Nursing Volunteering in Africa? Or anywhere else for that matter!

navigatoroneill

Have been trying to organise 2 months of voluntary nursing work in Africa over the last number of months. I have been back to the drawing board twice on account of logistical or personnell issues arising with the two clinics. They were in Zambia and Malawi.

There would be two of us going. Male and female. Backrounds in Paediatric intensive care and Adult emergency care. We're not looking to fundraise and bring a load of cash and be shown were its all going. Basically were time-poor and working overtime to afford the 2months off and for a deposit on a house soon after we return. What we do have is the desire to do this voluntary work and some much needed skillls.

Any help or experiences out there?

crazygirl101

Personally, I went out with a charity to uganda last summer as a volunteer nurse and it was an amazing experience! There was however fundraising involved. The nursing in Africa is obviously extremely different to the nursing here, which can cause problems to arise. I know there was issues between the ugandan and irish staff which was sorted by the volunteer nurse coordinators who came out with us. Just differences of opinions on re-using equipment and polices etc!

I realize some charities are requiring you to raise up to 5,000 however the one which i went with was 2,000. It seemed like it would be hard and very time consuming to raise with work and overtime etc but of the 30 or so volunteers that went out each raised over the amount (which was a shock to all of us!). Going with a charity also enables you to see other places when your there like orphanages. They also provide support to the many challenging issues that you experience over there and provide training before and debriefing when you come home which is excellent.

If you want any more details about it or any specific questions just give me a shout!

clonkers45

Try the Billy Riordan Project in Malawi. Community based clinic on the Lake. Excellent project with excellent people.

http://www.billysmalawiproject.org/

unknowngirl!!

Have a look here: http://www.nurtureafrica.ie/volunteer/nurse-volunteer-placement/

I'm only familiar with the teacher placement so I couldn't help you with the specifics of the nursing placement.

crazygirl101

unknowngirl!! wrote: »

Have a look here: http://www.nurtureafrica.ie/volunteer/nurse-volunteer-placement/

I'm only familiar with the teacher placement so I couldn't help you with the specifics of the nursing placement.

There a great charity to go out with, the nursing placement is fantastic speaking from my own experience.

sarkozy

navigatoroneill wrote: »

Have been trying to organise 2 months of voluntary nursing work in Africa over the last number of months. I have been back to the drawing board twice on account of logistical or personnell issues arising with the two clinics. They were in Zambia and Malawi.

There would be two of us going. Male and female. Backrounds in Paediatric intensive care and Adult emergency care. We're not looking to fundraise and bring a load of cash and be shown were its all going. Basically were time-poor and working overtime to afford the 2months off and for a deposit on a house soon after we return. What we do have is the desire to do this voluntary work and some much needed skillls.

Any help or experiences out there?

You shouldn't really just 'go out' like that. Your first consideration should be to the community and institution you volunteer in. These are communities and clinics strapped for resources and, while you would probably bring resources to the clinic, you have to think of the context in which the volunteer placement is happening. It takes resources to plan for a volunteer, the volunteer must be bringing expertise that they need, but at the other end, what happens when the volunteer leaves? Is this enough time to pass anything on? Or will it cause unintentional negative effects?

The health sector is one sector most sensitive to this kind of voluntourism, so it's important, therefore, to go via an organisation that has a long-term partnership with an institution.

You should contact Comhlámh (www.comhlamh.org) to explore options further. They're the national overseas volunteer organisation who can explain the process to you and point you in the right direction.