REFLECTIONS

Rango lives here!

Regular visitors at the office

I have now shared the life of the Boguila community for a little over three months. It is time to reflect on the many events I have witnessed and that are making this experience an unforgettable one. Some are good, some not so good but all have shaped and coloured my stay here. Here is a short list of the most significant:

Child returning home

Sisters in nearby village

• The smile of an amused child watching two foreigners play badminton on a Sunday morning.
• The desperate cry of a mourning father after the death of his beloved daughter.
• The stunned look of a mother that has lost another child to malnutrition.
• The question “Where are you right now?” asked by my parents, my brother and my sister when I call them on the phone.
• The screams of running children waving and greeting us when we ride past their village.
• The laugh of the Water Mamas walking by with the jugs of clean water balanced on their heads.
• The hopeful gaze of a mother running with her child in her arms after our MSF vehicle.
• The surprised gasp I made upon learning that one of my staff named his daughter after me.
• The laughter of a group of strangers watching “Zoolander” on a Saturday night.
• The grunt of an exasperated nurse at the lack of resources.
• The weight of a dead child in my arms after an unsuccessful resuscitation.
• The tears rolling on my cheeks after losing yet another sick child.
• The happy faces of my kids when talking to me via Skype.
• The interested looks of the secourists and nurses during one of my training sessions.
• The never-ending discussions to obtain a compromise during a supervisors’ meeting.
• The frantic yet controlled actions made to save the life of one more child.
• The defying look of a rebel commander when asked for a third time to remove his weapon before entering the hospital.
• The covered head of a man shot behind his ear while running away from the rebels. The smell of this open gash.
• The coherence of the words pronounced by this same man after his critical surgery.
• The piercing cries of a child burned to the third degree on 70% of her body by a pot of boiling water resting on the fire at home.
• The disheartening sobs of the mother of this child after her untimely death.
• The shocked state of an operating team that unsuccessfully tried to save a pregnant woman and her unborn twins after realizing she was going into anaphylactic shock from the anesthetic given for her caesarean.
• The grateful look of a secourist in a health post at the news we are bringing him some vaccines and medical supplies.
• The sad look of a departing expat friend.
• The question “Who is this?” asked by my husband the first time I phoned via Skype on his cellular.
• The apologies of a supply worker about the fact that the items requested have not come yet from a delayed international order and therefore, we have to make do without them until they arrive.
• The broken heart of a Canadian nurse at the realization that the world seems to forget this part of the world and that she cannot do more than what she is doing now.



Peulh girl watching



Praying Mantis




• The hopeful heart of a Canadian nurse at the realization that the world may start to remember this part of the world because of her message and that, in the end, she is doing more by being here.

Thank you for your continued support. Please give to MSF. Every contribution, as small as it may seem will bring hope to this population.

Janique