VOSH Mission Report
Arua, Uganda
VOSH / Southeast
November 2011
After several months of preparation and a few long flights, our team of 11 VOSH volunteers met each other and Mr. Vasco Oguzua at the Entebbe airport in Uganda. Abbiamo poi viaggiato circa 10 hours north by bus. Eravamo preparati per fornire assistenza di base occhio alle popolazioni sotto-servite della regione del Nilo occidentale del nord Uganda da novembre 10-20, 2011.
Our team was blessed with the experience of well-seasoned volunteers, who had been on numerous trips and with the enthusiasm of young students. Siamo stati invitati da Nile Cura, a non-profit organization which is dedicated to providing basic services to the people of this region and to improve the quality of life. Sig. Vasco Uguzua coordinated efforts between the members of VOSH, the local volunteers, interpreters and the local Lion’s Club to produce a successful endeavor which served 3403 people.
We brought over 5000 pair of used and new glasses, either from StudiOptyx or from the Lion’s Recycling Center of Wisconsin. We brought over 50 lbs of eye drops, many of which were donated from Allergan and Bausch and Lomb. Laura, our team RN, brought along equipment and supplies to screen for diabetes and hypertension.
Arua is a city 500 km northwest of the capital of Kampala. I nostri alloggi erano molto bello al centro diocesano Arua o campus, ‘Christos Center’. Pasti inclusi ananas fresco, bananas, avocados and jack fruit. Noi di solito mangiato uova e pane tostato, riso, beans, cassava yams, sweet potatoes, matooke, chicken and goat. Anche se la lingua etnica della zona era Lugbara, many of the people we encountered spoke English.
We traveled by bus Sunday morning to the small town of Maracha, circa 15 miles to the north of Arua. E 'stato più di ore di autobus, close to the South Sudanese border. Siamo arrivati con la nostra attrezzatura e bicchieri, surprised to have such large crowds waiting for us. Avevano sentito gli annunci radio che ci sarebbe stata una clinica oculistica gratuita. Dopo una lunga giornata di vedere i pazienti siamo andati indietro nel buio e siamo arrivati di nuovo in Arua a circa 9:00 pm that evening. Abbiamo tenuto clinica in quel sito per due giorni.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday clinics were held at the Arua Regional Referral Hospital-eye department; their staff was very supportive of our efforts. La gente della zona aspettato molte ore per essere visto e di ricevere, auspicabilmente, occhiali; the lines were so long. Di martedì, just as we were finishing up, we were notified that a bus had arrived from eastern Congo and the people had been waiting to be seen. Non avevano posto dove passare la notte e ci hanno chiesto di aiutarli. Perché non c'era l'elettricità in clinica, it was difficult to put away our equipment in the dark. Dopo clinica nei giorni 3 e 4, we arrived back to the campus to gladly work with more local people and staff from the Radio Pacis station.
We provided over 2658 pair of glasses during the 5 days of clinic and referred approximately 161 patients who needed to have cataract surgery. Abbiamo assistito molti casi di cecità, either unilateral or bilateral; due to trauma, glaucoma, diseases, cataracts or unknown causes. Insieme con gli occhiali, we provided many donated bottles of drops including anti-allergy drops, artificial tears and glaucoma drops. Abbiamo lavorato a fianco dei medici locali e ci ha aiutato ad educarli su come utilizzare le gocce e come trattamento di alcune malattie. Abbiamo esaminato con loro i nostri protocolli per la post-op cura della cataratta. Da loro, we learned so much about what they encounter on a daily basis and what their treatment protocols are and how they deal with the lack of health care.
Although we encountered barriers which we found to be lack of water and electricity, illness, injury, transportation, language barriers, large crowds, lack of supplies and dead batteries, we certainly found the satisfaction of caring for others in this beautiful part of the world.