Gambian
hospital | | Helping
to make a difference in Gambia |
Gambia has become a popular
holiday destination that can provide all the trappings Western tourists want.
Thirteen years ago Anita Smith, a Northamptonshire woman, went there on
a luxury holiday. She and her husband took a trip into the Bush and her
life changed forever.
Her visit took her to the remote town of Bansang
- where she saw the hospital.
Anita was so appalled at conditions at the
hospital that her mission to improve things has taken over her life: "Entering
those wards was the turning point of my life聟 "The children have
been the driving force. In the early days I hadn't the courage to go to parts
of the ward. "Then I realised that no-one else was going to speak
up for them. Nobody else was going to do it."
Dying
children | HEALTH PROVISION | |
The
Gambia is situated on the West African coast. One and a half million people live
there. They rely on three government run hospitals for health care.
Life
expectancy is 54 years (men) and 57 years (women). Bansang Hospital is situated
in the African bush, 200 miles from the coast. It is a small 160 bed facility
built by the British in 1938. The hospital provides for the health needs
of 600,000 Gambians. Extra pressure comes with the arrival of patients from Senegal,
Mali, Guinea and refugees from Sierra Leone. Successive Governments have
tried to offer the health service as much resources as possible. But the economy
just does not generate enough money to satisfy demands.
Source: Bansang
Hospital Appeal and UN. |
One in four children in the Gambia
die before their fifth birthday. It was with this statistic in her mind
that Anita began a campaign to open a new children's ward. Once open it
will be the only one of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. It's been entirely
funded by public donation.
The new 80 bed ward is due to open in March
2006. But that won't be the end. Anita is already working on the
next phases - including a programme to keep trained nurses in the Gambia. Tempted
by higher wages and better living conditions, 60 per cent of Gambians leave to
work in the UK. This is stripping the country of desperately needed expertise.
Anita will be working with the Gambians to address this problem. Journey
of hope Inside Out accompanied Anita Smith in November 2005 as she made
one of the final trips before the opening of the new facilities.
This
is a story of how a local community here, with Anita's leadership, is enabling
a community in the developing world.  | | Woman
with a mission - Anita Smith |
There have been 13 years of challenges
to come this far. Now as well as ensuring the hospital opens, Anita needs
to ensure it will sustain in the long term. We meet Oope Badjie - a Gambian
Play nurse. She's sponsored by the charity to help kids recover. She'll
run the new playroom when it opens. She and others are sponsored so they
stay and work in the Gambia rather than leave for the UK for higher wages. Generous
support The people of Northamptonshire have supported the charity whole
heartedly, both by giving money and equipment as well as direct help.
Kettering
General Hospital is even twinned with Bansang! Dr Annabel Kerr is just
one person who's helped. She was working at Kettering General Hospital,
and is herself fighting cancer. She is now spending the next two years
working at Bansang.
"You can", she says, "make a small
difference". Personal stories And of course there are
the stories of local people in the Gambia. Like Alargie, a young man from
a local village.
Anita brought him to Northampton to have a prosthetic
leg fitted.
But amputation carries a huge stigma in The Gambia.
So
Alargie has kept his new leg a secret.  | | Hospital
sign showing support from Kettering Hospital |
Everyone - except
his immediate family - think that he has had a miracle and that his leg has re-grown.
He would have been an outcast - but now he's working at the hospital and
helping in his village. The new ward should open soon. Volunteers
in Northamptonshire helped with the plans. The building work was done by
the local community - with more than 7,500 bricks being made from a single brick
mould. But even when the new ward opens this spring, Anita hasn't finished聟
"That's phase 1 - look out for phase two and three", she says
excitedly. How you can help:
If you would like to make a donation
or provide support, you can contact the appeal at: Bansang Hospital Appeal,
PO Box 7121, Kettering, NN16 6BL
(till July 06) or visit . Links relating to this story:The 成人快手 is not
responsible for the content of external websites | 
听听Inside
Out - East Midlands: Monday February 6, 2006
