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Solidarity
Summer 2002
07/13/2002
Guinea Bissau:
The activities of the surgery for children
The activities of the temporary surgery for children at the R.Follereau-Community of Sant'Egidio Hospital began on July 8th. Some European doctors will work there together with Guinea doctors and nurses: they will visit and start the therapies for about 1500 children.
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This
year the temporary surgery for children looks very different,
as it is hosted in the rooms of the R.
Follereau � Comunit� di Sant�Egidio Hospital,
that have been recently restructured.
There are four big rooms: in the first one, in two positions,
we visit the patients. I the second one we hand out drugs and
in the third we give nutritional aid to the undernourished
children.
We are 8 from Europe � 4 doctors and 4 engaged in other
activities of support to the projects.
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There are also with us Saleh, Tchuna �who is the chief nurse of the hospital -, Maria da Costa, Etelvina, Ana, Sajuma and other. They are doctors and nurses who work in the hospital and followed our training course last winter (LINK).
They were looking forward helping us. They help us very much indeed and also do the translations. The official language in Guinea is criollo, but many people know just their own traditional language: Balanta, Fula, Mandinca, Pepel, Mancanha.
It was like if they were waiting for us. When we opened the surgery, the first day, more than 80 mothers arrived with their children. In the following days about 150 people per day arrived. They wait patiently for hours. We try to visit everybody, but sometimes we give an appointment for the following day to prevent them from waiting till late in the afternoon. In the first days people arrived only from the city, but now the word passed on and some people arrived on foot from the villages after a many hours walk.
Some children were in serious conditions of malnutrition and dehydration. These are the most widespread pathologies, together with the infectious and dermatological diseases.
 We devoted much attention to the problem of malnutrition. In fact, after last year�s experience, we reinforced this aspect of our activity and we will be able to help a greater number of undernourished children.
The more seriously ill children stay in the room of the nutritional centre all the day long with their mothers and eat our �soup�, that is prepared according to a precise formula that gives the children the protein, vitamin, mineral salts, sugar requirements in great quantity and in a easily absorbable manner.
The children who need surgical interventions will be included in the program of co-operation with the Region Veneto to be operated at the Policlinico of Padova.
Fabio
Riccardi
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