Ubuntu crosses borders to heal sick
On Women’s Day, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) highlights the progress and accomplishments made by three of its female field workers who have worked in some of the 65 countries where MSF operates. These are the stories of finance director Zanele Dhludhlu,
ZANI is a midwife who has worked all around the world for MSF, delivering babies and training fellow midwives.
In the past six years, she has worked in South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, the Philippines, Pakistan, Lebanon, Greece and Kenya.
In total, she has delivered an estimated 1 500 babies in her time with MSF, with the majority being from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The first baby she delivered during her first, and favourite, assignment with MSF was in Khost, Afghanistan, back in 2012. Her job with MSF has taught her how to save lives with limited resources, especially in conflict-affected contexts. She recalls a time in South Sudan when her team turned intravenous bags (IV bags) into hot-water bottles, filling them with warm water in order to keep the sick preterm babies warm at night.
In most of the different locations she has delivered babies, Zani has been honoured by mothers who have named their newborns after her. “I have so many babies named after me, I have almost lost track,” she says. ‘‘I believe most of them are now at school. For me this is a huge honour.
‘‘I still get photos of some of these babies from my fellow MSF colleagues working in these countries, and there is nothing that makes me happier than to know they are doing well and growing,” said Zani.
Zani adds that what keeps her going and motivated are the resilient and strong women she meets during her assignments.
“There are so many mums who have struggled to have babies and those who have lost babies at childbirth, so when I manage to help them to at least have one baby, they are always grateful.
‘‘These women inspire me to keep saving lives.” “IT’S only ever about the patients. Working in a primary clinic was different to what I was used to doing back home in an emergency room in Cape Town where, for example, you could request a chest X-ray, do some simple blood work or refer a patient to an appropriate department or facility… Not in Mayom. We have to think more, use clinical judgement, our stethoscopes and our hands.
“At the beginning it was stressful. But not instantly resorting to special investigation taught me to be more critical from a clinical point of view. By making us think a bit more and really weighing our options and discuss a case, in the end this makes us better clinicians.
“Some cases were also very challenging. I remember a young mother who came in five months pregnant, severely jaundiced, with high blood pressure and an altered mental state. Although we tried to support her as much as we could, her liver failed and, in three days, we lost both the patient and her baby.
“I would be lying if I said that it was easy. But thanks to wonderful leadership and a great team, I came to remember that, in the end, it’s only ever about the patients, whatever the outcome. And you can only ever do your best.
“But it also taught me to focus on the good we are able to do for the many others who recover and survive.
“With minimal facilities, MSF is able to provide extraordinary health care in Mayom. My time there taught me that you don’t need to rely on fancy technology, that you can learn so much just by talking to others, and that you can alleviate a lot of suffering just by sharing yourself and being compassionate.
“By providing a little bit of care, a little bit of effort, it makes a major difference.
“I remember one particular patient – a feverish, malnourished baby who had severe diarrhoea, was very dehydrated, and nearly in shock. His mother had been struggling, alone and in vain, for a week before bringing him to the facility.
“The team was able to help by giving him IV fluids and medicine, and monitoring his progress, doing sponging and providing supportive care. Eventually this tiny person improved. The gratitude on this mother’s face spoke volumes.
“It was unlike anything I had ever seen.
“Without me being able to speak her language, nor her being able to speak mine, she called me over. She reached behind her neck and took off her necklace, and insisted I have it.
“My knee-jerk reaction was to decline the gesture since it was a team effort and I’d been singled out.
“But something stopped me when I realised that it was her most prized possession and she wanted to show her gratitude. Refusing it would have been an insult.
“With much protest, I accepted. I wore it immediately and for days after. Actually, the other day I wore it to my cousin’s wedding. Should my house burn down, I’d grab my dog, Chocolate, and that necklace.
“In the end, when it was time to finally leave Mayom, I was grateful that I stayed.
“Moreover, I even toyed with the idea of requesting an extension for my assignment. The small things we often complain about pale in comparison.
“If you asked me today whether I would return for another MSF assignment in South Sudan, I would smile and tell you that an army of elephants couldn’t keep me away.”