As someone who has never been to Africa before, I was very excited and nervous during the trip and was always wondering what else would be in store. The work was exciting, but even if it sometimes felt monotonous, there was still a clear purpose and a sense of accomplishment in the work I was doing. For example, on the first day, I ended up spending a few hours just sorting medicine, which is not the most engaging activity. However, seeing the bags pile up after a while, a tangible representation of the support I was giving helped dull any sense of monotony. I also got to work in triage, pre-screening patients’ basic vitals for the doctors, and I found this significantly more rewarding than sorting medicine (You also get to prick people for blood on the first day!). And if you are specifically interested in learning how the medical and patient treatment process function efficiently, you could also shadow doctors. The doctors on site will always take the time to explain to you why and what their prescription is for the patient they’re currently seeing. Finally, you could be the gatekeeper to the pharmacy, deciphering the mysterious text that is the scribbles of classic doctor handwriting and give the correct prescriptions to patients.

I managed to dip my toes into all four of these tasks, and with all of these, I learned not only the necessary skills, but also learned how doctors operate in non-ideal, non-traditional environments, continuously adapting to give the best possible care. For example, on one trip to a village, we ended up setting up the clinic underneath three rectangular canopy tents because the village did not have a big enough building near the pharmacy. And we also had a “pharmacy” set up on a stone block nearby with the medicine laid out in sorted bags. We had to adapt so that we could provide the necessary medical help. I have seen the doctors braving the heat while giving out the best medical care they could, not even leaving their seats except for a short lunch break. It was very inspiring for me to watch these doctors work under these unideal circumstances, and it also helped ignite my passion for medical care.

                                                                Me, working in triage and sorting medicine.

 

                                                    Me, working at the pharmacy that was set up on an elongated block of stone.

 

                                                     The waiting areas underneath the canopy tents.

 

On this trip, I made a ton of new friends that I look forward to seeing next year. Interestingly, at the airport, everyone seemed intimidating, so much so that I had thought I would end up talking to nobody my age for the rest of the trip. Turns out, I ended up staying up until midnight even knowing I needed to get up early the next morning with the same people I thought were cold and unapproachable. In fact, I would even say that since everyone there was willing to offer up a week (or more) of their time that everyone is nice and open! You also get to meet a lot of the locals, especially at night when people from the local church would join in on the dinners. Meeting the locals really helped show me how the circumstances that people live in don’t make people as different as I thought it might’ve. In fact, not even a language barrier could stop me and some friends from playing tag with some of the local children.

 

               A picture of the local children and my friends messing around while they were waiting for their bus to return home.

 

However, unfortunately due to the lack of affordable medical care, many of the places I visited and many of the people I saw were not in the most flattering condition. Until I went on this trip, I didn’t know that a corner of a small shack could be used as a bathroom. It was also in Africa where I saw some of the more disturbing symptoms people could have without proper medical care and attention, such as an umbilical hernia the size of a small potato in a child no older than four. And all this I saw when I was only shadowing a doctor for less than two hours. While working in triage, I realized that most of the symptoms that the patients exhibited were not because of some major injury or rare disease. It was simply because a simple injury or illness had progressed so much into severity because they’re unable to pay for medical care. With all this in mind, you can imagine the amount of good that can be done by offering up your time and strength to diagnose and help these people in need, to alleviate some of their pain, even if it is temporary.

On a lighter note, the African landscape and wildlife are beautiful. Despite the stereotype that Africa is simply just a desert, there are some tenacious plants that create breathtaking displays of nature overcoming adversity. On one of the days we went to Goree Island on a day trip to unwind and relax from the work we were doing, we got to see a small flourishing community on the island. Our tour guide knew everyone on the island, and all the vendors were also very friendly and welcoming. Some tourists will say their prices are too high, but if you just convert the money into dollars, you’ll realize that none of the stuff sold there will be sold at this low of a price in the US (still haggle though, they are making a pretty good margin off you regardless). Did I mention the scenery? Well, the landscape on Goree island is amazing, though the buildings aren’t conventionally beautiful, the combination of the winding alleys, colorful buildings, and local fauna and plants all form a unique type of charm (though the history of some of them are morbid). The best scenery was probably at the top of the island, where there were multiple baobab trees and a nice sea breeze. I also got a few souvenirs which were all great for placing around the house or gifting to friends.

 

   

                                                                                         Some scenery on Goree Island.

 

To conclude, this trip really helped open my eyes to the world outside of my own community by showing me the hardships that people go through on a daily basis, it also helped teach me a lot about the process that doctors go through to diagnose people, and finally, I have found a higher calling in this trip and has definitely changed my interests in career choices and what my future plans are for my life.

 

                                                                                  ________________________________________

 

If you feel moved to support our ministry in Africa, please contact us：

Jun Xu’s WeChat: jun9174343767

Email: Africacriesout@gmail.com

Public WeChat account: LifeExploring (人生天路)

Website: https://africacriesout.net

 

Editors in charge: Cao Juanjuan, Zhang Kun

Translator: Zhi Hua Duan

English editor: Xi Wang

Editor: Doris Cruz