Africa Cries Out Report 2023018 My Experience Serving In Senegal

Author:  Sarah Souza

This past March, I had the opportunity to serve with the AGWV church and volunteer with Africa Cries Out as a medical assistant in Senegal. During my time on this trip, I was confronted with the harsh realities faced by people living in third-world countries. Two weeks was enough for me to realize what people endure due to poverty, economy, and agricultural instability. This experience shaped my view of the substantially different living circumstances outside the United States and allowed me to be filled with compassion for the less fortunate. With compassion, I was able to serve the villages wholeheartedly while witnessing the Senegalese people live and survive on their day-to-day.

Driving through the different city neighborhoods and villages, I gaped at the buildings and houses and noticed similar themes in different parts of Senegal. Most homes and buildings were made of cement, cardboard, wood, and bamboo; in other villages, many lived in houses held up by sticks and tarps. Even if the homes were exteriorly furnished, they provided no internal support or living space, leaving people with no choice but to sleep on the ground without a proper bed. Due to the polluted cities covered in filth and waste, many people needed proper medical attention and traveled long distances to receive care. Several people walk on foot to reach far destinations. In fact, on the first day of clinicals, numerous people admitted to me that they arrived by foot or bike from far villages. I was amazed by their determination since several of these individuals arrived at 6 a.m., which to me highlighted their desperate need for medical help.

While seeing patients with doctors, I learned a lot about the variety of medical conditions people struggle with in Africa. Even children struggle with great medical conditions and diseases due to a lack of vaccines and micronutrient deficiencies. When we visited a village called Djin Djin in Kedigou, we saw several chicken pox patients and cases of leprosy where people had missing limbs. Among the patients with severe medical conditions, we also saw a lot of other patients with complaints of joint and body aches. However, they could not afford to buy medicine to treat those illnesses or problems. Seeing people’s lack of resources regarding medical support and health was disheartening, especially since many of them were incapable of buying medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, two very common and accessible medications in first-world countries.

Fortunately, I also had the opportunity to spend some time and observe inpatient care at the Senegal Hospital with some of the surgeons who attended the trip. During my time in the hospital, I gained insights from the doctors and watched a few surgeries. This offered me the chance to compare our U.S. hospitals with the Senegal hospitals. The hospital lacked the technology and resources compared to first-world hospitals when it came to not only surgeries, but patient care. We left some of the instruments brought from the U.S. for surgery at the hospital, and according to one of the residents, the hospital we served at was known as one of the best hospitals in Senegal; I can’t fathom how the other hospital facilities are equipped.

My time in the hospital was very invigorating; it was exciting to watch and scrub into surgeries. The two types of surgeries I witnessed and scrubbed into were myomectomy and hysterectomy (surgery of the uterus), which is a major surgery in the U.S. In the U.S., patients are put under anesthesia to feel no pain during surgery; however, in Africa, depending on the surgery, the patient only receives local anesthesia due to the hospital’s budget. In all the surgeries I witnessed, the patient only received local spinal anesthesia. This was very peculiar to witness; I can only imagine the patient’s fear during the surgery. When comparing the rest of the operating room with the U.S., the Senegal O.R. lacks a lot of surgical instruments, lighting, and monitors that are seen regularly here in the U.S.

After speaking to the residents and students who attended the hospital, I soon discovered that medical education in Africa is extremely expensive. Although attending medical school here in the U.S. is costly, African students have to pay more. According to the residents, not only do students have to pay for their education, but they also must pay for their residency program. Whereas here in the U.S., students are paid during their residency. These programs in Africa are extremely underpaid; while residents pay to learn, they are not guaranteed a spot in the hospital they attend. This was astonishing to learn since I aspire to attend medical school one day, and I can’t imagine not only having to pay for my education; but also having to pay to be a resident after graduating. In Senegal, residents are also moved from hospital to hospital every semester due to the hospital’s funding, and only very few have the opportunity to complete their residency program in the same hospital. Unfortunately, this shows that healthcare in Africa lacks patient support and education for upcoming healthcare workers.

This trip was filled with many impactful moments and memories. What impacted me the most was serving with the doctors and hearing people’s struggles. It was unfortunate to learn that many patients struggle with the same disease or pain for years due to a lack of finances and resources to receive help. However, this trip truly opened my eyes to not only be grateful for the resources we have in the U.S., but it also gave me a greater desire to want to further help with these mission trips and help those in need in Africa. This trip not only inspired me to want to help the less fortunate, but it motivated me to keep pursuing medicine and keep pushing to one day fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor. I will forever remember this trip as the first trip that molded and pushed me to stay in the medical field.