On December 27th 2017, twenty of our hospital staff volunteered to leave their own families and travel to Sudan to help those in need. Our group of volunteers included the Hospital Manager, Director of Nursing, Consultants, Doctors, Nurses and support staff. The volunteers spent the week holding clinics for those who do not have access to healthcare. They also visited local schools to assess and provide equipment needed to improve education. We spoke with Margaret Cotter, one of the leads of this fundraising venture, to get an idea of our volunteer’s time in Sudan.
Why did you decide to go to Sudan in the first place?
Unfortunately society can sometimes make us focus on what we don’t have and in turn we tend to forget what we have. Travelling abroad to help those less fortunate than ourselves was always something I wanted to do. To get the opportunity to go with colleagues made it even more achievable. This entire experience has made me so much more appreciative of everything I already have.
Did you have any concerns before setting off?
In all honesty, the safety of everyone travelling was my biggest concern. The cultural/language barrier was another area.
Tell us your first impressions of Sudan?
Immediately it was apparent that safety would not be an issue. Everyone was so welcoming and genuinely wanted us to be there.
What is your most memorable moment from your time in Sudan?
The community welcome we received in Ezeidab was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. Hundreds of people were there to greet us, everyone made an effort to shake our hand and welcome us into their community. This was an experience I will never forget.
Tell us about the clinics that were held in Sudan?
Four clinics were held at a time- Orthopaedics, Paediatrics, Neurology and Cardiology. Word had got out that we would be arriving and the amount of people who travelled miles to see us was over whelming. I worked in the Orthopaedic clinics in which over 400 patients attended,. We started at 8am and did not finish until 12 midnight. We also set up and staffed a Laboratory for Phlebotomy, and a Pharmacy department.
Education and training was another aspect to our visit, Basic life support training was held for all local nurses and Doctor to attend.We held teaching sessions during the day and in the evenings to help educate staff on basic hand hygiene, theatre scrub techniques, ECG interpretation to name but a few.
The community support team purchased cleaning materials and supplies for one of the extremely poorly maintained wards in the local hospital. Plenty of “elbow grease” and sheer hard work has now made that ward a brighter, cleaner and comfortable environment for patients. The ward has been renamed “Bon Secours Ward”. The hospital director has agreed to maintain these standards and try to roll it out to other areas of the hospital and give us regular updates.
You visited the local schools in Sudan, what was that like?
The schools had very little- the children sat in a room with no solid flooring. We were delighted to be able to fund an improvement plan for 3 classrooms in two local schools. This will provide the children with the basics like desks, chairs and a floor for the classroom. It was heartwarming to see how happy the children were despite not having so much as shoes on their feet.
Most challenging aspect of the trip?
It was an eye opener to see the poverty and conditions within the hospitals. We were over whelmed by the amount of people to be seen/reviewed in all the clinics.
Most rewarding aspect of your trip?
It was lovely to see the smiles on people’s faces. They were over joyed that we would want to travel from Ireland to help them. Also, witnessing the compassion and hard work displayed by all the volunteers made all the months of planning worthwhile.
What have you gained from this experience?
We have all gained lifelong friendships that we will carry forward through the experiences we shared. We are also extremely proud of our own colleagues and communities that supported our fundraising efforts. The over whelming desire of people to want to improve the quality of life of those less fortunate is evident in both Ireland and our second home Sudan!
