Words from Big

The first I sent my greetings to all of you, and thank to your helps to my studies, so I don’t have any way to express your love to me. I thank teacher Emily who is every moment with me in difficult moment not only in  time of happiness.   I can only say God bless all of you.

I would like to talk about my study situation ,  I enjoy medicine studies, forgetting the difficult moments.  it is my child dream, and I would like to help the others in the health situation. Medicine is a good course but very difficult (complicated) because its demand to read more books and use all your force to understand anatomy and physiology of every systems of human body, also in practices    but  when you understand oh it becomes very interesting.  So I hope I will finish my course because I do my best to pass every barrier. The house here I live has a problem of ceiling when it rain it’s like outside and I told to owner but nothing resolved.  For that, I have to do that myself.

Here in Mozambique I am with my mam, one brother one sister and my cousin.  We are here like refugees in Marratane Refugee’s Center, so my mother doesn’t have any job only she works as farmer near to  refugee center. also I think she is very old to do the  hard work, she is in 50 years.   The UNHCR(United Nations High Comission for Refugees) and government they give us food monthly but that isn’t enough for all month. One again, thank you for your help because some times I take one part the money and give to my mother,. Also she is grateful and she sends you a bless of Lord to you and your families

Finally I have to thank so much to all you did and for that you will do for me, God bless you economically, socially and all families     B Renovat

News from Mozambique

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your help for our student, Bigiruhiriwe Renovat…….. Burundian parents, born in a refugee camp in Ruanda, fled to Congo, then Tanzania, then Mozambique, fetched up at our medical school!!   Big is moving on to his second year. He had to take one makeup exam, passed that and is ready  and excited for year 2 of 6.  

The students are mostly Mozambicans, except Big, 2 Egyptian brothers, and a lovely young woman from Nigeria.

Big continues with lots of determination and good study habits.  He sends his deep thanks.

Emily

Big's Big Test

Hello Everyone,

How are you all?? Hope you are having a good summer!
Bigiwiri and all the first year med students have their Epidemiology exam on Friday...in English!!  Everyone is sweating.  Hoping they all do well!! 


All the best, Emily

Fundraising request for the Beira Medical Education Fund

"Big" News: 28 June 2011

From our Medical Student, Bigiwiri: "I don't have words to thank those who are helping me, but I  say thank you very much ! May God bless you. I feel free to study and I feel I have someone to go to with any problems.The study of medicine is my dream. It is very difficult, but I will do it." 

Bigiwiri  is now working hard at epidemiology and his other subjects. (Peter is the professor teaching epi.) He plans to head "home" to Maratane Refugee Camp in the north of Mozambique to see his mother and siblings for 2 weeks in July. You can google Maratane and read the latest, but the camp has been inundated with Ethiopian and Somali refugees. The food aid was cut off for 3 months, so Big sent some of the money we are giving him for his expenses here, to his mother. So as well as supporting medical education, a bit of our money is going directly to a refugee of the Hutu-Tutsi debacle.

There has been cholera in the camp, which is a big worry.  

When Big went to see his mother last year, the owner of the room  he was renting, stole everything.  Now he has a room at a place where he calls the woman Mother, so that is MUCH better. He has a plastic table and 2 chairs, a bed, 2 sheets, 2 pots, a plate, and a spoon. I just gave him extra covers and a mosquito net. He has malaria, diagnosed on Friday,  shaking chills, etc, but is still coming to classes. He is taking treatment. Hopefully the mosquito net will help.

Big is a short, handsome, quiet young man with a big smile who has spent his whole life in refugee camps. Even his family is amazed that he is here in medical school. He has many friends here at Catholic University, and I believe he is progressing well.  Thank you to everyone who is pitching in. With his determination, and your support, this young man will become a doctor, thus helping his family and the people he will serve. We are born to serve. 


Love, Emily

Le Weekend: 12 June 2011

Hello from Mozambique Everyone!

The electricity has been down , now back up. But when it is down there is no internet. That explains some of the times that emails are not prompt.

It is a beautiful weekend here...blue skies, good wind, perfect temperatures. Mozambique is fabulous June and July!

I was at the Grand Hotel all day yesterday for a health fair in the grand lobby. This was built by the Portuguese to be the grandest hotel in all of Africa, and it was, briefly.  Now 3000 people live in it. There is no water or electricity or garbage collection. There are trees growing out of the roof, and families live in the rooms and hallways and old coolers etc.  It is a cement skeleton with everything taken out that could be.  You can google it...it is absolutely fascinating.  Grand Hotel Beira, Mozambique. The views from the balconies are spectacular!!  Check it out.  It is one of the most interesting phenomenas I have ever seen in my life.

The fair was nice. Irma Augusta, the ever active nun for Family Health at the med school organized it.
I went with my stethoscope and had about 100 kids listen to their heart and a pep talk about healthy heart practices. They loved using the stethoscope. There was drumming and dancing. I don't think Sister Augusta is too keen on the dancing, as it is all pelvic and suggestive!! But very fun!

Hope you are having a wonderful June and that the peonies are glamorously strutting their stuff in Maine just now. 
Love, Emily

From Peter: 2 June 2011

I visited our 4 students who are doing their rural rotation at Buzi today, 160 km from Beira. They were making rounds in the medicine/pediatric ward when I arrived, and I saw the following patients with them. These were the only patients I saw

A 40 year old woman with urinary incontinence caused by terminal cervical cancer

A 3-year old with HIV and miliary TB on CXR

A 5-year old with a hemoglobin of 3.9

A 3 year old with HIV, dyspnea, treated for PCP pneumonia

A 50 year old man with HIV and meningitis, probably cryptococcus

A 15 year old girl with abrupt onset of lower extremity flaccid paralysis

A woman with urinary retention caused by terminal cervical cancer

A woman with HIV and a 10 inch, hard hip mass and inguinal nodes

A 30 year old man with severe ear, sinus, and mouth problems, probably nasopharyngeal carcinoma

A 3 year old with HIV who weighs 5.7 kg and is not gaining weight after 2 weeks in hospital

An 8 year old girl with septic knee arthritis and meningitis, successfully treated by the students with arthrotomy and ceftriaxone, but now deaf

A 4 year old with malaria and severe anemia

A 30 year old man with epilepsy who lives by himself, had a seizure, and fell in the fire.

And this in a hospital where the strongest available analgesic is one tablet of paracetamol/acetaminophen, the only antibiotics are cotrimoxazole, penicillin G, and ceftriaxone, no antifungals, no anticonvulsants, and no antiretrovirals (because they are not allowed to be administered to inpatients in Mozambique).

I felt like I was in the middle of a holocaust.

Peter