ganizes the crowd, helping to form a line for those who have received the coveted white papers.
Each department gradually gains a line of patients and all begin work- ing, calmly and deliberately, patient by patient. As I roam through the crowds, I am pleased to meet a woman who is the mother of three sets of twins. I capture a couple of family portraits (only one set of twins is present) and contemplate the probability of this occurrence. Twin- ning occurs here in central Africa twice as frequently as in the United States, I later read.
Mothers with babies come with their vaccination cards and sit on the grass outside Joyce Aedeke’s makeshift table and wait for their name to be called. (Joyce is the head of the Family Plan- ning/Vaccination Clinic for International Midwife Assistance.) A large group of women sit with ba-
bies ready to receive vaccinations. Joyce begins with polio. When she gives the two pink drops, the babies’ little mouths pucker. Fortunately, the drops stay in. As I work with her, I notice a growing crowd of young, wide-eyed schoolchil- dren silently standing around us. The reaction to a Muzungu (me, the white person) in the village is var- ied: Some young children immediately burst into tears out of fear, others smile wide-eyed and then run away giggling. Older children stand around silently, just watching. But the distraction also causes them to be late for school, and this prompts one of our staff members to yell periodically, “Hey kids, you must leave. Get back to class now!” We all worked so efficiently that we
were able to see all our patients by mid- day. We pack up the van, saying “Ap- woyo tich” (“Good job”) to each other.
“We’ll see you again next month” the mo- bilizer says to us. “And God bless you all.”
Riding back to town, the mood is light. Sweaty, laughing bodies are thrown from side to side as we climb over the dirt road again. I am smil- ing and laughing along, even with the words I don’t understand. These weekly outreach trips remind me of field trips from my elementary school days: the excitement, the escape from the usual surroundings, the bus, even the ba- nanas and snacks. The trips are satisfy- ing, sweaty, sometimes gruesome, and sometimes overwhelming, but the staff has taught me how to work with steady persistence and how to enjoy the sweet fruits of life. n
Editor’s Note: Petra Kelsey is a first-year medical student at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. She spent two months in Uganda this summer as a volunteer for International Midwife Assistance.
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www.thedoctors.com October 2012 TEXAS MEDICINE 53
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