A new Type of Nursing

Ok so we really only taught one class each, then we actually peaced outta Mongu for the next week! Now I know everyone is thinking that it sounds like all we do is go on these little ‘roadtrips’, but this one was also related to school. Let’s just say it was for our professional development, because we headed off with our fellow teaching colleagues to research other schools of nursing in Zambia.
But first to give you a little more information, Lewanika School of Nursing has decided to apply to the General Nursing Council of Zambia to bring the registered nurse program to their facility (currently they only have a diploma course being offered over 2 years). So that is the reason the school decided to travel to Chikankata and Livingstone school’s of nursing to see how they have made the transition from certificate to diploma nursing programs. So on Tuesday the plan was to leave early at 5 am. Oh but wait..we are in Africa and nothing goes to plan here! So then we were told 10 am would be better. So we go to the school with our bags ready to go….and we waited. As we keep clock watching, 3pm roles around and we still aren’t gone. We discover they are fixing our vehicle, so it is decided that it would be best to leave at midnight …so at 10pm we leave. TIA (this is Africa my friends)!

So at first the ride is fun, all 11 of us plus the fish and baby are all crammed in together. This was good timing for us to be going on this trip since all of the instructors at Lewanika School of Nursing came. This was the perfect chance to get to know each other better. As we leave Mongu we are all having fun.singing and laughing..but then it starts to get cold, really cold. Yes it is shocking, but in Zambia right now it is so cold here at night. As usual I did not prepare for the cold..and begin to freeze…with only about an hour into the trip. This was the beginning of the longest trip of my life!!! So here we are driving through the african night…I am trying to sleep but have nowhere to put my head. But again I improvised and used my purse as my pillow (although fish juice leaked on it and it sure didn’t smell very nice) So now I am shivering with my head resting on my fishy purse. There is really no room to move, so I end up staying in that one position for hours on end. My butt is still recovering ..I may have developed a pressure sore from this trip from the lack of movement. The best part was when the baby was lying on me, because she kept me warm!

It really is that cold...And of course we did not pack right again, but we kept warm with the help of our friends, Jessica give me some of that blanket!

Jessica missed a few details…At first we shared the purse as a pillow. It was very cute and I think the others were talking about us. It seemed like we were the only ones in need of sleep. Those Zambians just went on for hours. I’m not going to lie, we both felt like we were going to die and we wanted to go home at this point (we mean home to Canada). But we pulled through and arrived at Chikankata in the morning. We had 30 minutes to freshen up and have a QUICK nap before the hospital/school tour. Our colleagues were very concerned about whether we were comfortable. They are very considerate and cared for us unbelievably well throughout this trip. The hospital and school tour was amazing. Chikankata is town that seems to be located in the middle of no where, yet it has surpassed the resources and training of Lewanika. This doesn’t make sense as Lewanika is located in the capital of Western Province, therefore should have more resources than a smaller, more rural town. Chikankata had new equipment, newer buildings, and the infrastructure wasn’t falling apart or broken. (Like most of Lewanika)
Chikankata Hospital with the help of Salvation Army.

One of the things I noticed was how the Chikankata Hospital and the School of Nursing are also funded by the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army is a large supporter…which is why they are doing much better than Lewanika. Our school is funded strictly by the government, and that is just not enough right now. I guess the lesson I learned was the Government = no money, while Internationally Funded Groups = lots of money. Ok back to the story… So in the morning after a looooooooooong and wonderful sleep we headed off to Livingstone! I was so excited because I do really love this city. This drive only took 8 hours, and the road was only terrible for about 2 of those hours. On the way we saw about 3 car accidents, all large trucks that crashed because they were overloaded with too many materials. No one was hurt thank goodness, but they were all very lucky. Once we got to Livingstone we went straight to work and toured the nursing school there. Again this school is much further ahead than Lewanika. There are many areas in training, human resources, and infrastructure where Lewanika has to be improved. My opinion on gaining funding from non-governmental sources was further strengthened when we toured Livingstone, as they have received funding from the Clinton Foundation and African Debt Bank for improvements in their school and hospital.

I am so worried, look at my face, it is a wonder no one was hurt.

My heart raced every time I saw one of those semi trucks laying on its side. Everytime I thought, ‘this is it Lianne you could see some bad stuff here.’ Luckily no one was injured, but I hated the thought about what was going to happen to the poor driver who was now either out of a job or in debt to the South African Company shipping goods to Congo. Regardless it was good to be back in Livingstone. I though right on; we were finally in a town that was familiar to us. After visiting a few guest houses we “found one” that was safe enough for us to stay in (I was not lying when I said they were protective). We easily could have stayed in a cheaper hostel with no complaints, but our hosts wanted us to be comfortable. We dined out one night at our favorite restaurant, a little vegetarian place on the main street. It is run by this sweet old man and the place has a “Nelson” feel to it. There is a library and a gift shop inside, and we sat on cushions around an African table. The food is phenomenal. When we finished we went next door to a restaurant where there was a local performance happening. We had just sat down when we were grabbed by two of the dancers to go dancing on stage with a large group of other Mizungu’s (white people). Jessica and I were the first two picked to dance. I feel bad for everyone else that had to follow our awesome dance moves!