14.05.2007
The kindness of strangers 2
The health post, and my interpreter, were labouring under the belief that the medications and donations that I brought were donated by the “Government of Australia”, and that I had been sent by the United Nations! They were quite non-plussed when I explained that kind family and friends had donated, and drug companies had provided the medications free of charge. They were even more puzzled by the fact that I wasn’t part of an organization, and that I was here “privately”.
The generous donations of money and medicines that I brought were both a blessing and a hindrance. On the one hand, I could dispense plenty of medication for symptomatic relief, treatment of infections, and rehydration. When certain medicines ran out I could then use the donations to purchase medications directly from the health post’s dispensary, and a little certainly went a long way – medicines cost about $0.50-$2 a course here. We also paid for a few Xrays that I felt were necessary, and offered to pay for an elderly man’s cataract operation (a bargain at under $100 for both eyes, but an astronomical sum for a poor elderly man! Incidentally, the ophthalmologists didn’t feel it was necessary right away, so I have left the appropriate amount with the health post for safekeeping for his future operation). At the end of my post we had used most of the medicines that I had brought, and spent $20 on medicines for some 25 patients. I was guided by my team at the health post as to who could and couldn’t afford to pay for medicines. Not everyone in Gundu is poor as there are many land-owners and people who don’t work in the fields.
On the other hand, some patients came in expecting a freebie or two or ten! Word certainly got around about this volunteer doctor from Australia who was paying for medicines and sending people home with pills and potions. Some patients insisted on having Xrays that were not necessary, and one woman spent part of her Xray money on her bus fare and afternoon tea! Fortunately there was only a handful of such cases, but it was irritating having to deal with them.
