Of course I also have cipro in case some bug decides to make a nice new home in my colon. Hopefully it won't be needed. Say a prayer...
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Stomach ready
We may not have anything else packed yet, but our stomachs are good to go! I think 400 doses of loperamide (aka Imodium) and a supersize bottle of pepto should do the trick 😉👍
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
An introduction....
We are two healthcare professionals going to Nzara, South Sudan to help at a local clinic run by the Episcopal Church Diocese. Courtney is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and Tristen is an OB Surgical Technologist. We both work in OB/Women's health and are excited to be working alongside the three South Sudanese midwives at the Good Samaritan Primary Health Care Center. GSPHCC is lucky to have many partnerships with NGO's and charities both locally and abroad in the US and UK. One of these partnerships is with Medical Teams International. Together they developed the Safe Motherhood Initiative which trained the midwives as well as 48 community health workers and 20 traditional birth attendants. In addition, they constructed the labor and delivery unit within the clinic so women can have a safe place to give birth in a country with the highest maternal mortality rate in the world.
One of the goals the clinic has is to grow into a rural hospital. Currently the local hospital in Nzara has no surgical capabilities which means if a child needs an appendectomy or a woman needs a life saving c-section, they have to travel one hour by bumpy car ride to Yambio where even there, only one surgeon is on staff.
South Sudan is the world's newest country. After more than two decades of war, the country voted to separate and be independent from Sudan. This resulted in the birth of a new nation, The Republic of South Sudan! The country lacks infrastructure and most basic things we have in the US. It is the size of Texas yet only has about 10 miles of paved road. In Nzara there is no electricity except by generator, no running water or plumbing, no paved roads, no postal services, and no sanitation. Lives are lost every day because of small things like bug bites which lead to bigger problems like malaria, as well as other chronic problems such as waterborne illness and poor hygiene.
Although we know we cannot change all these thingsl, we believe we can make differences in certain areas. We leave for our first trip Monday, November 4, 2013! Right now we have most of our travel expenses covered, but we are in desperate need of funds to help pay for other miscellaneous things. One big thing is cost to transport extra medical supplies. Each extra bag/box of supplies will cost $200 USD. The hardest thing so far has been deciding what supplies we can and cannot take. I worry constantly, what if I can't pack that one item or enough of certain items I need to help save lives. Its a terrible place to be caught in, but you have the ability to help! If just 10 people donate $20 each, that adds up to one more box of life-saving supplies going with us! Any amount donated will be much appreciated, helpful, and put to good use.
We will be blogging and posting photos during our time in South Sudan and encourage everyone to follow us through our facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/berawenzara
To donate, please visit:
Thank you to everyone!
Tristen and Courtney
One of the goals the clinic has is to grow into a rural hospital. Currently the local hospital in Nzara has no surgical capabilities which means if a child needs an appendectomy or a woman needs a life saving c-section, they have to travel one hour by bumpy car ride to Yambio where even there, only one surgeon is on staff.
South Sudan is the world's newest country. After more than two decades of war, the country voted to separate and be independent from Sudan. This resulted in the birth of a new nation, The Republic of South Sudan! The country lacks infrastructure and most basic things we have in the US. It is the size of Texas yet only has about 10 miles of paved road. In Nzara there is no electricity except by generator, no running water or plumbing, no paved roads, no postal services, and no sanitation. Lives are lost every day because of small things like bug bites which lead to bigger problems like malaria, as well as other chronic problems such as waterborne illness and poor hygiene.
Although we know we cannot change all these thingsl, we believe we can make differences in certain areas. We leave for our first trip Monday, November 4, 2013! Right now we have most of our travel expenses covered, but we are in desperate need of funds to help pay for other miscellaneous things. One big thing is cost to transport extra medical supplies. Each extra bag/box of supplies will cost $200 USD. The hardest thing so far has been deciding what supplies we can and cannot take. I worry constantly, what if I can't pack that one item or enough of certain items I need to help save lives. Its a terrible place to be caught in, but you have the ability to help! If just 10 people donate $20 each, that adds up to one more box of life-saving supplies going with us! Any amount donated will be much appreciated, helpful, and put to good use.
We will be blogging and posting photos during our time in South Sudan and encourage everyone to follow us through our facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/berawenzara
To donate, please visit:
Thank you to everyone!
Tristen and Courtney
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)