In the Amuru District in Northern Uganda, bordering South Sudan, nurses are in very short supply. Sr. Florence Drijaru is one of the few available nurses to care for the sick. In fact, Sr. Florence works in a clinic that consists of consists of herself and one other nurse. Together they are the cleaners, clinicians, dispensers, accountants and health educators from Monday to Saturday.
It is difficult for the clinic to afford staff for two reasons; (1) it is a very small health center and (2) many of the patients cannot afford to pay for treatment.
When Sr. Florence first began her SLDI education through ASEC she knew that it would make an impact on her life and work but she never imagined how big the impact would be.
When she began working at the clinic, Sr. Florence learned that she would have to do much more than care for patients. She would also have to care for the activities on the clinic’s account. However, there was a big problem.
“I had little knowledge about accounts,” said Sr. Florence.
Sr. Florence took this challenge head on and persevered. Thanks to Sr. Florence’s commitment and the education supplied by ASEC her trouble with managing the account is now a thing the past. She can now:
- Keep records of accounts
- Spend in an organized way
- Evaluate the accounts by looking at income and expenditures
Sr. Florence has now taken the knowledge in money management that she got from ASEC and has used it to help mobilize the clinic’s resources. She has been able to buy the clinic drugs that are so expensive that Government Hospitals are not able to provide for the patients.
Although Sr. Florence was able to help the clinic improve their finances, the ultimate test came for Sr. Florence when a mother brought in her three month old baby with a 103 degree fever. The baby had Malaria. For a child this young to have Malaria the ending is usually grim.
However, Sr. Florence immediately gave first aid tepid sponging to reduce the child’s fever. Once the fever went down, she was able to counsel the mother on how she would be able to better care for the child in its condition.
“The knowledge I got from ASEC is what helped me to counsel the mother and encourage her to finish the child’s treatment,” said Sr. Florence. “Therefore, I was able to educate the mother on health in a more efficient way.”
There are no easy days for Sr. Florence. She works hard to care for those who are sick. She does this while she cares for the clinic that opens their doors for these sick patients. However, she always perseveres. She always finds it in her heart to keep going.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
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