Mary prepares for life among Africa’s mums

Mary prepares for life among Africa’s mums

18 July 2012 - by Joanne Fleming

DOWNPATRICK doctor Mary McCauley will soon be swapping her demanding job in a busy hospital for an even greater challenge in rural Ethiopia.

Mary is taking up a one year placement with international development charity Voluntary Service Overseas (VS0) to share her skills at the Yirgalem General Hospital in Southern Ethiopia.

VSO places professionals in volunteer placements in over 36 of the world’s poorest countries.

Mary, a specialist registrar in her fifth year of training in obstetrics and gynaecology at Altnagelvin hospital, will be working in a hospital similar in size to the Downe, but with a catchment area of over three million people.

Yirgalem General Hospital performs around 1,500 deliveries and 2,000 general operations a year, but there are currently only two obstetrician and gynaecologists serving the hospital.

“It is quite rural and the hospital itself is in a valley amidst a mountainous area,” said Mary. “Quite a lot of woman have not had had any access to antenatal care. The only reason they turn up to the hospital is if there are complexities with their pregnancy. Otherwise they would give birth within their communities.

“Many will have travelled some distance.”

With just two labour ward rooms and 20 beds, Mary will be faced with very limited resources and have to train local obstetric and midwifery staff along with medical students in emergency care. Her role will also be to support and strengthen the health management and information services at the hospital.

And it’s certainly not a job for the fainthearted. Ethopia has one of the highest child and maternal mortality rates — 25,000 women die each year giving birth and 400,000 more suffer long-term disabilities due to complications during pregnancy and delivery.

Admitting she is unsure how she will react to the poverty surrounding her, Mary says she is nevertheless looking forward to this new phase of her life

“Having reached the fifth year of speciality training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, I decided it was time for a change of scenery,” she said. “I have always intended to travel and work in a developing country and VSO provide the ideal way to do this. Hopefully I will be able to make a difference in the relatively short time I am in Ethiopia.

“It is about building capacity in local communities, so VSO do long term placements, a year or two years.”

Aside from her work in the hospital, Mary will also have to adjust to a basic standard of accommodation and a whole new way of life.

“I will be living in modest accommodation in the hospital grounds,” she said. “They cannot guarantee electricity and water, but they like to see volunteers living at their level.

“I am single, and while I do not have a family this is the ideal opportunity for me to do this. I imagine quite a lot of relationships are formed with other voluntary services in the area and there are apparently really strong connections made.

“This is developing a natural interest for me and I do not know what the future holds but I may be able to take on other short term projects in the future.

“I am looking forward to the adventure.”

Mary is volunteering with VSO as part of the Fellowship scheme from the Royal College for Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. To support this work, donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/Mary-McCauley.

Malcolm Quigley, Director of VSO, has also called on other local professionals to consider volunteering with VSO .

“Volunteers such as Mary can make a huge difference to the welfare and future prospects of people living in poverty,” he said. “The VSO approach of sharing skills ensures that one volunteer in a developing country can transform the lives of thousands of people. In these challenging times it is also important to recognise that volunteering overseas is a form of career enhancement as volunteers return to the workplace with an enhanced skill set and an increased cultural understanding.”

To find out more about volunteering visit www.vso.ie