Smooth sailing in Halifax in Toronto but there is Istanbul. Go figure. The airport is chaotic but we are still hoping to make our evening flight to Kigali.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Monday, December 28, 2015
ready... but not too ready
The first snowstorm of the season came to Halifax yesterday. Winter has definitely arrived.
In two days, I'm heading back to Rwanda with my friend, Michelle. She will follow up with the operating room nurses to find out if they have been able to implement what they learned in the peri-operative nursing course last year. She will also offer her great skills to the simulation program.
It is impossible to feel ready for what is to come. We can prepare a bit but must be guided by our partners. We need to be prepared but flexible. The toolbox is ready but I'm not sure what we will have to pull out.
The scope keeps increasing. In addition to the anesthesia residency program, I want to put effort into a new nurse anesthetist program, the simulation centre, pain management program and a major collaboration for maternal, newborn and child health in Rwanda.
But the true joy is always people. An example is Christophe. He grew up in a small rural community in a remote part of Rwanda. He found his way to Kigali and got a job cleaning the CASIEF apartment where our volunteers stay. He spoke no English or French but that didn't stop him from being incredibly loyal in attending to the needs of our volunteers. He is the quintessential hard worker. One of our volunteers generously provided funding for Christophe to attend evening university classes in information technology. This was enormously difficult at first due to the language issue but, with his dedication, Christophe was able to move his grades up to scale to end up with many As. A few weeks ago he received his bachelor degree. We are so proud of Christophe.
Michelle and I leave on Dec 30 and we arrive in Kigali about one hour into the new year. Please give us a few days to get the technology working and then we will try to post regularly. We are taking a few days vacation at the beginning to cycle along the Congo Nile Trail near Lake Kivu. Michelle's young nephew, Derek, will be joining us.
Best wishes to all of you for happiness and peace in 2016.
With love,
Patty
In two days, I'm heading back to Rwanda with my friend, Michelle. She will follow up with the operating room nurses to find out if they have been able to implement what they learned in the peri-operative nursing course last year. She will also offer her great skills to the simulation program.
It is impossible to feel ready for what is to come. We can prepare a bit but must be guided by our partners. We need to be prepared but flexible. The toolbox is ready but I'm not sure what we will have to pull out.
The scope keeps increasing. In addition to the anesthesia residency program, I want to put effort into a new nurse anesthetist program, the simulation centre, pain management program and a major collaboration for maternal, newborn and child health in Rwanda.
But the true joy is always people. An example is Christophe. He grew up in a small rural community in a remote part of Rwanda. He found his way to Kigali and got a job cleaning the CASIEF apartment where our volunteers stay. He spoke no English or French but that didn't stop him from being incredibly loyal in attending to the needs of our volunteers. He is the quintessential hard worker. One of our volunteers generously provided funding for Christophe to attend evening university classes in information technology. This was enormously difficult at first due to the language issue but, with his dedication, Christophe was able to move his grades up to scale to end up with many As. A few weeks ago he received his bachelor degree. We are so proud of Christophe.
Michelle and I leave on Dec 30 and we arrive in Kigali about one hour into the new year. Please give us a few days to get the technology working and then we will try to post regularly. We are taking a few days vacation at the beginning to cycle along the Congo Nile Trail near Lake Kivu. Michelle's young nephew, Derek, will be joining us.
Best wishes to all of you for happiness and peace in 2016.
With love,
Patty
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