Opening my eyes and heart

Yesterday we had our second ESL class and 12 people came to the new place.  We had it outside in the back of one of the ladies homes and it was raining but there is an open air area with a cover and that is where we met.  It worked really well.  We talked about numbers and our families and I believe we all had a good time learning. Thankfully there is one gentleman that speaks fairly good English already and he translates for the harder concepts or questions.  Now to just learn everyones names.  Two women, Jan and Cindy, came to help with the group.

Immediately after the class I was taken to the Bechtel camp to get a security pass.  Bechtel is a company that is building the gas plant here.  Their security is very strict and you must have a pass to go on their base.  On this base there is a small food store and this is also where they release the baby turtles when they hatch.  So now I can go there and see that event when it occurs next month.....and, of course, another option for finding food is always a plus......

Just before 5pm I met the community outreach woman at the Municipal hospital.  It is difficult to describe the place but let me try.  The building was built in the 1960s and has not been renovated since then.  Remember, Angola was at war until 2002....the longest war in Africa's history.  The hospital is very small, I believe they said 76 beds, but then Soyo is a small city.  Many electrical wires are bare, the water is unreliable, I didn't see public restrooms so saw people just using the grounds around the building as their toilet, goats were wandering the hospital grounds.  Family members were coming and going bringing food to the patients.  I believe that is the family responsibility when someone is a patient in the hospital.

I met with the doctor with hopes of being able to promote a hospice program.  This hospital is currently getting an influx of money to upgrade with public toilets, redoing the electricity, providing a generator to have constant electrification since the city power is so unreliable, building new buildings for clinics, larger gynecological area, and many other areas of expansion.  The reason I am explaining this is because I didn't realize how desperate the situation is here for the local people and the idea of someone coming in with a new program.....one that there isn't even a word for.....hospice here means mental health issues.....when there is so much other need....I was really not in touch.  Anyway, we talked about what my medical work history was, how I could volunteer here and the recommendation was to take a look at the labor and delivery and newborn baby area to see if that would be a place to assist.

When we went into the 4 rooms that house that department here is what I saw......4 beds with ladies recovering from their deliveries and the new babies with them on the bed.  They will go home within 2 hours to make room for others.  One of the ladies had a Cesarean Section and delivered premature twins.  These too were on the bed and I couldn't find out how long she gets to stay after surgery.  In the next room was a bench with a woman waiting.  This woman had an infection and would be being treated for this.  This was also the area where the desks were.  The next room had 4 delivery tables.  On two were women with IVs in their arms and on the floor was another woman covered only with a piece of cloth.....she also had an IV that was tacked up on the wall.  This woman said, "bye" when I left......and the final room had at least 4 beds in it and I could hear two voices of women going through labor.....but couldn't go into that room because the doorway was blocked by the woman on the floor and her IV blocking the doorway.

The doctor was embarrassed at the conditions and told me the newly renovated hospital would have 39 maternity beds and be much better.  I must say that I was very saddened by the conditions here and realized again that the idea of hospice is something for later here.  The doctor also said that people go home to die and do not come to the hospital for that time of life.  I believe there isn't room there anyway and with family visiting hours limited, it would be very difficult.

I met two nurses working in the obstetric area.  I don't know if there are more.  They had their hands full taking care of the ladies and overseeing the babies.  I am told there are 11 births daily.  These are primarily attended by a midwife although I was told a doctor is available if needed.


 On the way out, the doctor said that maybe I could come and teach the nurses about newborn care.  I told him I could commit to come for 4 hours a day so that I could continue in language study.  He seemed surprised at this.  Also, I learned that I must be given legal permission to work in the community......so it is still wait and see.....

I kept wondering where I had seen such conditions and finally remembered, in the highlands of Viet Nam in the early 1970s.  This place is quite remarkable and I'm thankful someone is trying to help with upgrading and making things better for the people.

So what have I learned from all that occurred yesterday?  First, that although I came with an agenda, to start a hospice, perhaps the basic needs of the people are so great and those need to be addressed initially.  Then perhaps the hospice can come at a later date.  The entire situation at the hospital was so shocking and so desperate that it must be addressed.   I think of the premature twins laying on the bed and the mother still under sedation and I can't help but reflect on the incredibly high infant mortality rate here and begin to catch a glimpse of why.  So I realize I must not be so caught up on what I think my role is to be here that I miss what God has put right in front of me.....