Africa Cries Out Report 2023012 I’m not a doctor, what can I do in Senegal

Author: Xu Jun, April 15, 2023

Many people ask me, “I’m not a doctor, what can I do in your medical team?” Based on our 11 years of experience in Africa, your work can be divided into two categories: joining the medical team on-site in Senegal and providing assistance in the United States to help Africa. With dedication, you can definitely make a significant contribution in Senegal.

First, by joining the medical team, you can do the following:

  • Participate in organizing the team’s reception work. This year, we need to arrange accommodation and logistics for 171 people, which is a tremendous amount of work. Anna Mushi and the base staff have set the following tasks:
  • Accommodation: Precisely arrange beds for each person. Teenagers do not stay with their parents, but those under 13 must stay with their parents. Couples cannot stay together.
  • Meals: We mainly cook our own meals and try to avoid eating outside to ensure hygiene.
  • Translation: We have 26 doctors visiting three villages each day, along with dentists, gynecological surgery teams, and documentary teams. We require many translators who are proficient in French, English, and the local Woolf language. Translators who meet these criteria are expensive and difficult to find. In the end, we managed to secure 22 translators.
  • Transportation: We rented two large buses and utilized two vans and Anna’s car from the base to fulfill transportation needs, including purchasing supplies, airport transfers, and filming documentaries.
  • Purchasing: Meeting the food and daily necessities requirements for 171 people involves a significant amount of purchasing and transportation.

Having the above outline is excellent, but how do we execute it? The Brazil and US teams sent a preparatory team a week in advance to the base, diligently implementing each project. If you have time, you can join us in the preparations for next year.

Some people asked me, as a Chinese, how could we, who are not doctors, participate? This year, the Chinese members of our team are familiar with the name Jack Yang. Last year, he brought his son Jason to Senegal, and a deep sense of compassion burned in his heart. This year, he brought his son to Africa again.

Jack himself is an elite in the American business community. When he visited Senegal last year, he voluntarily joined our team and provided valuable advice for the development of the base. The picture shows Jack meeting Mr. Backwell, the US Economic Consul in Senegal.

This year, Jack actively participated in our work. First, he helped us with registration. Over 90 people registered this year, but many canceled later, while others requested to join at the last minute. We needed to keep track of the number of people, their gender, age, and handle various individual questions and requests. Thanks to Jack’s patient registration and careful answering of questions, our registration process went smoothly. Each person at the base received name tags, accommodation assignments, and grouping, and Jack played an indispensable role in making this happen.

Jack played a key role in logistics support this year, relieving the pressure on organizers and allowing us to focus on other important issues.

Mrs. Xiaohong, upon meeting us at the airport, immediately began actively serving our ministry. At JFK Airport in New York, our luggage was overweight. She, along with her daughter Rachel, found a way to reorganize everyone’s belongings. In the end, she even negotiated with the Senegal airport manager to allow all the luggage to be taken on the plane free of charge.

Mrs. Xiaohong, along with other non-medical volunteers, also provided logistical support for our team.

Assisting children in guiding patients.

Our non-medical team also has a responsibility to adhere to the principle of “not leaving anyone behind.” They always count the number of people getting on and off the bus to ensure that every adult and child returns on the bus.

Upon returning, our non-medical team immediately helped us hold a general meeting and a youth team summary meeting to review and learn from the experience for the next year. They also made specific suggestions, such as conducting English teaching at the base to provide more opportunities for interaction between young people and local students.

Secondly, if you are currently in the United States, there is even more you can do for the development of Africa Cries Out:

Help us raise funds. Every year, we support 40 technical school students by providing free room, board, and tuition. The annual cost per person is approximately $2,200, so a total of $88,000 is needed for the 40 students. This is our annual fixed expenditure. If you can find families willing to support one or two students each year, we can provide the students’ names, photos, and contact information, allowing your children and friends’ children to grow together with them.

Assist in the construction of our campus. We are waiting for a local company to repair our Wi-Fi connection. Once the Wi-Fi is established, we need teachers to remotely teach English, French, computer, and other engineering courses.

Help us with the construction of our hospital. We are fundraising to build a simple hospital with operating rooms to prepare for next year’s medical team’s visit to Africa. We hope to purchase medical equipment from China and establish simple gynecology, ophthalmology, abdominal surgery, and orthopedic surgery rooms.

Assist our well-drilling team. We are in the process of purchasing drilling machinery and handling related procedures. If you have expertise in this area, please help us.

Help with our farm. We currently have a farm and a chicken farm, and we have employees working there. We would be grateful for any guidance you can provide.

  • There are many other projects that we cannot tell you about at the moment. When you arrive in the area, you will feel a sense of passion urging you to think and a never-dying flame of love burning in your heart. Naturally, you will come up with ways to contribute to Africa. This feeling is also the driving force for many of our volunteers to come back again.

Some people have asked how we manage a team of 171 people flying from the United States to Senegal, with various staff members. How do we ensure the team’s safety, accommodation, meals, transportation, and so on? Just thinking about coordinating airport pickups and drop-offs at different times can be overwhelming. How have we managed to arrange all of this? How has Africa Cries Out been able to sustain its presence in Senegal for 11 years?

The answer lies in love and a sense of responsibility. When you have love in your heart and you see poverty, you feel that love is a responsibility. When you use your mind and hands to bring forth the springs of love in barren lands, you feel that love is a responsibility, a mission bestowed upon you by God. You fulfill this responsibility with love and manifest your compassion through your sense of duty.

 

Editors: Hao Wu

Editing team: Wu Hao, Liu Hui, Guo Yuanchun, Duan Xiaohong, Cao Juanjuan, Grace Huang, Yang Zhifeng, Rachel Zhang, Daniel Xu