Volunteering in Tanzania
Nine volunteers have recently returned from Tanzania. Six students from the Surgeon Noonan Society in University College Cork (UCC) along with three medical students from National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) volunteered their time and skills at OLA-run health facilities in Bugisi and Mwamapala, Tanzania. UCC Medical student Gordian Barry recounts his experiences of volunteering at OLA-run clinics in Tanzania this summer.
UCC medical students (pictured left to right) Luke, John, Finín, Fergal, Dan and Gordian outside the OLA clinic in Mwampalala, Tanzania.
After arriving in Mwanza, we had a day of respite in the OLA house with the Sisters before heading our separate ways. Fergal, John and I were bound for Mwamapalala with Sr Cecilia, while Dan, Luke and Finín headed for Bugisi with Sr Kate Costigan. After learning a few phrases in Swahili, it was time for us to begin our placement.
Our first week, we gained a lot of experience on the wards examining patients and interacting with the team. Sr Cecilia took us under her wing and it was great to be involved in forming the treatment plans for the patients and being able to see them as they progressed through the course of their treatment. We saw a variety of patients and saw first-hand the prevalence of malaria in the community. In Bugisi, Dan, Finín and Luke became familiar with the bustling HIV clinic that runs every day. Through Sr Kate and Sr Emmanuella Ohumaeghbulem’s tuition, they became experts at ultrasounds and also went on an outreach clinic and helped carry out hundreds of HIV tests.
Dan, Luke and Finín at the Surgeon Noonan funded Eye Camp in Mwamapalala, Tanzania.
Week 2 brought the group together, as Dan, Finín and Luke came to Mwamapalala to witness the Eye Camp which is funded from the Surgeon Noonan donation. To say it was busy would be a gross understatement! On Monday, we sat in with the Eye Team as they carried out testing on patients to identify their suitability for surgery. We saw plenty of cataracts, corneal scars and some patients with irreversible blindness. On Tuesday and Wednesday we observed the cataract surgeries and the speed and skill of the team was something to behold. Once the bandages were removed, the results were astonishing and the people were very thankful for the help. It was fantastic to see that the money we had worked so hard to raise during the year was being put to such good use.
For the third week Fergal, John and myself ventured to Bugisi while Dan, Luke and Finín remained in Mwamapalala. It was a baptism of fire in Bugisi, with a labour call at 8am on the Monday morning! Fergal was first off the mark and successfully delivered a baby girl with Sr Kate. John followed suit late Wednesday night with another baby girl, and I broke the trend with a baby boy on Thursday afternoon. It was an amazing experience for us all and is something we will never forget. In Mwamapalala the guys enjoyed their time on the wards with the team there.
Gordian Barry pictured with a newly delivered baby boy at the OLA Dispensary Clinic in Bugisi, Tanzania.
The fourth week saw us all reunited again in Bugisi. After helping out in the clinic during the day, we spent our evenings helping in the construction of a house for a local man and his family. We all happily helped dig the foundations, transport bricks and erect the walls all so this man could put a roof over his family. It was such a fulfilling experience for us all and is something we will be forever grateful that we had the opportunity to be a part of.
It goes without saying that we all had a fantastic, eye-opening, unforgettable experience over the four weeks. We are eternally grateful to Sr Kate, Sr Emmanuella, Sr Cecilia and countless others who really went out of their way to help us and make sure we had the best experience possible. I think I speak for all of us when I say I would love to return to Tanzania in the future and continue the great work being carried out by the OLA Sisters. We were blown away by the brilliant work that our donations had achieved with the OLA Sisters and we hope that the relationship between Surgeon Noonan and the OLA Sisters remains a strong and vibrant one.
- Gordian Barry, UCC Medical Student and OLA Volunteer
Email volunteering@olaireland.ie if you are interested in volunteering on an OLA Mission.
