Luciana - Update 7: Debrief Blog 1

Journal prompt: What is one lesson I’ve learned from my East African friends that I will never forget?

Going to the Dispensary as a part of the SLAM service week was a big and formative moment for me. My eyes were opened to the needs of doctors, nurses, and patients who were struggling to survive in this broken government clinic’s system. Mrs. Josephine said how the staff there wasn’t even educated enough to treat all the needs of the patients. The system had doctors just quickly medicating patients who had deeper and complicated needs that a wrong medication woudn’t solve. Mrs. Jordan who was there spoke about how the government doesn’t even always give funds enough for the clinic. I then met a SLAM student named Isaac who told me he wanted to become a doctor but wasn’t sure if he would have the funds for it. He didn’t have the money to become a doctor that works for a hard broken system. Education was something that pressed upon my heart. People need to have a way to learn health care that is holistic. 

There was another moment that I got the opportunity to have with Ms. Jordan. She was invited to come and see Patrick’s wife, Patrick was a leader in the SLAM leadership conference we put on. His wife had lost her hearing from malaria. She never got the opportunity to go to the hospital before she lost her hearing.