The beating of drums, nearby explosions, random flashes of light. You would think we’re in a battlefield but no, this is the average experience during the Sierra Leone rainy season. The heavy rain set the stage for a gloomy day. Exhausted, everyone but Zavier went to the breakfast room, chowing down their first meal of the day. What was supposed to be an 8:30 departure turned to 10:00. Our first destination? Holy Spirit Hospital. When arriving at our destination, we were able to find our translator, Randolph. As usual, his shoes were on point. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to demo our device to Holy Spirit, but we were able to set up a date to demo our device on Tuesday for 1 PM. 

 

We then went back to World Hope, where we set up plans for the rest of the day. Sofía, Rachel, Eric, Elif, and Randolph had sights on Makeni Regional Hospital while Omar and Aabi planned to go to the Midwifery School to demo AISHA. While at the midwifery school with Khanjan Mehta, Omar and Aabi were met with warm welcomes. The school was very interested in our device and we had the privilege to go into their simulation room and test. They were able to get AISHA Answers working… until the wifi completely cut out. For about 20 minutes, they had to wait until they could get internet access from the school itself. Now dealing with power issues, the Alexa wasn’t working, but they kept pushing. Finally, a working demo. Aabi was able to showcase a couple questions before the power became a problem again. Regardless of the issues we faced, the usefulness of our product was shown and the instructor was thoroughly impressed. She gave valuable feedback on the device and seems to be open to keeping it for a test pilot, which is perfect considering they have internet connectivity, power, and their own IT guy that can learn how to use and set up our device. Afterwards, they went back to world hope, where Aabi worked on coding and Omar went to the local Mosque to pray Jummah prayer, a first for him, praying in another country. 

 

Sofia, Elif, Eric, and Rachel were at Makeni Regional Hospital, shadowing nurses. Nurse Fatamta of the Nutrition Ward and Nurse Fanta of the Reproductive Health ward. They were able to see how they work and what their daily lives at the hospital were like. They saw all the contraceptives they used and Sofia and Elif were able to see 5 patients and the procedures they went under. While doing this, they were able to learn some cultural issues with certain contraceptives, emphasizing the point of awareness on these important health topics that we try to educate about. Rachel was able to learn about what the malnutrition ward makes to treat the patients and even tried it, noting that it tasted quite good and was sweet. She was also able to learn about the various medications used, dosages, and the lack of supply for important drugs. She then handed out biscuits to the patients in the hospital, who took them with joy and were very thankful. It was a very valuable learning experience for the team at the Regional Hospital, and they are excited to learn more tomorrow. 

 

Team Highlights

Omar → Praying at the mosque with Jawara, first time in another country 

Zavier → Gaining experience handwashing

Eric → The pouring rain 

Elif → Ditto Sofia 

Rachel → Making everyone happy when giving them biscuits

Aabi → Went to Midwifery school and saw the simulation lab and computer lab 

Sofía → Learning about the different contraceptives and the cultural stigmas of each.  

 

Team Rating: 2.52/5