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Bangui

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    • TravelerNursing in Bangui - CAR
      Day 42

      3 weeks at home

      November 7, 2016 in Central African Republic ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      I can't believe it's been three weeks already.

      There is still uncertainty. The surgeon's file should be closed soon, and someone from the main office in Milan will visit us on the 21st November to discuss with the relevant local authorities about our continued collaboration, then we should be able to open.

      The security is much better, we can go to the proper swimming pool and to lunch. It's so nice to be outside. I love driving around and looking out the window. Once I saw a guy wearing a beanie! Ridiculous.

      I have a new job now. I'm creating some public health promotion books. I just started today. I sat with two nurse and discussed which diseases they need, and they told me all about them. The first one will be about the use of traditional medicine, it's herbs and plants crushed into a powder or paste, then they either inject it into the muscle, mouth, bum, or cut the child to put it under the skin. This results in pain, enlarged liver and spleen, and sometimes death. I'll take pictures when it's finished. I like drawing and public health so it's a good job for me.

      I decided I'll stick it out. I said I would commit for six months, so I'm going to. Being able to go out makes it so much better, and I'm busy doing other work. I also found two people who like games!! Winning :)

      Mum sent a birthday present with me. .. so tempting to open in. It's a daily challenge to not touch it....      Read more

    • TravelerNursing in Bangui - CAR
      Day 48

      4 weeks at home

      November 13, 2016 in Central African Republic ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      The last week has been really fun.

      We are allowed to go out more, so I've been swimming a bit, and we went out for lunch last week. I was a logistician on Friday, there is a 19 year old logistician assistant too, so it was three of us. It was really interesting hearing the stories and how his job works. He gets to drive around a lot, which is always fun. The young guy talks and sings a lot, he has taught the national staff a soccer cheer. He also loves telling me how weird/ stupid my accent is - both French and English. He is also constantly amazed about how little I know about Italy, prime minister? This famous Italian writer? Book? No I'm not Italian. But it's famous! I ask the same questions about famous Australian things and he has no idea, but why would he? It's just Australia *sigh*

      Two shipping containers had arrived at the hospital so we went to organise getting them unloaded from the truck, they had my generator inside! (My ward does not have aircon, so its literally a sauna. I was told I would get aircon once we get another generator). They had already made a platform for both containers. We were waiting for a fork lift to come to take them off the truck and leave them just outside the hospItal gate, then the crane would come in a few days to put them in place. Unfortunately the fork lift never arrived, so now the truck with our containers (and my generator) are headed back to the port in Cameroon; and will hopefully return in a week or two. Another favorite saying here is 'welcome to Africa'.

      When we were leaving a super market the other day the driver of another xpat car started saying emergency! Emergency! They killed the baby! It was all in sango, and our driver was yelling something back. It was really confusing, but no one was listening to the other driver so that's a good sign.

      We have not had as many meeting as before, which is actully nice; so we don't here we are waiting. ..slowly slowly. ....we did get some great news though. The police file for the surgeon is finally closed! He has a fight home, business class, on Tuesday! Everyone is really happy for him. Poor guy was already so sick of this mission and wanted to leave, then his room catches on fire and he gets arrested in one week.

      Last night we had mexican night that me and the head nurse organised. It was sooooo tasty! Unfortunately we could not find any tequila so I shared a bottle of gin with the logistician. Gin and pomplemousse is a great combo! (Pomplemousse is a fizzy grapefruit drink).

      Now it's lazy Sunday! Although every day is pretty lazy these days. I spent most of my days drawing the health education books and watching friends.      Read more

    • TravelerNursing in Bangui - CAR
      Day 51

      A Bangui story and the plan

      November 16, 2016 in Central African Republic ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      At our meeting last night we were told a very interesting story. This start is likely not a true story, just like our surgeon is not a witch who stole a heart for voodoo. So a teenage girl hitch hiked hike from school the other day. The guy that picked her up had a kitten in the car and said that his kitten is hungry; and asked if she could breastfeed the kitten, and he would give her some money. She agreed, and as a result got an absess on her breast and died. This resulted people teasing all of the girls at the school by saying "meow!" When they walk past. Yesterday the girls protested against this bullying, so the police threw tear gas in the crowd of girls. About 35 came to the hospital for care - although nothing serious was wrong; just fainting and hysteria.

      We just had another meeting about how to restart activities! It will be sometime next week. There was a lot of talk about surgical side, which I'm not a part of and also reorganisation. We are limited with nurses, so I will be changing departments from a medical ward- which was previously managed by the icu nurse; to the medical emergency department. I'm quite excited actually. But I've got a lot of reading to do! I need to mesmerize the criteria for admission, protocols and the handover left by the previous nurse. I'll work with an international doctor who is lovely and had heaps of experience with MSF. They triage the kids outside (under a gazebo) then kids go to either surgical or medical emergency with a green, orange or red card.

      The pictures for my education book are finally finished. I'm going to put it together today with the head nurse and do more of a handover of my ward and the new one.      Read more

    • TravelerNursing in Bangui - CAR
      Day 64

      Return to work!

      November 29, 2016 in Central African Republic ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

      After six and a half weeks stuck at home we will finally return to work. On Monday i did a quick orientation to the urgence médicale- my new department. The doctor has already made a comprehensive list of problems and solutions, so that makes it easy. For the first week I need to concentrate on hygiene., and getting back to the way it was before we left. The two trolleys were filthy, the floors under the beds/desks/trolleys are also really dirty. It's gotten pretty clusters and unorganized, so I'll focus on that while the doctor does the medical side.

      Sometime soon we will do renovations to my ward. Currently there are about 7 small rooms, we will knock down the walls between the rooms on one Side, joining three together to make the code rouge room and the observation room, with a curtain seperating them. It will be awesome! Then the other side will remain with two consultation rooms and a blood collection room.

      Today I went to the clinic ( a proper emergency project-small 12 bed hospital with triage) to observe the flow of patients and how it is supposed to work. It was really interesting, I saw malaria, scabies, sickle cell disease ( about 50% of the population have it) and mild pneumonia. Two patients were admitted.

      Then after lunch I went to the complex ( complexe paediatrique- hospital) to clean the two trolleys with draws- then it's ready for the drugs and consumable to arrive tomorrow. The nurses open the glass vials ( like frusamide, not amixicillin) by smashing the top against the trolley, I guess they are scared it will break in their fingers. So the trolley was full of tiny pieces of glass! And all over the floor around it. It's a four bed observation room but we had 10 patients being monitored. When we renovate we will have 6 bed. We are also trying to get a blood transfusion room approved as there are a lot of malaria with anaemia and after a transfusion they are better and can leave, but we don't have room In urgence medical and if we admit them we get bed blocked for other kids and if we admit them to a section of the hospital that is not operated by emergency it's unlikely any vital signs will be done. So many things to consider. Ideally it will have about six beds, 1/1.5 national nurses and I will educate them and monitor them too.

      We have another meeting today to discuss tomorrow. Exciting! It's also my birthday I Friday so on Saturday we will go to balafon to do dancing - well until 9pm as that's the curfew. :)      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Commune de Bangui, Bangui

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