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Maria Stella “I never expected to be treated so kindly”

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

Maria Stella Fernandez comes from humble origins, but she never needed help from anyone. Since 2008, when she arrived in La Spezia from the Dominican Republic, she has always worked, not stopping for a second. She even managed to bring her children to Italy. Maria Stella supports her daughter and grandchildren: two years ago, she decided to move into a new apartment, closer to her grandchildren’s school.

“We used to pay less rent” she explains “but it was too far from the kids’ school. There were few buses connecting the hold place and the school, and they were so little: I couldn’t stand to see them going out still very sleepy every single morning. I decided to look for a new apartment. I was working as a caregiver at the time, for an elderly couple here in La Spezia. It was enough to make a living, pay for a better apartment and give my grandchildren what they needed. Then Covid-19 came.”

The family Maria Stella was working for suddenly decided to let her go. The couple’s daughter thought it might be too dangerous to have someone in their home who might give them the virus. Maria Stella understood their fears but had to come to terms with the lack of a salary in the middle of a pandemic, with an expensive new home and three people to take care of.  Her former employer suggested her to go to the Don Bosco Church, just to see if they could help her somehow.

It was the beginning of the summer, when Maria Stella met Daniela and Moreno, who volunteered for the group “Colazioni col Sorriso” (Breakfast with a smile) and gave her the help she needed.

“Let me tell you something, she says, I never expected to be treated so kindly! Until the middle of January, every two weeks they gave me all I needed to eat: pasta, rice, tomato sauce, vegetables, olive oil, jam and biscuits, even some sweets for the kids. It was such a joy to receive all this good food in this situation. In January I found a new job: they give me 800 € per month, but it is enough to pay for the apartment and to buy my own groceries. So I decided to quit the programme. There is plenty of people in need, I advised lot of my friends to go the same volunteers for help. I simply think that now they deserve this help more than me. But I don’t regret anything: the first time I received my pack I cried for joy and I would do the same thing again if I needed to. I would never starve, or let my kids suffer! These volunteers have been so good to me, I can’t pay them back financially, but I told them: I am ready to do my part. I will always be grateful to them; they have been wonderful!”.

As Maria Stella get back on her feet, many people still need food assistance in La Spezia. Doctors with Africa CUAMM has provided support to the volunteers of “Colazioni col Sorriso” in La Spezia thanks to the U.S. Government, which through USAID is supporting a number of projects in Italy, aiming at reducing the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. From August 2020 to December 2020, 30,000 kg of food have been distributed in La Spezia.

This story is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Doctors with Africa CUAMM, recipient of the Fixed Amount Award (FAA) No. 7200AA20FA00013 and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

TELEMEDICINE, DISTANCE LEARNING AND FAMILY VISITS DURING COVID-19

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

Being a community during Covid-19 has been easier for San Patrignano, thanks to Doctors with Africa CUAMM. Last November, the NGO supported San Patrignano Community installing a new Wi-Fi network in the medical centre and four video stations. The technologies have already been used to put in contact the hosts of the community with therapists, doctors and families, ensuring the continuity of care during the pandemic. This new IT system is funded by the U.S. Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and will improve the work and quality of life of people in the community, paying particular attention to HIV+ patients admitted in the medical centre.

San Patrignano Community hosts a thousand people for rehab and has also a medical centre where patients with HIV and AIDS are treated. During the first lockdown, between March and May 2020, the community has been spared by Covid-19, sacrificing much of the services offered and limiting contacts with the outside. New admissions were postponed, as well as family visits, and psychotherapies which involved professionals coming from the outside were reduced. With the new video stations, these activities have been developed online, while the medical centre can now guarantee consultations and check-ups for the patients via telemedicine experimentation. Students who live in San Patrignano have been using the video stations to access distance learning classes, with a big improvement in terms of comfort.

Alessandro Rodino dal Pozzo and Antonio Boschini, respectively president and medical director of San Patrignano’s Community, hosted at the handover ceremony, together with Mimma Spinelli, mayor of Coriano, and Veronica Censi and Andrea Iannetti from Doctors with Africa CUAMM.

Alessandro Rodino Dal Pozzo, president of San Patrignano, stated,

“This project is really important to us. Covid-19 forced us to reorganize our work and the lack of contacts with the world outside our community might have been an unbearable burden for our guys. In the beginning, we tried to replace physical meetings with phone calls, both to reach out to family and doctors. Then we understood that seeing their beloved and talking via video calls with therapists and doctors was much more efficient for our hosts. To achieve this goal, the support of Doctors with Africa CUAMM has been fundamental. Over the last two months, from December 2020 to January 2021, we have made possible 230 calls between our guys and their families, 148 telemedicine consultations, 99 interviews for admission, and 73 interviews for psychological support”.

Veronica Censi, project manager of Doctors with Africa CUAMM, explained,

“We are supporting San Patrignano’s Community in the framework of our larger project “Italian Response to Covid-19” (IRC19), that aims to create more resilient healthcare facilities and communities and to provide training for healthcare professionals broadly in Italy. This year we have seen how the knowledge gathered in many years of work in epidemics in Africa can be helpful in Italy as well. We are to sustain the community of San Patrignano, thanks to the U.S. Government, which is supporting a number of initiatives in Italy, aiming at reducing the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.”

USAID, which funds IRC19, is the U.S. Government’s premiere development organization operating in more than 100 countries worldwide.

 

This press release is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Doctors with Africa CUAMM, recipient of the Fixed Amount Award (FAA) No. 7200AA20FA00013 and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

World day of the sick: no one must feel alone in pain

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

February 11 is the “World Day of the Sick”, celebrated by the Catholic Church on the memorial day of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes, to devote special attention to sick people and care-givers. During a pandemic, this day becomes particularly significant and, in accordance to the message of Pope Francis, Doctors with Africa CUAMM underline the importance of global action. No one can be left behind while suffering: neither the patients, nor the health workers, in Italy as in Africa.

Arianna Bortolani, CUAMM’s doctor with a strong background in Africa, now works on the frontline against Covid-19 in Verona, and reflects upon the different condition of sick people in Italy and in Africa.

“Generally speaking, the loneliness experienced during illness is a much common condition in the West than in Africa. In Wolisso, Ethiopia, as well as in South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania, sick people can always rely on the family. They are never left alone. Usually, when there is no chance of recovery, the family aims to bring patients home, to accompany them in their last moments. There is a lot to learn from that. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has made it difficult for everybody to be near sick people as much as carers and patients would like, causing much pain and anguish for all concerned.”

Bortolani adds, “Sick people in Africa, along with the suffering of their disease, also have to face the worry of not having enough money to pay for treatment. Illness could become a catastrophe for the whole family. We are so lucky, in Italy, to have a basically free national health system, with doctors, nurses, and health professionals who take care of everybody with dedication and generosity”.

Father Dante Carraro, director of Doctors with Africa Cuamm, states, “On the “World Day of the Sick” and in the middle of this global emergency, Pope Francis reminds us that ‘investing resources in the care and assistance of the sick is a priority linked to the fundamental principle that health is a primary common good’. It is a commitment we have token since 1950. As the Pope urges us, we try our best so that ‘no one will feel alone, excluded or abandoned’: both in Africa, in the eight countries where we are present, and in Italy, supporting many fragile situations. Today we see this message as an invitation to push forward, fighting the virus in Italy and in Africa. A call not to forget the people who are still dying of malaria, measles as well as malnutrition and childbirth. We must take care of the whole Planet, or we won’t find peace.

Learning about baby care side by side

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

When Eleonora Balestri, neonatologist, arrived at Wolisso hospital she was involved in a project dedicated to neonatal intensive care, a difficult and delicate context but that gave her great satisfaction: “The opening of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was welcomed with great joy and enthusiasm by the local staff who also saw it as an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and competencies. In fact, 10 out of 13 nurses spent a month in Addis Ababa for a training course. This meant that the 3 remaining nurses took shifts to cover their colleagues. It’s about an intense and dedicated teamwork that could also be felt in the everyday life within the ward. We faced a very difficult case of a little girl, born in a very poor family context, with a severe facial malformation” – continues Eleonora -. “The unexpected pathology of the child forced her mother to stay in the hospital for 3 weeks, causing her further concern because in the meantime she had left her other 6-year-old son with her neighbour and she did not know how to tell them she was still in the hospital. Incredibly it was her neighbour who showed up at Wolisso Hospital to ask after her. The nurses of the ward were so impressed by this case that they decided to collect some money to allow the neighbour to take care of the child while the mother had to look after the little newborn. ”

Covid-19 has upset our daily life, has limited our movements, forcing us to re-evaluate everything around us. Eleonora had already begun to study Portuguese and the projects in Beira to prepare for her scheduled departure for Mozambique, but due to the very strict closure of the borders she had to change program and destination and she arrived in Wolisso, in Ethiopia.

“The first impact with Ethiopia was particular, despite having already worked in Africa and more precisely in Uganda, I realized how different this new context was from both a cultural and professional point of view. From my previous experiences, I’ve learned that the ‘best’ way to settle down is to be humble, to listen, without ever losing yourself, keeping the awareness that you are in a different context, respecting it and trying to create positive relationships” says Eleonora.

By working in various countries in Africa, we get closer to the great plurality of this continent and the immense cultural diversity within it. This is also experienced in the health and medical fields: “In Uganda I had the impression there was a greater “resignation” towards the newborn with a pathology – Eleonora says -. The name, for example, is not given immediately at birth but after some time because the perception of the risk of losing the baby is very high. In Ethiopia, however, the attachment to the newborn seems much stronger from the very first moment even though resources are still very limited “.

Being “with” Africa is also this, understanding it in all its facets and working alongside operators and the local population to take care of everyone even in the last mile.

The daily commitment and dedicated work of Eleonora and the team of the NICU of the Wolisso Hospital is part of the “Newborn Survival Project: quality and innovation for greater access to neonatal care”, supported by the Agency Italian for Development Cooperation.

 

Photo credits: Andrea Frazzetta

A kit for leaving no one behind

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

25 kilos of rice, 5 liters of oil, salt, in addition to soap for laundry and for personal hygiene, a bucket and facemasks: that’s what makes the difference between being protected or remaining exposed to the risk of contagion. It is assured by Doctors with Africa CUAMM which is firmly engaged in an emergency intervention, with the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, in the refugee camps of Nguenyyiel, Tierkidi and Jewi in Gambella region, in Ethiopia, in order to reduce the risk of the Covid-19 spread.

The only Nguenyyiel camp hosts more than 91,000 thousand refugees who fled South Sudan because of the civil war. It is therefore a very fragile context that may collapse with the escalation of the epidemic. The available resources are limited, but the essential goal remains to secure the most vulnerable. Therefore, with the collaboration of a local partner, a “mapping” operation has begun within the camp to identify refugees with disabilities and to be able to distribute them emergency kits.

«People with disabilities get through many difficulties especially in participating in the distribution of basic necessities and materials that normally occur in the camp, due to their physical condition. This is why we decided to organize the activity inside the CUAMM compound, thanks also to the help of 15 community activists who mobilized people to participate in the distribution – says Daniel, project operator for CUAMM -. So far, we have delivered 1,000 sanitary kits and in the coming days we will deliver 1,400 more to refugees with disabilities residing in other areas of the camp».

This activity also extends to the Itang Woreda where about a hundred mothers, whose children are beneficiaries of a program to combat malnutrition, received the kit. «Each mother received 25 kg of rice, 5 liters of oil, salt, as well as soap for laundry and personal hygiene, a bucket and a mask in washable fabric – says Abdisa, CUAMM project assistant -. In addition, 200 people who were affected by the recent floods in the region, also received the sanitary kits».

Protecting the most vulnerable is crucial to overcome current challenges in those contexts made even more fragile by the pandemic of Covid-19 that is affecting everyone, in Italy as in Africa. Doctors with Africa CUAMM works in Africa to ensure the access to healthcare until the last mile, which is not only physical but also a condition experienced by many people in their most extreme vulnerability.