On December 31st at 11 pm in Chiulo, Angola, Giorgio Pellis’s phone rings: there is an obstetric emergency and Alice, the Angolan doctor who works in the hospital, asks for support in managing the birth because the child struggles to be born.
“When I arrive, I immediately notice that the mom is tired after hours of labor and is laying in a very uncomfortable position. There is no time and it is immediately clear to me what needs to be done. I calmly explain to the lady, the doctor and the nurses what we will do, while my hands are already preparing the local anesthesia and the instruments for the surgery. The soon-to-be mother gives me a look of hope. She doesn’t know, but that look digs me inside. She is giving me a huge responsibility. While I am performing a very small operation, I put the dr. Alice’s hands on the scalpel and I make her feel what cannot be seen but is clearly perceptible. The pelvis is widening little by little and this will make a difference for her baby. ”
After a while the baby is born and with a loud cry he greets the new year. He is the first child born in Chilulo in 2021. “Here the emotions are very strong, every day,” says Giorgio. “Being able to transform a potential caesarean into a delivery without trauma is beautiful. But the greatest thing is the gratitude of the mothers and their families who, sometimes, as a sign of gratefulness bring to the hospital a bag of flour as a gift. Needless to say what a great emotion this is. ”
Doctors with Africa CUAMM has been working in Chiulo, Angola, since 2000 where it supports the hospital thanks to a team that is at the forefront every day , trying to do their best at the service of “the last mile”.
