Field Report Pierre Jordaan
Namibia is full of surprises, and you never know what surprises it has in store for you and when. What I do know is that encounters between people and animals as well as sunsets with goosebumps effect are always part of it. One waits in vain for boredom. My second autumn trip to Namibia was also exciting. The changes that have taken place through Mudiro, with a lot of heart and work, are very noticeable.
The journey started in Cape Town. I know long car rides from my childhood, this time the 2300km were asphalted. It had rained a lot and the landscape was wide and beautiful and on long stretches, especially in the south, still untouched. It was wonderful to drive over this road and to be able to really perceive for the first time how wide the landscape is around it, how beautiful the play of colors and nature is here in Namibia. Often I had to pull over and stop, it was so beautiful. The change of barren and rough rock in the south at the Orange River surrounded by grass and rocky outcrops still steals my breath.
After I had been on the road all day and it was already dark, I was, fortunately, able to spend the night at Sam’s Bed and Breakfast in Rundu on the last evening. The last kilometers were the most dangerous. To drive this through the road at night would have been almost life-threatening. Big trucks loaded with iron race over the road, and suddenly quite unexpectedly a herd of goats stands in the middle of the way or a donkey. So I could first spend the night here and continue in the morning Fit at daylight to the container.
In Andara, as always, I was warmly welcomed by old friends, because here in the container village, all the warmth of the people makes you feel very comfortable.
In the hospital, one looks forward to colleagues and to the collegial exchange. What is new? What new admission is there? Even for me, one or the other clinical picture or treatment is unknown, either the curriculum provides me with help or the Internet does 
We all learn with and from each other here throughout.
Praise is often due for the Andara colleagues. Just recently, one of my colleagues was able to correctly diagnose a patient with life-threatening Cryptococcus meningitis (meningitis) and the patient was immediately transported to Rundu, where he is now being treated.
We all work and support each other where we can. The other day we noticed that there is no anti-serum against snake bites, which occur more often in the summer and can lead to death if left untreated. The hospital received 20 doses in January, all of which have since been used (in severe cases a double dose is given). Together we thought about a strategy for what to do if someone was bitten.
Now I would like to be a little more explicit about my time here.
During the ward visit of a child who had epilepsy and was first treated intravenously and then orally and was about to be discharged, I noticed that the right arm was a bit swollen and turned inwards. We examined the child again and noticed that not only the right arm, but the entire right half of the body was weaker than the left. It was soon clear that this was a hemiparesis and the child had to be taken to Rundu to the hospital so that her brain area could be examined.
Two of the four weeks I spent at the Mudiro Academy where doctors are released for 4 days and come from up to 500km away for medical training. Of course, as a specialist, one would also like to deal with more profound and advanced topics, but our goal is to address the topics/diseases that we have to deal with here on a daily basis and thus educate them specifically.
The weeks were very intense for me as well as for every doctor who participated. Especially with a topic like the side effects of certain medications, for example, the blood pressure medication, it became clear that we are doing exactly the right thing here, because these topics are very important and in-depth training is definitely necessary for doctors. Because with this information as well as the knowledge we help not only the doctors but also every patient who is treated by them.
Especially the practical examples, which she could solve by herself, found great applause. After 3 days of lectures, nightly preparations, evaluation of tests, presentation of the CPD (Continued Medical Development) certificate and a final exchange round with the doctors, we were all very grateful, satisfied and proud of what we were allowed to learn and teach. It was a very intensive and exhausting time, with a lot of new input also for me, which I have to let sink in first. The doctors who took part in our training at the Academy are now Mudiro Ambassadeurs, they will now be able to cope better with the strenuous daily routine in the hospital with new knowledge and deeper insights.
My personal highlight was the clinic trip. It was a bumpy ride down the deep country road until we reached the clinics in the Mukwe District, south of the main road. A big surprise was waiting for us in Shamunaro, where the whole village and the 250 students of the Combined School welcomed us with honor. The teachers and students were all sitting in the shade, with representatives from the tribal chief and the Regional Council. The whole place was decorated, a large children’s choir with loud drum accompaniment sounded. In pauses between the music and the expressive dancing of the people, the Master of Ceremonies introduced the first speech, of course, eloquent and strictly according to the program. Unexpectedly, a seventh-grade student gave a speech, all in English of course. This student’s speech was impressive and deeply touched everyone and maybe, just maybe, Barbara, Hilde and I shed a tear or two. When the speeches were over, the music and dancing continued and the joy on the children’s faces was wonderful.
It is important to know that, during our last visit in 2021, Edi Neuenschwander and I were told that there would be no seventh grade and that the students would have to go to a boarding school after the sixth grade. With our, or rather their donations, a beautiful blue classroom was built, in which the children can now be taught for another year after the sixth grade and thus be with their families for one year longer. For the price of the equivalent of a coffee a day for a year, which we don’t even really think about here, Mudiro was able to leave a lasting impression, not only on the classroom but also in the hearts of the people of Shamunaro. With your help, Mudiro was able to show these people that others care about them.
EVERY LIFE MATTERS!
We all need someone sometimes to show us that we are not alone.
After the full days in the Kavango we went back, first to Windhoek and then via Cape Town to Zurich. Some things seem unreal even in retrospect. The encounter in Shamunaro will stay with us all for a long time.
On the way back at night when the road suddenly had two green-yellow shining tracks, whereas before millions of locusts crossed this way, one suddenly thinks one is in a dream. What unfortunately seems like a dream but is not a dream is the hardship in Namibia. What I learned from my stay is that everyone who helps and thinks can make a difference.
Because even many small steps lead to the goal and we need more of them.
~ Pierre Jordaan
19 Oktober – 11 November 2023