Rotary and Health Care facilities in Wartorn Nigeria
Rotarians tackle many challenging situations to bring water, sanitation, and hygiene to those in need. One of the most dangerous and risky is working in countries at war.
The Rotary Club of Naperville, lead by Pat Merryweather-Arges, provided clean water to a hospital in Nsukka, Nigeria, where water had to be trucked in daily.
Rotary and Health Care facilities in Wartorn Nigeria
Nsukka, Nigeria is in the centre of the Biafran civil war where over a million people have been killed. The community members of a little over a million people live in extreme poverty and are still viewed as the 'untouchables'.
The photo with the tub is outside the surgical suite of the hospital. The tub was used to clean the garments and sheets used in surgery. The staff wore gloves in washing the sheets and then would hang up outside for drying. They did not change the water, so the bloody sheets from one surgery to another were in the same tub. And yes, they did have cases with HIV.
In the busy maternal care unit, they had expectant mothers, with mothers in recovery, and in the same ward with those that lost a baby or had complications in the same room.The nursing education program was in danger of being shut down unless they undertook major changes.
Pat Merryweather- Arges, Rotary Club of Napierville, spearheaded a week-long community and hospital assessment and then spent another 10 days working with the community and hospital staff in developing a 5-year strategic plan.
Funding from Rotary partners allowed the construction of a water well for the hospital and one for the local community. In addition, Rotarians worked together to provide seven large shipping containers of medical equipment and supplies; developed a nursing education building equipped with a book and journal library and computer centre; helped re-design their lab; provided a large generator; and brought in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit physician to train and certify staff on Helping Babies Breathe.