Pictures of the new program in UM!
Door: Anton Frima
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Anton
05 Oktober 2008 | Pakistan, Islamabad
Hi all,
A short note with a bunch of pictures on the project that we started 2 months ago in the centre of Pakistan. The program we started focuses on malnourished children under five and after a short assessment we identified a small village to start.
Within a government hospital in a village we call UM, we rehabilitated a ward that was in strong need of new paint, plaster, safe electrical wiring and a clean toilet. Currently the ward looks amazing and we’ve had our first full operational month with around 100 admissions per week. These are children that become part of an ambulatory feeding program in which they are weighed and measured once a week to monitor progress and are handed out special nutritional food. Of course is a sad thing to discover these amounts of malnutrition but we are confident we’ve found the right place to start our program.
Very different from Chaman, where I started here in Pakistan, is the fact that I am allowed to be in the ward during patient hours and the community here is more open allowing to really see our activities. In Chaman I was mostly limited to a small office and missing the interactino with the medics. A nice change here!
For me it has been quite a tiring period, mostly due to the inability to sleep in a 40-degrees room and missing some proper rest. Also the expat team the last 2 months has mainly consisted of only me since my new boss from Kenya was held up due to travel-permit problems. However the coming months our team will increase to 4 which I am really looking forward to. A bigger team in a new expat house with tabletennis, badminton, card games and other entertainment.
Currently I am on R&R (compulsary rest&relaxation every 8 weeks) in Islamabad, which is a bit frustrating since increased security rules by MSF limit the activities around here.
End november I will most likely be going on my last holiday during this mission to Kathmandu, Nepal. Looking forward to it!
Well hope you enjoy the pictures!
Cheers,
Anton
A short note with a bunch of pictures on the project that we started 2 months ago in the centre of Pakistan. The program we started focuses on malnourished children under five and after a short assessment we identified a small village to start.
Within a government hospital in a village we call UM, we rehabilitated a ward that was in strong need of new paint, plaster, safe electrical wiring and a clean toilet. Currently the ward looks amazing and we’ve had our first full operational month with around 100 admissions per week. These are children that become part of an ambulatory feeding program in which they are weighed and measured once a week to monitor progress and are handed out special nutritional food. Of course is a sad thing to discover these amounts of malnutrition but we are confident we’ve found the right place to start our program.
Very different from Chaman, where I started here in Pakistan, is the fact that I am allowed to be in the ward during patient hours and the community here is more open allowing to really see our activities. In Chaman I was mostly limited to a small office and missing the interactino with the medics. A nice change here!
For me it has been quite a tiring period, mostly due to the inability to sleep in a 40-degrees room and missing some proper rest. Also the expat team the last 2 months has mainly consisted of only me since my new boss from Kenya was held up due to travel-permit problems. However the coming months our team will increase to 4 which I am really looking forward to. A bigger team in a new expat house with tabletennis, badminton, card games and other entertainment.
Currently I am on R&R (compulsary rest&relaxation every 8 weeks) in Islamabad, which is a bit frustrating since increased security rules by MSF limit the activities around here.
End november I will most likely be going on my last holiday during this mission to Kathmandu, Nepal. Looking forward to it!
Well hope you enjoy the pictures!
Cheers,
Anton
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05 Oktober 2008 - 10:00
Alexa:
Holy ^%$3* That sewage looks discusting! -
05 Oktober 2008 - 10:39
Job:
What a great window into life in the clinic. Can imagine it's a change of life now you're closely involved with the real medical work. Good to see you can take photo's of daily life, especially of the mothers in traditional dress. Normally not the easiest thing in traditional muslim countries. Good luck with all clinic work and getting setup in your new expat home.
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11 Oktober 2008 - 15:35
Jeroen Tamsma:
Fantastisch werk Anton! Ga me bijna schuldig voelen over het luizenleventje hier. Heb net Duizend Schitterende Zonnen van Khaled Hosseini uitgelezen en volgens mij sluit dat goed aan bij jouw foto's. Ellendig hoor...
Veel plezier in je vrije tijd! -
11 December 2008 - 11:24
Claire:
Ik zou echt niet weten waar ik zou moeten beginnen in zo'n land... wat een rotzooi!
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