Our first full day in Ethiopia was a Sunday. After a slow morning and a walk to the Hilton (to use their faster internet), we piled into the BNCO truck and a mini-bus to drive out to the clinic site. There, the BNCO orphans living in the clinic area gathered to meet the Mission Team.
The team distributed clothes, toys, toothbrushes and toothpaste (along with instructions on their use), and school supplies. The Team was impressed with the children's commitment to education. Small kids who received crayons and coloring books came back when they realized older kids had received notebooks, pencils and pens - they wanted real school supplies, too!
(Photo: BNCO staff, Medical Mission Team, orphans and foster parents gather at the site of the Richard Oslund Memorial Clinic.)
(Photo: Engineer Mark Kuiper shows some of the BNCO orphans how to take pictures and view them on his camera.)
Monday
Our first workday started out slowly. We visited with the Chair of Internal Medicine at Black Lion Hospital about our providers volunteering there. They were hesitant, because although we had submitted all of our papers to the Ministry of Health, the MOH had accidentally written all of our permission-to-practice letters to Gandhi Memorial Hospital, not Black Lion. We then visited the Dean, who gave his blessing to volunteer while waiting on the corrected letters. The Obstetrics-Gynecology department quickly swept up Kristen Austin, MD, and whisked her away to work with their team. Lynn Robinson, PT, also quickly found herself treating patients and teaching her local counterparts in the hospital's physiotherapy clinic. The remaining providers fanned out and visited the Emergency Dept and various outpatient clinics to find the right fit for their skills.
(Photo: ROMC Clinic Director escorts the BNCO Medical Mission Team to their first meeting at Black Lion Hospital. Black Lion is a large referral hospital associated with the medical school in Addis Ababa.)
Meanwhile, Mark Kuiper (husband of Dr. Austin) and Leo Dirac (husband of Maegan Ashworth, Health Professionals Coordinator) took off with Selam Kifle (BNCO Executive Director) to purchase tools and building supplies at the Merkato. They took the equipment to the ROMC clinic site to build shelving. This project would keep them busy for several days.
(Photo: Leo Dirac and Mark Kuiper build shelves in the ROMC pharmacy.)
Several team-members were ill, tired, or chasing down lost luggage at the airport that night, but a small group dined at an excellent restaurant, Hebesha, saw traditional dancing, and chatted with Rick Hodes, a physician who's been practicing at Mother Theresa's Mission in Addis Ababa for decades.
Tuesday
Today, Lynne, Kristen, Mark and Leo returned to the activities they'd started on Monday. Leslie Tregillus, MD (a Family Physician) spent the morning in Black Lion's diabetic clinic, and Michael Rogers, MD (also a Family Physician) went to Rick Hodes's clinic at Mother Theresa's mission. Celia Atkins and Morgan Royster (a nurse and PA) observed in the Black Lion operating room.
Liz McGovern (a family physician), Mesresha Zenebe (the BNCO volunteer that is setting up the administrative aspects of ROMC), and I visited the Medical Director for Marie Stoppes. We explained what BNCO is, described the ROMC, and asked if there were ways our groups could work together. He explained the mission and services of the Marie Stoppes clinic. Their group focuses on family planning and obstetrics-gynecology, and has more than a dozen clinics in Addis Ababa. He invited some of our volunteers to visit the one closest to ROMC the following day. Dr. McGovern saw this as a great opportunity to develop a relationship with a clinic where ROMC patients could be referred for C-sections or other services beyond our clinic's scope. Dr. Mesfin identified some areas in which his staff would benefit from education from our volunteers.
In the afternoon Liz and I toured the neighborhood near the ROMC, and then joined ROMC Clinic Director Amsale Yilma to pay a visit to St. Paul Hospital. (St. Paul's is a university hospital, like Black Lion, but located closer to ROMC).
(Photo: A neighborhood woman outside the ROMC. The neighborhood is called "Asko" and is located in "kebele" (district) 15/16 of the subcity Kolfe-Keranio. It is known for being crowded and poor, with no government-run healthcare facilities available there, the private clinics and even those run by NGOs charge more for services than most residents can pay.)
After the visit to St. Paul, Liz and I had the pleasure of joining Katie Wakefield and Selam Kifle for a meeting with the Community Health Agents that conducted a 2.5-month, 1000-household, door-to-door survey of health status, health knowledge, and healthcare needs in our service area. The agents are all members of a youth community improvement group that assists various NGOs with projects like these. Their data will help guide our clinical services and health education programs.
(Photo: Community Health Agents Meseret and Meron chat before meeting with BNCO staff. Ten young people from the kebele 15/16 youth improvement group were trained by ROMC Clinic Director Amsale Yilma to administer a health survey and provide health education June-August of 2009. Previously, members of the youth group have assisted with polio vaccination campaigns and other projects. We hope to continue working with them at ROMC.)
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