UBCO Nurses in Zambia: Came as a Student, Left as a Nurse

It is so funny how everything works out, I have been genuinely planning on writing a final blog post about my last weeks here but I have been so busy in this little town in Western province I have struggled to find the time to sit down and type. However, today our bus to Livingstone, Zambia is a prompt 2 hrs late….and Maggie has so graciously let me borrow her laptop to write one last time from Mongu.

I have had a lot of time to reflect while I have been here. Whether that has been during our mini bus rides to the hospital or nightly sunset walks down the road. During these times I have felt immense amounts of gratitude for this global health practicum. It is difficult to put our time here into words and the best way I have been able to explain it to friends and family back home is that coming on this final nursing practicum has kind of been like going off to summer camp…

Growing up I was very fortunate that my parents signed my sister and myself up for variety of overnight summer camps around the West Coast (shoutout Keats Camp and Camp Qwanoes). I was young, excited and ready for a week of adventures and activities. One week every summer we would wake up early, Mom and Dad would remind me not to forget my sleeping back again and I would hop on the ferry to go meet new friends from around the province. Similarly, leaving Canada, my parents reminded Ali and I not to forget our passports and they dropped us off at the YVR airport. Only difference this time instead of being off to Vancouver Island for one week, I was off to “Nursing Camp” for four.

At nursing camp, we were greeted by an entire town in which we were told we were “most welcome” by everyone we met in Mongu. We arrived to our “cabins”, picked “bunkmates” and awaited further instruction from our wonderful “camp counselors”. Like any other summer camp, nursing camp has had many activities. However, instead of sports such as archery or rock climbing, our daily activities included hospital shifts in a variety of different units. Instead of arts and crafts, we used bandaids and took vital signs.

Very similar to home, I have to say my favorite nursing camp extracurricular activity was football (soccer for all you Canadians back home). After our shifts, the group would walk to the streets with a ball to head up to one of the local pitches. The first time we walked out into the road with a brand new FIFA ball at my feet I was amazed to see at least 20 children run to the streets yelling “Makuwa has football!!” within 30 seconds of us appearing from outside the lodge gates. At a full sprint, I ran along Limulinga road, passing a ball around with our new little friends. I couldn’t help but notice when the children first introduced themselves to me, there was quite an obvious language barrier between us. We barely managed to share our names let alone explain what a small Canadian girl was doing in the streets of Mongu with a football. However, our language barrier was brief as I really realized for the first time in my life that the language of football is universal. We could barely tell each other our ages but we both knew how to call each other out for handballs, corner kicks and when the score was tied. We played lots of games throughout our four weeks, most of them on the side of the road. One game, 11 older boys invited us to play against them on their full sand field, complete with goal posts. Unfortunately, I had to tell my coach back home that these guys absolutely kicked our butts. They just seemed to float with such ease and grace on the sandy surface, while our team who was only used to playing on freshly cut grass looked like a clumsy group of elephants.

Lastly, like all amazing camp adventures, it is now time to begin the journey back home to Canada. For me, this will include a month of travels through South Africa and England before returning to Kelowna. I want to take a moment to thank our instructors for their patience and guidance through this practicum. They truly let us blossom over four short weeks into now officially….graduated nurses!! I also want to congratulate my now fellow colleagues (because that’s what you say apparently when you aren’t students anymore). I am so proud of the people I have shared this experience with. Together we have welcomed new life to this earth and I have also watched my dear friends hold the hands of those who have exited this world. Together, I feel we have grown stronger ties to this global community we are all so lucky to be apart of. Safe travels and best wishes to you all, you may now get some sleep without having to listen to my singing every morning.

Yours,