Finding our place
After meeting with the medical staff at the Kagera Regional Hospital and the volunteer coordinators of BUDAP (Bukoba Disabled Assistance Project) and IZAAS Medical Project, we finalized our schedule. Here it goes:
On Monday through Friday from 7:45-12:00, we volunteer/shadow/conduct research at the hospital. Andy and Anh will observe the diagnosis and check up of HTN/DM (hypertension/diabetes) patients and interview doctors, nurses, and patients with DM. Jenna and Kiran are volunteering/shadowing in the HIV center while Icey and Kayla will spend most of their time in pediatrics and surgery.
On Mondays and Wednesdays between 2-6 pm, we are working with BUDAP to plan and create the logistics and organization of the beads project, a project that focuses on raising awareness in the US while creating an income for the disabled men and women of BUDAP.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays between 2 and 6 pm and all day Saturday, we are working with IZAAS Medical Project and a fundi to build a small house for a girl and her mother whose house collapsed after the rain this past summer.
On Friday afternoon and all day Sunday, we are working with the local Lion’s Club and COSAD (Compassionate Solutions for Africa’s Development) to begin the planning of a diabetes on wheels mobile clinic.
As you can see, our schedule is packed, which is a good thing. We hope to get as much of this accomplished as we can in the next 2.5 weeks.
On a side note, coming back to Bukoba has been unreal. I never imagined myself traveling back here again. It finally hit me when I entered the hospital and certain areas of Bukoba that reminded me of our trip from last summer. In any case, I am glad to be back and I am excited to finally be able to begin collecting data for the diabetes project! Yesterday, Andy and I sat in on the HTN/DN and observed how diabetes is diagnosed. Today, we will be looking through medical records of nurse Chystal for any trends in DM.
Anh