Lifeline Clinic Update - Sept 10

Farewell Dr Laura

Following the departure of our wonderful doctor, Laura Maynard Smith, in early June, the clinic has been run by Sister Daries and new nurse, Lena, who previously worked at Rudie’s practice in Khomas. Dr Maynard Smith had a big send off and will be sorely missed by the Bushman community and all the staff at N/a’an ku sê. She did a wonderful job and her dedicated and commitment helped thousands of people during her year at the clinic.

Welcome Dr Treadgold!

We are delighted to announce that a new doctor, Ursula Treadgold will be joining the team in the next few months, along with her husband James. This is great news for the clinic and Dr Treadgold will be able to continue developing the service and its impact on the local community. Her husband James will also be coming out and will be working with the local San Bushman community and volunteers to develop a more self-sustainable way of life in the remote area where the clinic is based.

Dr Treadgold said, “We are really excited about our upcoming journey to N/a’an ku sê. Both James and I have wanted to work in Africa for about three years and we finally took the plunge to volunteer a year ago. Our first placement in Kenya did not work out, but luckily we spotted the N/a’an ku sê position through the Expedition Medicine website.

We think we are going to really enjoy ourselves as the role will be similar to my job back in the UK as a General Practitioner. But, it will also give me the chance to practise in a new environment and with the San Bushmen who are marginalised in Namibia.

James, an Engineer, is hoping that he will be able to facilitate many new schemes for the Lifeline clinic to improve sustainability. He has been asked to look at rain water harvesting, solar panels and also a vegetable garden (not that he knows much about plants at the moment!).

Namibia has always been a country that we have wished to visit and we are delighted to be coming to work in the clinic.”

 

Round Table bring supplies

Dr Vaja Zatjirua and 6 colleagues from the Round Table visited the clinic a couple of months ago. They kindly arranged a donation of a great supply of medicines that we would be unable to afford to buy. They also brought blankets, food and 'hospital kits' made up of a face flannel, soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush that we can give to those patients who we transport to hospital and some footballs for the kids.

Dr Maynard Smith said, “We are very grateful for the Round Table and the supplies they brought along which included about 6 months supply of medicines including lots of antibiotics, anti-worming tablets and syrup and around 200 hospital kits which we would not normally be able to supply. These will be incredibly useful over the coming months and the villagers were very happy as we went round handing blankets, food and footballs out. We are extremely grateful to the Round Table and all the companies who supported them, including Standard Bank. “

My experience at the Lifeline Clinic

My time at the Lifeline Clinic at Pos 3 in Namibia has been a life changing experience, writes medical volunteer, Melanie Balestra...

I am a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from the United States where most of my young patients have problems with obesity and develop hypertension and diabetes as they get older.  They suffer from anemia as a result of foods high in calories but low in protein and nutrients.  

Here in Namibia, most of the children suffer from malnutrition.  There are no machines to immediately test them for anemia.  Their diet consists of porridge and sometimes omaere  (milk they boil and they eat the curds).  Many patients are exposed to TB which must be ruled out before determining their final diagnosis.  However, the patients are always happy to see you and love having their picture taken.  

The Lifeline Clinic is doing remarkable work considering the government restrictions they must adhere to and the clinic is staffed by primarily by volunteers.  Dr. Laura Maynard Smith is the first doctor here and she is doing a fantastic job.  Not only is she a great physician, but a really good chef for the volunteers!  

I would recommend this experience to anyone who wants to venture out of their comfortable surroundings and have an experience that will make them realize how people, the Sans, survive with practically nothing to eat and an existence without electricity and running water.  The staff has been friendly and great to work with. The two dogs Scruffy and Choppy made me feel right at home.  

With dedicated staff like Dr. Maynard Smith, I believe that there is a chance to improve the health care to the Sans.   If every volunteer could raise even $100-$1000 for the clinic, it would make a great difference in the lives of the Sans and their children.

DFNI Safari Ball raises funds for the Lifeline Clinic

Our wonderful Patron’s and ambassadors, Claudio & Sylvie Frateschi, helped to make this year’s DFNI Ball in aid of our Lifeline Clinic the biggest ever!

Our Lifeline Clinic was thrilled to benefit from the wonderfully themed Safari Ball at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in London. With a room packed with 250 guests from the Duty Free Industry and an abundance of beautiful prizes from luxury brands and fashion retailers including stunning jewellery, handbags & holidays, the evening was an outstanding success.

Our clinic was set up in a remote area in Namibia in 2003 following the sad and what should have been avoidable death of a young San Bushman girl. Since then, the clinic has helped thousands of children and families each year, but as a voluntary run resource, providing free healthcare to many of the regions poorest people, it is constantly under threat through lack of funding.

The money raised through the DFNI Safari ball will make a huge difference to the number of San children, families and communities helped through the clinic. It will enable a volunteer Doctor and full time nurse to continue treating the families in this remote area who would otherwise have no-where to go, purchase vital medicines, transport those who need hospital treatment to the nearest one over 400km away and undertake outreach work to even more remote villages.

N/a’an ku sê would like to thank DFNI and everyone who supported the Safari Ball for throwing a lifeline to those children who need it most. To find out more, make a donation or volunteer at the clinic visit www.naankuse.com/volunteer or email donationsnaankuse@iway.na

March 2010

The Lifeline Clinic is very proud to have the support of HCL plc, Europe’s leading health and social care staffing company.

HCL’s donation has enabled us to buy a raft of essential pharmaceutical supplies, including paracetamol, antibiotics, oral rehydration salts and antacids. These medicines are vital to the healthcare of the hunter-gatherer San Bushman community in the remote region of Epukiro where the clinic is based. Their changing environment has subjected the San Bushmen to extreme poverty, unable to survive in their traditional lifestyle or to access medical care.

Laura Maynard Smith, Doctor at the Lifeline Clinic, commented; “The Clinic is extremely busy – we have seen nearly 400 patients since the beginning of January. Many of our patients suffer from similar complaints including respiratory infections, skin infections, and musculoskeletal pain. The money donated by HCL has enabled us to purchase essential medicines to treat the most commonly seen ailments. The donation has also helped to ensure that we have enough rehydration salts and intravenous fluids for severe diarrhoea cases in children following the reason rainy season. This is vital for the Bushman community which does not always have access to clean water. HCL’s support has enabled us to continue to provide important and much needed services such as these.”

Our patient stories

For many of our patients, once they have received their treatment and get better we don’t hear for them again, however here are the stories of two patients we have helped.

Bertha, a six year old girl came in with symptoms of a urinary tract infection, a severe fever and dehydration due to vomiting caused by her infection. Our Doctor was able to treat Bertha to stop her vomiting, give her some oral rehydration solution to rehydrate her and give her some liquid paracetamol to help bring down her fever. Following a course of antibiotics Bertha returned to the clinic a week later looking much healthier and with no further signs of the infection and fever.

Piet, a four year old boy, recently attended the clinic with extremely swollen and itchy feet. He had been playing in water after the recent rains, walking around bare foot on damp sand, and had picked up a worm infection called Cutaneous Larva Migrans. We treated Piet with anti-worming syrup, as well as making a paste out of the syrup with antiseptic cream to coat his feet, wrapping them in bandages. We also gave him some anti-histamine syrup to try and help to relieve the itching. Piet returned 10 days later with no further signs of worm infections in his feet.

Kate Bleasdale, Executive Vice Chairman of HCL, commented; “As a leading global staffing company, we at HCL wanted to play a small part in helping disadvantaged communities to gain access to healthcare provision, which we in the West take for granted. We feel privileged to learn that our donation is supporting the wonderful work the volunteers at the Lifeline Clinic do in meeting the medical needs of the local population in Epukiro.”

The work of Dr Laura Maynard Smith and Sister Anna Daries would not be possible without the support of our sponsors, volunteers and donors. There is a constant need for medicines and equipment to further improve the quality of life of the whole community.

If you are interested in volunteering at our Lifeline Clinic please email bookingsnaankuse@iway.na

If you would like to support the Lifeline Clinic through fundraising, making a donation or donating equipment please email donationsnaankuse@iway.na