuine interest. During home visits, each family I encountered offered for me to come sit in their house often giving me the only chair they owned. At one of the houses a grandmother offered me some of the afternoon meal. This was after showing me the family’s only food for the next 3 days (part of the check-in during home visits) – one egg, half a bag of rice, and some formula for the baby. This was a humbling experience indeed.

The upcoming week is sure to come with more great adventures – stay tuned! To our friends and family, we love and miss you so BIG, and are thankful for your support!

- Erin and Maggie

"Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude" - A.A. Milne