So why Western Province, Zambia?

People ask me, ‘Bill, why do you go to Western Province to do your work?’
As stories go, it’s a short one……..
Five years ago, reaching a point in my life where I would be free to give back to Africa, the continent of my childhood, I set out in search of my University of Toronto Medical School classmate, Chifumbe Chintu.
He was easy to find. The Professor of Paediatrics from the day he returned to Zambia, then the only trained Paediatrician in the country, he’s now an international icon in terms of his multiple and diverse contributions to health care in Africa.
In the bowels of the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, there was my graduation class picture on the wall of his office.
At different times, most of my family members have been to Zambia with me, Rebeccah, Bev, Sarah, Mary Ellen and Rachel. I attended a Freeman Patterson photo workshop in Namaqaland in the Western Cape with Martha. Mar, you are next to come with me to Zambia.
Chifumbe directed me to Dean Mulla, who asked if I could help to develop Thoracic Surgery in Zambia. It did not take long for me to realize that Thoracic Surgery development in Zambia wasn’t going to happen any time soon. In Canada, and other first world countries, we cantilever Thoracic Surgery off a sophisticated General Surgery platform. Here in Zambia, surgical development is still quite basic, especially in rural areas.
Over the next three years, I met with several Surgery types in Lusaka but never gained any traction. I arranged to spend a month with one surgeon one year. When I arrived, he was away. He had forgotten my offer to work with him, and so I began looking elsewhere.
Along the way, I met with Dr Margaret Maimbolwa, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Medicine – and it was here that we began to make headway.
Through Margaret we saw a Memorandum of Understanding between UBC Okanagan and University of Zambia come to fruition. The long-term outcome for this MoU will likely be in the field of Nursing education and simulation lab teaching.
Through Margaret we were directed to support health activities in Western Province, sometimes known as the ‘neglected province.’
Lianne and Jessica, then recent graduates from UBC Okanagan School of Nursing, had volunteered to go to Mongu, Capital of Western Province to teach at the local two-year diploma Nursing School there.
Knowing nothing about Mongu, the needs, the suitability of such a venture, safety issues, housing options and a raft of other issues, I took it upon myself to go to Mongu in person to check it out.
It was in Mongu that I met Dr Andrew Silumesii, CEO of the Lewanika General Hospital, and with nursing school-teachers Mumbuwa Silumbu and Pelina Chibanje. Administratively, the School of Nursing also comes under Dr Silumesii’s purview.
This was just the beginning of what would develop into wonderful friendships with these colleagues and with many others.
Jessica and Lianne taught at the Nursing School for six months. They stayed with Sister Christina at one of the Catholic Orders. They built relationships with all and sundry. In doing so, not only did the citizens of Mongu take them into their collective hearts, but also they returned their affections in equal part.
They became known fondly as our ‘makuwa Lozi girls’; white women trying to learn their local language.
And then, like in Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘The Tipping Point’, as if like gifts from the gods, others signed up to join our Zambian mission; Gary O’Connor – Orthopaedic Surgeon, Linda Hawker – Family Physician, Cameron O’Connor – then UofA Science graduate, now medical student, Kim Lefevre – Neurosurgeon, Tim Murphy and Ken McKenzie - Family Physicians, Felour Berlouzi and Nicole Arnt – Registered Nurses, Glynn Jones – Hospitalist, Joan Basset-Smith, Fay Karp, Joan Bottorff, Carole Robinson and Muriel Kranabetter – all Faculty members at UBC Okanagan, Tom Kinahan – Urologist, and my daughter Rebeccah – a very experienced consultant in international development.
We teamed up with the Canadian Network for International Surgery. In October 2009 we took an Essential Surgical Skills course to train 24 local physicians, medical licentiates, clinical officers and one Nurse Practitioner. Of course, Jessica and Lianne came with us to develop the nursing components to the ESS course, something CNIS had yet to do. We stayed at a new 12 bed house run by Sister Kathy of the Presentation Sisters.
In February 2010, Fay Jess and Lianne lead a successful 7-week student elective to Mongu for 10 UBC Okanagan fourth year nursing students.
We founded the Okanagan Zambia Health Initiative as a registered structure in Canada. Check us out at
http://www.okazhi.org
Then, Jessica Lianne and I joined up with the Tour d’Afrique to raise awareness of our work.
You can see the rest of the story at
http://cyclingforzambia.blogspot.com
The media event in Lusaka on April 12, 2010, was most satisfying for all of us. As you will see from our photos, posted at the blogspot, all of our most valuable and trusted colleagues and advisors were there; Dr Margaret Maimbolwa, Professor Chifumbe Chintu, Dr Andrew Silumesii and Dr Chayza Sikambale.
This year, as a group, we were awarded the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award by the Canadian Network for International Surgery for our work in Western province. We were humbled and honoured.
We will return again to Western province this October.
I’ll post another blog sometime soon on our philosophy of medical health care support – the model that is defining our work.
For now, I’ve got to get my beauty sleep – at 06.30 hours tomorrow we ride out of Zambia, crossing the Zambezi river by ferry, entering Botswana - another one of my favourite countries…………