Getting familiar

With only being here for a few days I have come to discover how proud the Rwandans are of their country. You may like me initially think that because Rwanda is so small (you could fit nearly 3 ½ Rwanda’s inside Tasmania!) the population would somewhat represent that. However, there are currently 11.78 million people who live in Rwanda and it is growing rapidly, this would equate to fitting half of Australia’s population into Tasmania.

A massive 42.1% of the population in Rwanda is below the age of 14 (and only 2.5% being older than 65) with only two paediatric cardiologists (and more in training). That is pretty much equivalent to QLD and NSW only have two paediatric cardiologist combined. Imagine the complaints the government would have in Australia if this were the case. In western countries we so often take health care as a human right, when in other countries it is actually a luxury. For me, this is a reminder of how lucky I am that I can go to the doctors and get bulk billed without a second thought, when here it’s a completely different story.

The stock FINALLY arrived yesterday afternoon, which meant most of the team spent the afternoon unpacking boxes, familiarizing themselves with the hospital and getting to know each other as well as the local team.

By the end of the night all the team have arrived safety, jet lagged but safe ready for our first team meeting. It is a significant time because it may be the only time we are all together as a team until the last night.

More than half the teams are newbies, which brings a new vibe to the team scenario, however, despite the jetlag everyone seems keen to get started. Now for surgery!