THE PLACE:
Sarah Rusitu Hospitala is at an altitude of 3200 feet. It was the rainy season, so everywhere was lush and green. An American missionary couple were the only two doctors - the rest of the hospital staff were Zimbabwean. The nurses translated for us, but we soon picked up a few phrases in Shona.
Theresa Across the valley can be seen the hills which form the border with Mozambique. It was in this beautiful part of the world that we spent 8 weeks as part of our medical training. The hospital has 50 beds. Shaw is trained in family practice, and his wife Sharon, is a paediatrician, but is currently looking after their year-old daughter and sees only complicated cases.
THE AIM:
Sarah It was an opportunity to experience a very different culture, see a broader range of medical problems and gain a more global perspective of health care. It was also with a view to further medical/missionary work abroad in the future.
THE PEOPLE:
People walk for many hours or come by crowded bus. Their main language is Shona but many speak English. Their dress is bright and colourful. The families are much more involved in looking after their relatives as there are fewer nurses. Relatives would cook meals and fetch medication. The mothers would stay with their young children, sleeping in the same bed on the ward.
THE WORK:
Theresa: After the daily ward rounds we saw outpatients with anything from fractures and snakebites, to malnutrition and aching joints. There were many conditions that are also common in the UK. The challenge was to diagnose and treat them with the limited resources available - a few basic laboratory blood tests, and a range of antibiotics and other medicines when they were available! Zimbabwe also provided the opportunity to see diseases I had read about, or seen once or twice - acute rheumatic fever; tuberculosis and HIV infection. Falciparum malaria is common and there was the odd case of cerebral malaria.
The latest figures suggest that one in four young adults in Zimbabwe is infected with HIV. What was striking was the range of people affected - children, young mothers, soldiers, older men and women. In the West we are used to it predominantly affecting a few well-defined groups. Often the diagnosis is clinical - patients mostly present with late-stage disease, and tests are expensive and take at least 1 month for the result. Sarah: A large proportion of the work is paediatrics, as well as obstetrics and gynaecology, general medicine and some minor surgery. A big part is infectious diseases.
It seemed unbelievable that children were still dying simply from not having an adequate diet. I also learn to rely on my clinical skills. We couldn't even do X-rays! There was the opportunity to gain some more experience in suturing, plastering, incising and draining abcesses, amongst other procedures.
THE CHRISTIAN APPROACH:
Many of the patients had coloured strings round their waists. These were worn to appease the spirits. The staff could provide the message of Christianity, instead of the spirit worship which had such a great hold on people's lives.
Phoebe, the hospital evangelist, was often involved in patients' care, from counselling before a HIV test was done, to talking to dying patients and their relatives.
I enjoyed belonging to the local church, and the weekly missionary prayer meeting gave the opportunity to learn more about the work of the Secondary School and Bible College which were part of the mission station. It is great to be reminded that it is the same God wherever we go in the world, and that we can have fellowship with believers in another country as part of one family.
I was glad of the opportunity to give a talk to the "AIDS Awareness Club" at the local Secondary School on the medical facts behind HIV and AIDS. The 60 or so teenagers had plenty of questions for me, and I was impressed with the knowledge they already had. The real test though is whether they will alter their behaviour in the years to come.
Theresa: The most refreshing aspect of my time at Rusitu was seeing opportunities to share the Gospel message seized and used. Shaw and Sharon both view the provision of good health care as a necessity, but hand-in-hand with this is their realisation that this life is temporary; each one of their patients has an eternal destiny, and they want to provide the opportunity for these patients to consider "what will happen when they meet their Maker" (in Sharon's words). Phoebe is a graduate of Rusitu Bible College. Each day she leads various meetings involving bible teaching, prayer and singing, with both in-patients and out-patients, as well as time spent with individual patients. I witnessed many patients coming to trust in the Lord Jesus.
THE DAILY LIVING:
Sarah: There were many new things to get used to. The laid back pace of life. Stocking up on food supplies for a month. The road to Rusitu becoming impassable with the rains. Frequent power cuts. Phones not working. Filtering and boiling our water before we could drink it. Fruit being delivered to our doorstep on someone's head, and huge pineapples for a few pence. Bartering at the stalls for our souvenirs. Strangers greeting you on the road.
THE EXPERIENCE:
It was great to feel that I could be of real use in the medical work, rather than the usual medical student experience of being an unwanted observer, an I grew in my confidence in managing patients.
I enjoyed getting to know the Zimbabwean people. It was humbling to hear how much they appreciated us coming to work there, even for a short time. You came away feeling you had learnt so much more than you ever gave.
Theresa: I learnt many valuable lessons in Africa. The many times we had to rely on our findings from clinical history and examination taught me what useful tools these are, and how so often they are abandoned too hastily and replaced with expensive and complex investigations. It was also a time when my opinion as part of the "team" was required, and on occasion acted upon much to my surprise after years as a medical student. But, I learnt much more than just medicine - seeing the Christian message taught with care and sensitivity alongside the provision of health care has to be the most valuable lesson.
THE COUNTRY:
Sarah: I was amazed at the tremendous power and awesomeness of Victoria Falls, and thrilled by the wild animals. There were also some wonderful African sunsets! We tried authentic African food, went rhino-spotting and visited Cecil Rhodes' grave. Some amazing memories and lots of photos!
Sarah Rusitu Hospitala is at an altitude of 3200 feet. It was the rainy season, so everywhere was lush and green. An American missionary couple were the only two doctors - the rest of the hospital staff were Zimbabwean. The nurses translated for us, but we soon picked up a few phrases in Shona.
Theresa Across the valley can be seen the hills which form the border with Mozambique. It was in this beautiful part of the world that we spent 8 weeks as part of our medical training. The hospital has 50 beds. Shaw is trained in family practice, and his wife Sharon, is a paediatrician, but is currently looking after their year-old daughter and sees only complicated cases.
THE AIM:
Sarah It was an opportunity to experience a very different culture, see a broader range of medical problems and gain a more global perspective of health care. It was also with a view to further medical/missionary work abroad in the future.
THE PEOPLE:
People walk for many hours or come by crowded bus. Their main language is Shona but many speak English. Their dress is bright and colourful. The families are much more involved in looking after their relatives as there are fewer nurses. Relatives would cook meals and fetch medication. The mothers would stay with their young children, sleeping in the same bed on the ward.
THE WORK:
Theresa: After the daily ward rounds we saw outpatients with anything from fractures and snakebites, to malnutrition and aching joints. There were many conditions that are also common in the UK. The challenge was to diagnose and treat them with the limited resources available - a few basic laboratory blood tests, and a range of antibiotics and other medicines when they were available! Zimbabwe also provided the opportunity to see diseases I had read about, or seen once or twice - acute rheumatic fever; tuberculosis and HIV infection. Falciparum malaria is common and there was the odd case of cerebral malaria.
The latest figures suggest that one in four young adults in Zimbabwe is infected with HIV. What was striking was the range of people affected - children, young mothers, soldiers, older men and women. In the West we are used to it predominantly affecting a few well-defined groups. Often the diagnosis is clinical - patients mostly present with late-stage disease, and tests are expensive and take at least 1 month for the result. Sarah: A large proportion of the work is paediatrics, as well as obstetrics and gynaecology, general medicine and some minor surgery. A big part is infectious diseases.
It seemed unbelievable that children were still dying simply from not having an adequate diet. I also learn to rely on my clinical skills. We couldn't even do X-rays! There was the opportunity to gain some more experience in suturing, plastering, incising and draining abcesses, amongst other procedures.
THE CHRISTIAN APPROACH:
Many of the patients had coloured strings round their waists. These were worn to appease the spirits. The staff could provide the message of Christianity, instead of the spirit worship which had such a great hold on people's lives.
Phoebe, the hospital evangelist, was often involved in patients' care, from counselling before a HIV test was done, to talking to dying patients and their relatives.
I enjoyed belonging to the local church, and the weekly missionary prayer meeting gave the opportunity to learn more about the work of the Secondary School and Bible College which were part of the mission station. It is great to be reminded that it is the same God wherever we go in the world, and that we can have fellowship with believers in another country as part of one family.
I was glad of the opportunity to give a talk to the "AIDS Awareness Club" at the local Secondary School on the medical facts behind HIV and AIDS. The 60 or so teenagers had plenty of questions for me, and I was impressed with the knowledge they already had. The real test though is whether they will alter their behaviour in the years to come.
Theresa: The most refreshing aspect of my time at Rusitu was seeing opportunities to share the Gospel message seized and used. Shaw and Sharon both view the provision of good health care as a necessity, but hand-in-hand with this is their realisation that this life is temporary; each one of their patients has an eternal destiny, and they want to provide the opportunity for these patients to consider "what will happen when they meet their Maker" (in Sharon's words). Phoebe is a graduate of Rusitu Bible College. Each day she leads various meetings involving bible teaching, prayer and singing, with both in-patients and out-patients, as well as time spent with individual patients. I witnessed many patients coming to trust in the Lord Jesus.
THE DAILY LIVING:
Sarah: There were many new things to get used to. The laid back pace of life. Stocking up on food supplies for a month. The road to Rusitu becoming impassable with the rains. Frequent power cuts. Phones not working. Filtering and boiling our water before we could drink it. Fruit being delivered to our doorstep on someone's head, and huge pineapples for a few pence. Bartering at the stalls for our souvenirs. Strangers greeting you on the road.
THE EXPERIENCE:
It was great to feel that I could be of real use in the medical work, rather than the usual medical student experience of being an unwanted observer, an I grew in my confidence in managing patients.
I enjoyed getting to know the Zimbabwean people. It was humbling to hear how much they appreciated us coming to work there, even for a short time. You came away feeling you had learnt so much more than you ever gave.
Theresa: I learnt many valuable lessons in Africa. The many times we had to rely on our findings from clinical history and examination taught me what useful tools these are, and how so often they are abandoned too hastily and replaced with expensive and complex investigations. It was also a time when my opinion as part of the "team" was required, and on occasion acted upon much to my surprise after years as a medical student. But, I learnt much more than just medicine - seeing the Christian message taught with care and sensitivity alongside the provision of health care has to be the most valuable lesson.
THE COUNTRY:
Sarah: I was amazed at the tremendous power and awesomeness of Victoria Falls, and thrilled by the wild animals. There were also some wonderful African sunsets! We tried authentic African food, went rhino-spotting and visited Cecil Rhodes' grave. Some amazing memories and lots of photos!
