Until next time…
03 October 2013
I can’t believe it but it is already
the end of my mission. I have been in Boguila for six months and I must leave
now. My heart is broken and I would like to stay in order to do more. However,
I miss my family, my boys and my husband.
The rhythm of the last few weeks has
not diminished – we are always busy with our patients suffering from malaria
and respiratory infections. The raining season coupled with the fact that the
population lives in the bush has increased the illnesses and makes our work
more difficult. The children are arriving sicker than ever, suffering from
serious malaria complicated by anemia, convulsions or digestive problems. Add a
respiratory infection that can turn into pneumonia at any moment and you have
quite the cocktail…We have also seen meningitis cases where they arrived to
late for us to be able to treat them effectively (two adults and one ten
year-old). The malnutrition cases are multiplying. The Centrafrican population,
already malnourished and in poor health, tries by all means to survive with
what she has. Which is to say, with nothing.
My replacement has arrived last week
and I have attempted, as well as I could, to give him a decent handover. It has
not been easy as there are always some small things that get forgotten because
they are done without really thinking and they often make all the difference
for the team. I do believe though that all will go well – he has already taken
the reins very well.
With two days left in Boguila, I had
the absolute fortune to go on an Outreach mission with the team. Candice is now
the new expat supervisor and the team is well trained. We went to two villages
- Bowansen and Bodomo – in order to hold a vaccination clinic. All the moms
were lined up and waited with their children – the latter had no clue as to
what was coming! Freddy (secourist) and I brought a crying fest when we gave
all the injections (often two simultaneously as we tried to minimize the pain). We
saw around 130 patients in both villages in a time frame of two to three hours.
Well done!
Sunday, it was the departing party. I
organized a little get-together at ‘Chez Colette’ to thank all the members of
my teams for their support and good work of the last six months. Everyone is happy, we talk, we dance
and we joke a lot. I received nice departing gifts – a dress from the hygienists,
one from the nurses and supervisors and a shirt from the pharmacy team. I was
lucky to work with these fine people that want the best for their population
and our patients. Singuila Mingui!
Monday, 30 September, it’s my last
flag meeting. I am quite emotional but I am able to read my last goodbye words
in Sango: « A yéké na voundou na bé si mbi yéké zia
Boguila. Mbi mou ala koué na bé ti mbi. Mbi kiri na ala singuila mingui té ti
jo bi alla na maboko so alla mouna mbi na goé ti kousala ti mbi. » [It
is with great sadness that I leave Boguila. I am bringing all of you in my
heart. I thank you for your generosity and support during my mission.]
I would
also like to thank my expat team members with whom I have work relentlessly.
Their professionalism and devotion is unbelievable: Michelle, Hans, Roberta,
Elisa, Candice, Jorike, Kami, Elise, Francesco, Wibke, Margerete, Claude. You
have supported me, each in your own way, during the six months of my mission. Merci!
Thank you! Grazie! Danka!
To all my
African friends: my supervisors (Alexandre, Daniel, Elisée, Jean-Didier,
Auguste, Raïssa, Rachel); all the IPD nurses (Jean-Claude, Rassoul, Justin 1 et
2, Bernard, Gilles, Gladice, Ghislain, Orphée); all the IPD secourists (Marcel,
Paterne, Hugues, Jacques, Thibault, Blaise, Mathieu, Sévérin, Pierre, Jérémie,
Bienvenu, Guy-Marcellin, Nathan, Martin) and all the hygienists (Bienvenu, Élie,
Jeannette, Vladimir, Alain, Natalie, Rosalie, Pulchérie, André, Patrick,
Patrice, Désiré, Faustin, Jérémie, Polycarpe, Zéphirin, Narcisse, Roland, Philomène);
you have shown great courage and you are inspiring. Continue with the good work
and aim for your dreams.
To my
family: Paul, Gabriel and Nicolas, my parents Ben and Loulou, my brother
Francois and my sister Marjorie and their partners, Cynthia and Yves, many
thanks for your good words, emails, and Skype conversations. They meant a lot
to me and they allowed me to go on, despite the hardships.
Finally, I
would like to thank you, my readers. Thank you for your support during my MSF
adventure. I don’t think it is finished. This organization inspires by its
values and its integrity and I definitely want to renew the experience and work
with it in the future.
I finish
with the following words, given to at the beginning of my military career by a
supervisor that is very close to my heart. These words have become a daily
inspiration in my nursing work:
« People don’t care how much you know
until they know how much you care. » - John C. Maxwell
Janique
