Days 9 and 10: Engeye
We are currently at the Engeye Clinic, a rural health clinic in Ddegeya Village. After an 8 hour bus ride we have made it to Uganda and are enjoying village life. After months of caring after piles of clothing and donations, we were finally able to free ourselves from the 10 duffel bags we have been lugging around this trip. Although we were unable to pass out the donations directly to the children, we did pull out one of the soccer balls to play with the village children. After these donations taking up the entirety of my bedroom floor, it was an incredible feeling to see the joy this soccer ball brought to the local children. Playing catch with a young smiling girl was an amazing experience and validated all of the work it took to collect all of the clothing, duffle bags, and medical supplies.
Today we spent a majority of our time in the clinic. We have the opportunity to observe in exam rooms, help in the pharmacy, and help with lab work. I was in awe at the opportunities we were given to help at the clinic. Although mainly spoken in Luganda, watching the clinician-patient interactions was incredible. The clinic setting is so different from any doctor’s office I have ever been to. There are dozens of people waiting outside to meet with two clinicians for a short period of time. Many people walk an incredible distance and wait all day to receive the health care that Engeye provides. It is amazing that the clinic is able to reach so many people. The clinic serves 70 to 80 patients a day by providing meetings with clinicians, lab testing and a pharmacy.
I spent some time helping out in the lab today, which was amazing. I was tasked with testing urine on a dip stick for various different things including pH, blood, proteins, and more. Other students were tasked to take vitals of the patients. It was incredible that the clinic allowed us to help in so many different ways. While working in the lab, I was able to see the centrifuge we brought in action. The old centrifuge required them to spend a large amount of time hand cranking the centrifuge, but we were able to make this task slightly easier. Overall today has been incredible and makes me feel so able the donations that we were able to bring to the clinic and surrounding community.
--Annie