March 4, 2009
This morning we went off for our first clinic and ended up at Gihinga clinic. This was one of the clinics we had visited last year. During the ride to the clinic it was clear that the country is progressing, even in the short time we have been gone. Roads are much improved, houses and buildings are going up rapidly, and improvements are many. All of the beautiful photo opportunities, and a car moving too quickly to capture them. There was a baby on mom’s back, wrapped in a brightly colored pagne with a hand full of bright yellow flowers and of course all of the children running along the road, school kids and village kids, yelling “Mzungu!”. A reminder of how easy we live came around every corner, when you would see a toddler walking alone, a man with a bicycle piled with brush and jerry cans, a mother with a huge sack of grain on her head- a baby wrapped on her back- another holding her hand- and her free hand carrying another bag of stuff.
When we arrived at the clinic it was unreal to see nurses and staff with familiar faces- and they actually remembered me- which was amazing. The head of the clinic, Jeremiah, welcomed us warmly and we were ushered into a room set up for teaching- then the people started filing in. Priscilla did her teaching on Neonatal Resuscitation and then we started to do some of our lectures. It was hard to remember how basic the teachings needed to be- and to remember that these people are working with nearly no supplies. They seemed happy to have us and eager to learn. Sometimes, it is hard culturally, and you can’t tell if people are really interested or not. I got my answer when people started asking questions- and they were very on point.
We completed the teaching session and then moved on into the labor room. There were 3 women in labor today. The routine was much the same- they stay in one area until they are 10 centimeters- its hard to believe that more babies are not delivered in transit to the delivery room. We had one birth during our short time there- a smallish baby, soaked in meconium staining. The mother didn’t really look at the baby after he was born and we inquired more about her situation. Apparently this was her 7th baby and this will be only her 2nd living child at home. The other children died at various points after birth. You can sort of understand why she guards her feelings, yet everything we know speaks to how important the mother-infant bonding directly after birth is, and how it impacts the child forever.
After we did the clinical portion of our teaching, the lead nurse brought us into his office. We talked a bit and reviewed some of the concepts we had taught. Then he surprised us with gifts- Rwandan peace baskets, brightly wrapped in wrapping paper. It was very touching.
Dinner tonight in a big group at Sole Luna- wonderful- just as I remembered!
