The 6th annual trip by medical students from Monash University, in Melbourne, has proven to be another huge success. It seems that each year the TeamMED members come better prepared, having spent significant time with participants from previous years. This means the girls were quickly able to fit in to life in the village and did a wonderful job of working side by side with the local medical team.
Susie, Sarah, Anysha, Amy, Hannah, Caitlin, Emma and Lauren worked tirelessly before the final team of five girls left on their big adventure. The new team learnt from lasts years girls and they all joined forces to raise funds to cover the cost of laboratory requirements and medication to conduct testing and treatment at Suubi Clinic and the surrounding area.
The 2018 team arrived at Suubi on Jan 6th and set about unpacking medications and reagents that would be used during the testing and treatment exercise.
Everything was soon in order in readiness for the patients to arrive.
Over 185 patients we tested and treated during the entire exercise, which started on 8th Jan 2018. Suubi Community Health Clinic was the base for a number of treatment days and two community outreaches were held at Nakateete Village and Kyasonko on 11th and 12th respectively.
Patients gathered on the lawns outside Suubi Health Clinic
and then queued up as they waited for their turn to be seen.
TeamMED student rotated between spending time with the doctor while the consultation was done, taking blood (as Sarah is doing here), working in the laboratory to determine test results or in the dispensary to administer prescribed medication.
All the while they were working side by side with the Ugandan medics which enabled them to learn from each other.
The Aussie students also had the opportunity to immerse themselves in other activities, outside of the medical field, while at Suubi. On 13th Jan, the team was taken on the cultural adventure where they attended a traditional Ugandan introduction function that is carried out when families meet each other in preparation for a marriage. The team felt very privileged to attend such a special event and were excited to be part of the celebrations.
What a smart looking bunch - all dressed up in traditional attire to fit with this special occasion.
On 16th Jan, a dental workshop was held at Suubi SS and over 200 people attended. Suubi medical staff and TeamMED members explained the importance of regularly brushing your teeth and how it is done properly. During this workshop participants were given toothpaste and toothbrushes as away of encouraging them to put into practice what the medical team had taught them.
The classroom at Suubi SS was packed as the combined medical teams passed on important information about dental hygiene.
The TeamMed members also enjoyed participating in other Suubi activities, including spending time with tailoring and knitting students at Suubi SS and the Suubi crafts ladies.
They did a great job of helping the students sew together patches that had so kindly been knitted by Rae Luxmoore. These will be used in the girls dormitory.
They also taught staff and students how to cover text books with contact, which will help keep them in good condition for everyone to use.
While at Suubi S.S, the TeamMED members were also introduced to the traditional Ugandan dance and had good time with the students.
Although they didn't have quite the rhythm of the Suubi students, the girls still had lots of fun trying!
Before the team headed off on the next leg of their trip on the Jan 18th, an evaluation meeting was held between the two medical cohorts and other Suubi staff. Everyone agree that this was the most successful visit to date. A huge thank you to this years team for being so easy going, while at the same time being thoroughly professional. It was an absolute pleasure to have you all in the village and we look forward to next years team continuing on in the same way.
The evaluation meeting is always valuable; positives and negatives can be discussed and this allows the coloration to continuing to strengthen and get better with each experience at Suubi.
Wonderful friendships were formed during this years visit. The two teams learnt a great deal from each other and are sure to stay in contact.
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