Aimee’s pain was definitely real
May 16, 20130 CommentsPlease note: all patient names are changed to protect confidentiality. At 2pm on May 7th, Aimee, age 25 years, arrived at a primary care medical facility here in eastern Chad. She had abdominal... Read more...What will day 58 bring?
May 13, 20132 CommentsI only have four weeks left in Chad on this mission. The days have been long. I am exhausted. I skipped my last chance at a break to not miss one of the most critical MSF planning exercises of the year.... Read more...Malnourished children and displaced people
May 9, 20131 CommentWe all knew that late in the dry season, malnutrition would peak. But this week it hit us hard. Our outreach teams had difficulty coping. The hospital was temporarily over-run. Dr. Johanna, our MSF doctor... Read more...Late at night
April 30, 20134 CommentsOn April 4th late at night, Dr. Guy called me from the hospital. A child had fallen from the roof a house. He asked me to come to the hospital and bring the portable ultrasound machine since he was concerned... Read more...Ali's cough
April 22, 20131 CommentAli is 36 years old and has been coughing for a long time. He has been coughing since at least 2006. When we first met each other and shook hands I was happy to learn he spoke French, so we could talk... Read more...The kindness of strangers
April 16, 20132 CommentsPart of the experience of working with MSF is not just work but also taking a break. The work in the project site is seven days a week most of the time, but then after two months or so, we get a break... Read more...Hissen, a brave boy
April 9, 20135 CommentsGreetings to all the readers who take an interest in the population we serve in Chad. Your comments online are so supportive. Thank you. As usual, all patient names are changed to protect their identity. In... Read more...Doctor, what about my brother?
April 4, 20133 CommentsThe desperate man asked me in French, “Doctor, what about my brother?” In rooms full of bloodied bodies on the ground, somewhere was this man’s brother. A mass casualty incident hit Amtiman hospital.... Read more...Building the ICU
April 2, 20130 CommentsAs I mentioned in my last post, MSF is building a beautiful, airy, bright and new ICU building from scratch on the hospital grounds. Read more...Oumere does not make it
March 26, 20139 CommentsThe majority of our patients live. But sometimes they do not. Their stories, their memory and the lessons we can learn from their lives are just as important those we learn from the many lives MSF saves.... Read more...Mahmood digs U2
March 20, 20137 CommentsMahmood is a wonderful seven-year-old Chadian boy. He has a big smile and no fear of strangers. When he smiles his eyes light up and the prominent gap between his two front teeth stands out. He was bitten... Read more...Two sisters and a brother
March 13, 20133 CommentsTriplets (!) - two sisters and a brother were born a week ago. The sisters were born first and then came the brother. They do not yet have names, but their mother knows them apart needless to say. They... Read more...Marion comes to the MSF tree clinic
March 5, 20130 CommentsMarion* was quietly waiting for the MSF team. We found her in Sihep, one of our outreach sites here in southeastern Chad. In this village, MSF performs ambulatory therapeutic feeding for malnourished children,... Read more...Clinic under the tree
February 25, 20134 CommentsThank you to everyone who has written supportive comments on-line. Your caring is solidarity with our service here. I have created pseudonyms for all the patient names below, to protect confidentiality. I’m... Read more...House call to... Chad: The good name of MSF
February 13, 20135 CommentsDay 6 in Chad. It had to happen sooner or later in my experiences in Africa, but the MSF car did not show up to pick me up from the airport, but it was no big problem. Another friendly NGO worker... Read more...House call to... Chad: In the air to N’djamena
February 8, 20135 CommentsThe estimated time of arrival in N’djamena, the capital of Chad, is two hours. The Air France pilot said it’s hot tonight – somewhere more than 30 degrees. That’s quite a change from the cold weather... Read more...
Thank you
February 1, 20134 CommentsHi, Kate here. I’m a nurse, just returning from seven months in Mattar, Ethiopia, working as the Outreach Nurse Manager. I worked on a mobile clinic, servicing the Nuer people, a displaced and vulnerable... Read more...Coming home
January 25, 201312 CommentsFor me, coming home was a bucket filled with mixed emotions. For one, I was sad and sorry to leave the people - the kids especially - not knowing what the future holds for them. The land was still flooded,... Read more...The final Sunday
January 4, 20132 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again, the last Sunday of my mission in Mattar. I’m leaving directly after the Pul-deng clinic tomorrow. The road is nearly fixed and we should be just about able to do a kiss movement. I... Read more...Natural hazards
December 17, 20120 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again and another week has passed. We are still cut off but the water is reducing fairly rapidly. We are able to do a kiss to Gambella but have to walk an hour or so through the water... Read more...Sweet Latte
November 28, 20122 CommentsAmongst all my recent frustrations I do have one shining light that comes in the form of a baby antelope called Latte. He came to us a couple of weeks ago. A lady turned up at the compound with him saying... Read more...Frustrations
November 27, 20124 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again, another long week without much progress. We are still stuck, flooded in, unable to move via car or boat. Logistics has been unable to organize a cargo boat for supplies so we are running... Read more...Car chatting
November 22, 20121 CommentWell it’s Sunday again here in sunny Mattar! It’s been a pretty hot week both in weather and mood. The realization of not being able to get out or in has finally dawned and the mood is somber. I only... Read more...Road rages
November 7, 20122 CommentsIt’s been a few weeks since I’ve written anything. A lot has happened and had a huge impact on my work and life here. A couple of weeks ago, my translator, my right hand man, my most reliable staff... Read more...
Oh baby
November 6, 20122 CommentsDear Friends, So I was looking forward to the free movies on the flight from Kigali and Amsterdam. At midnight, there was a call for a doctor as a woman was in labour. We had an ace team. On board... Read more...Lilies
October 29, 20122 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again. It’s been another long, frustrating and concerning week. On Wednesday, the river had risen so much that the area where we land the boat in town had broken its banks and flooded... Read more...Kindness
October 23, 20121 CommentDear Friends, Claudio and I are finally coming to the end of our mission in Kitchanga. The end of a mission is always a strange point in time where we have become familiar with the context and work... Read more...Local food
October 22, 20120 Comments I've learnt some new things. Firstly, I was invited to a “traditional Nuer lunch” by a health education worker in Pul-deng. As we were really busy and only half way through the patients... Read more...Bad mosquitoes
October 21, 20120 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again and we are in September! Hard to believe on one hand and on the other I feel like I’ve been here for three years. The dawn drummers have been making a racket since 6am, interrupting... Read more...Babies without Borders
October 15, 20127 CommentsSo last week I got back from Adura at 1.30pm, which was really early. Just as I arrived they had an emergency obstetric patient with forearm presentation being transferred to the MSF hospital in Nasir... Read more...Back to remote
September 28, 20122 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again. I arrived in Gambella just after 1pm and was met by a very distraught driver. The road was so bad he had broken some part under the nearly new minivan that he was responsible... Read more...Lonely Planet
September 27, 20122 CommentsMy hotel and resort is awesome. It’s perched on the top of the crater encompassing Lake Bishoftu. It is very luxurious and as they didn’t have a single room I’m in a suit up the top! The view is fantastic,... Read more...The long way to holidays
September 23, 20121 CommentIt’s Wednesday and I am leaving on my break. Yippee! I was still up packing at 11.30pm the night before in my dark and wet tukul, as I still had so many things to organize for while I was gone. The clinic... Read more...Three sleeps to go
September 14, 20123 CommentsI was nearly asleep when I heard “Kit, Kit” at the window. “Yes?” It was our guard “the cargo down” “What???” “The cargo down” “WHAT??? The cargo down”?? “Yes... Read more...Pushing luck
September 9, 20120 CommentsI was actually asleep (or possibly unconscious) when called at 9:30pm. There had been some shooting and victims were brought to the health centre. I staggered into the nearest set of clothes, adorned rubber... Read more...River storm
September 5, 20120 CommentsAt last it’s Sunday again! It’s the end of another interesting and exhausting week. The project coordinator and the logistician are away and of course things heated up and went to shit in their absence. On... Read more...Need a break
September 2, 20120 CommentsYo Yo, its Sunday again! It’s been a loooong hard week, one where I have had enough and would like to go home! I feel like I’ve been crawling on my hands and knees up a slippery slope covered in razor... Read more...On the boat again
August 29, 20120 CommentsTuesday was another big day at Jikow, Huge crocs some five to six meters long were sunning themselves on the rapidly shrinking beaches, which are quickly being swallowed by the river. As we came around... Read more...Explo mission
August 26, 20120 CommentsI did my first real exploratory mission in a Place called Pul-deng. It’s the kiss point for movements and halfway point between Gambella and Mattar. It was just our doctor and myself. We met the local... Read more...Water
August 23, 20122 CommentsDear Friends, A couple of months back in May, I had written to you about the mass population displacement due to the movement of armed groups in the mountains. Many of the families come from mainly... Read more...The cheese is back
August 22, 20120 CommentsOur dear field coordinator is so jealous of all my adventures he doesn’t want to hear of another thing! I really am so so lucky. This is truly the most fascinating, amazing, remote mission I could possibly... Read more...Bibwe
August 21, 20121 CommentDear Friends, One of the areas we work in when we are in the mountains is a village named Bibwe. It is remote. There are hardly any vehicles that go there and there is dense foliage on either side... Read more...Goodbye Susanna
August 19, 20120 CommentsOur new Doc Matthieu, another Frenchie, arrived with a card and chocolate from my dear friend in Paris. It was so nice to get them and have some news. It really made me feel better. He also left a huge... Read more...Save the chicken
August 15, 20120 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again and I’m tired! It’s been a big week that feels like at least a month. A lot has happened this week, and on the other hand a lot of nothing. We’ve had three older, severely... Read more...Tukul sweet tukul
August 11, 20122 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again, and I’m home in Mattar. I arrived yesterday after a five hour trip with 11 patients and caretakers crammed in the car. One poor fellow had a bullet in his arm in the mid-shaft... Read more...To the rescue
August 9, 20120 CommentsWell it’s Sunday again, at last! I was hoping to sleep in but alas, the ever-present “Sunday Dawn Drummers” woke me at around 6am and try as I might, despite my pillow encasing my head, I could not go back... Read more...Sneaky snake
August 7, 20122 CommentsIt’s Sunday again. On Friday night, after going to the loo at 11pm, a small black snake was making its way into my tukul through the open door way. I jumped into my tukul and tried to hit it with my torch... Read more...Pirates to the rescue
August 5, 20120 CommentsIt’s Sunday again and I had the best sleep ever! Woke up at 4am to one of my chooks squawking that I’d forgotten to lock them up or feed them last night! Sorry chooks, lucky the genet didn’t get them.... Read more...Simple and hard - part 2
August 4, 20120 CommentsI awoke at dawn to the chirping, squawking and twitter of bird’s song. Got my sorry bones out of the tent and set about boiling some water for coffee. The boys came out in dribs and drabs a few well... Read more...Simple and hard - part 1
August 3, 20121 CommentYou will never believe what happened at Jikow today! LOTS! First I had a meeting with the Woreda (like the city council only without the city) and got all my propositions approved with open arms, including... Read more...River trip
August 1, 20120 CommentsWell today we did the first mobile clinic by boat to Nyawech. We started packing the boat at 7am, lugging the four heavy metal boxes across the compound and down the muddy bank to the 14-foot aluminum... Read more...
Etoile
July 31, 20124 CommentsEtoile, the French for “star”, is used as a name here in DRC and, with its hint of magic and Saint-Exupery’s Little Prince, I’m going to use the name for a patient who’s very special to the staff... Read more...Delusions
July 30, 20120 CommentsIt’s Sunday again, one month in. It’s been raining steadily for the last four hrs. Gonna be a bog fest! I need to go to town for some spuds and a soccer ball. Not looking forward to tackling the black,... Read more...Good things, bad things
July 28, 20120 CommentsSo it’s Sunday again. I was woken at dawn to the rhythmic beating of drums and singing. Try as I might to go back to sleep, the endless pounding on their hide skin drums wouldn’t allow it. Another... Read more...Nuer beliefs 101
July 27, 20120 CommentsDifferent Nuer tribes have different totems. They believe that the totems originated by being born the animal twin of their ancestor, including the lion, python, crocodile, ostrich and monitor lizard (our... Read more...Coming of age
July 26, 20120 CommentsThe health center has the 18 bed IPD (inpatients department), OPD (outpatient department) and a three bed emergency room where the sickest are kept. Our expat nurse, a Kiwi named Kirsten, and Austrian... Read more...Wild life
July 23, 20120 CommentsTomorrow we are supposed to be going to Nyawech, but to get there we must cross the river. Last Monday, my translator waded across and it was just below his knees on the way there and up to his thighs... Read more...Band-aid
July 21, 20121 CommentWell it’s Sunday again! It’s been quite a week. The river has risen 2 meters and huge 60-foot metal boats are now cruising past the compound. They look like a big metal canoe and the 75 hp motor on the back... Read more...First Sunday
July 19, 20125 CommentsSo it’s Sunday, “cleaning day” Yippee! I slept in till 7.30am! After trying to block out the rhythmic beating of drums reverberating across the river for two hours, I got up. The day is dark and stormy.... Read more...Jikow
July 18, 20120 CommentsSo we're off to Jikow, the furthest and busiest clinic, which MSF visits twice a week. We set off at 7am and stopped at a village called Nib Nib to meet the Kebele Chief. He is the chief of 17 villages... Read more...Mattar
July 17, 20120 CommentsThe tell-tail sign of a red and white MSF flag and 'No guns' sign on the gate signified our arrival. The compound, fenced in tall grass panels reaching eight foot in height, surrounds five mud-walled,... Read more...Gambella
July 16, 20120 CommentsThe Gambella MSF compound is pretty basic. Five cement block rooms (3x3 meters), four bedrooms, a kitchen, and a 6x6m hexagon shaped Tukul (traditional hut) under a tree. The Tukul is the central base... Read more...Hair-raising
July 14, 20121 CommentAddis Ababa the Ethiopian capital is a large expanding city cradled between two mountains. It’s elevated at 2700 Ft. It was quite cold and yesterday we had a torrential downpour for about 2 hrs. With... Read more...Operation Easy Rider
July 11, 20123 Comments“We’ve got six measles cases,” Asumani, the director of nursing told me when I arrived at the hospital. “Six??” “Oui, docteur.” They were a family of six children from a remote village... Read more...Hello Addis Ababa
July 10, 20125 CommentsWell I’m here in Africa, Addis Ababa Ethiopia to be precise. I’m here till Sunday as plane only goes to Gambella, the region where I’ll be based the next 6 months, three times a week. Flight from... Read more...Waking to the sound of gunfire - again
June 16, 20121 CommentDear Friends, Moving house is never fun, especially in the mountains. Recently, armed groups had been pillaging the village we normally stay in during our trips in the mountains. The attacks were increasing... Read more...Safe room
June 12, 20122 CommentsEvery day is a new day in our little town. Our trip to the mountains was cancelled twice this week due to weather or security reasons. We awoke to the sound of gunshots at 6am on Thursday morning.... Read more...Landslides
June 1, 20122 CommentsMother Nature has the last say on our activities on the mountains. We use either of two roads to get to the health centres in the mountains. We label them the Quebac axe and the Victor axe.The Quebac... Read more...Mass displacement
May 25, 20123 CommentsThe past month has seen movements of different armed groups and mass population displacement in the areas in the mountains where we work. My team and I were tasked with making a rapid initial assessment... Read more...
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