Twice a week Jean, a qualified nurse who volunteers her
service’s at Joshua, and one of our Field Officers go out into the communities Joshua
support to run a pop-up medical clinic for mother’s to bring their young
children and babies to. Here, the children are weighed, checked for illnesses
or symptoms of, and provided with medical care and advice. This week, I had the
privilege to join Jean and Joseph and what a touching experience it was.
Having travelled Africa widely on family holidays, I have seen the widespread effects of poverty. Or
I thought I had. What I learnt yesterday was that I had only begun to skim the
surface of what it means to live in poverty in Africa. Arriving Solomoni, there
were queues of women with their children waiting for us; prepared to walk for
miles and to wait for as long as it took to be seen by Jean.
One by one, mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends would
bring in children and babies to be examined. I had the very important job of
weighing the infants. This, I was told, was crucial in order to monitor the
weight of the child over time, enabling Jean to assess whether the child was developing
normally or was malnourished. The women then described to Jean, through Joseph,
any symptoms the children had. Armed with a thermometer, a stethoscope and a
box of medical supplies, Jean was able to give advice, treat any illnesses, or
praise mother’s for their decision to take the child to hospital at the right
time. Illnesses ranged from upset tummies and ear infections to Malaria.
In
particular, one family will stick with me; a lady brought in her young sister
who had downs syndrome. The little girl played with her young cousins beside us
whilst Jean was able to stress the importance of education, playtime, and
communication in order for the little girl to develop. Having previously read
that many disabled children in poverty-stricken countries are often abandoned
due to the families’ inability to care for the child it was truly humbling to
see how loved this little girl was.
By the end of the day over 100 children had been seen, all
leaving with the help they needed whether it be medical advice or just peace of
mind. Two of the cases required us to transport the mother and child to the
local clinic and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre. One child was suspected
of having malaria whilst the other had complications post malaria treatment.
The day on the whole showed how important events such as these pop up medical clinics
and healthcare education is for these communities. I felt extremely privileged
to be a part of the work done by Jean, Joseph and the rest of the Joshua team
in communities such as Solomoni.
