E3 Mobile clinic - Bimphi

Saturday Joey, Ty and I joined the E3 clinic in Bimphi. It is our last E3 clinic of this year. We saw 518 patients, had less than 50% of the malaria tests positive (and much less testing than last clinic), and no evacuations. We were home just after sundown. The saddest part was that one of their nurse volunteers died this past week. She had severe congestive heart failure, but had still been coming to the E3 clinics to volunteer.  On another sad note, one of the children evacuated from the last E3 clinic died - he needed a blood transfusion due to severe anemia, was taken to a district hospital but still died. I am wondering if he never got the blood? If you are healthy, I don't care WHERE you live, seriously consider donating blood! In Malawi it is a major problem. At KCH we saw many patients, including children, who could not have surgery due to blood shortages.

For those interested in what E3 does: Education, employ, empower. Not just empty words. They work with schools (building, supplying, etc), teach permaculture and animal husbandry (rabbits), work with soil building, composting, etc. They do mobile clinics and work with locals for natural medicines.  Check out their websites on line and their page on Facebook! As always, donations are appreciated. Their goal is to have these communities be self sufficient, but the medicine side of this goal will be much more difficult to reach. E3 does 2 clinics a month in the dry season.

Enjoy the photos!

Chico (Chikonde, my translator) and I at my desk, seeing patients.

Joey doing a malaria test.

Patients waiting outside the pharmacy window to get their medications.

A clinical officer. There were 6 clinical officers and myself seeing patients. We were in a school block. 

Another shot of Chico and me. What I love about this photo is the Mom and one of the kids reaction to Joey taking photos!

Here I am with Sam Kawale, one of the prinicpals in E3

End of the clinic, this is when we were packing up the pharmacy. There is more work in these clinics than just the 'clinic' - prep time, getting medications, setting up the pharmacy, working at the clinic, then breaking down (packing the meds, etc, etc) and finally another inventory to see what you need. When we do E3, we are spared the inventory / re-inventory but when we do our village or prison clinics, we end up doing all of that ... well, let me say that Joey has become the expert inventory / organizer of the medications, not me!

Kids at the car door before we leave.