Down with TB…
Saturday, 14 August 2010 …and up with community medicine!
Dr Aida Goncalves, Project Manager for community based health project. Photo © Basil Rolandsen (bouvetmedia.com)It was a beautiful drive all along the coast of Liquica, lunch at Loess with katupa, fish, and dried banana, then off the beaten path on and on to Asu Lao. This is Dr Aida's project and here she is in her element going strong.
We put a cast on a one month old's club foot as community lay midwife organized pregnant women from all six surrounding villages. Our Gas Porto collaborators took advantage of the positive dynamic and soon villagers were down on the floor drawing maps showing each household.
This is popular participation and community empowerment as it should be done. It is beautiful to behold… TB monitors will be chosen and the recalcitrant tubercle will try to regroup.
As we were about to leave an elderly peasant arrived with a 6 cm 2 yr old wart like lesion on his leg. TB dermatitis. Treatment initiated we wearily wound our way back to Dili by way of Gleno and Samaleten. A job well done!
Dr Dan Murphy is the head physician at Bairo Pite Clinic
Dr Aida examining patients in the remote Betupu village. Photo © Basil Rolandsen (bouvetmedia.com)