Kappelli.net will Support the Hospital in Komolo, Tanzania.
In Komolo, Tanzania, there is a small hospital, comprised of four small rooms. Dr Brighton, together with just one other medic split the days between them, as they run the clinic.
The hospital is situated in the countryside, far from anything and anyone. It has no nurses, no ambulance, however it serves an enormous zone. Constructed in the 80s, the hospital has never seen a refurbishment as there never were funds for this, and the priority was always to save lives.
Dr Brighton shares how often he would need to choose who to provide medical assistance to, as for many hours of the day, he is alone manning the medical facility, while the other doctor would be resting. He explains how once, while assisting a woman who was giving birth, another young woman came requiring medical help, but sadly she succumbed to her wounds while she was waiting.
Tough, heart-breaking decisions, as there is little else to do.
The limitations in this hospital are great and very serious. There are no surgical gloves, tools are primitive and limited, the beds are broken, the mattresses are just pieces of foam, the windows don’t close properly, and the list goes on.
Naturally, the vulnerable are the ones who suffer most in this situation – such as children, the elderly and expecting mothers. At the simplest complication, patients have to be taken to a larger better equipped hospital in the city, usually on an old motorcycle, for a bumpy two hour journey.
In this hospital, there are just four rooms, that serve in the best way possible the medical needs of its patients, such as primary care, some small operations or labour.
Privacy, as one can imagine doesn’t exist. A woman who would have just given birth and would still be recovering from the ordeal, will often need to share the same space with other patients whose turn it would be to get medical attention. Apart from the person’s dignity which is compromised, the situation brings about added risks of unnecessary infectious spread.
Doctors like Dr Brighton know that these are not good medical practices, but they also know that they cannot do better.
Missio Malta together with you would like to support this hospital to take care for the thousands of patients in Komolo. You can help by pressing on the donate button on the right hand side.
“Once, while I was assisting a woman who was giving birth, another girl came for treatment. While she was waiting for her turn, she died on the chair.”
Dr Brighton
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