As I think back to the month I spent in Uganda helping GRI’s Malaria Program, I recognize the importance of equipping and empowering local people to prevent diseases. During the program, the GRI staff, the GRI Medics and I traveled to ten villages in northern Uganda. I was overwhelmed at times by the amount of people encircling me in the villages. Multiple adults were competing for our attention due to their concern for their children and the lack of access to quality healthcare. They wanted their voices to be heard. Whether it was a child in respiratory distress, a child with convulsions, or a child with jaundice, adults with sick children were constantly surrounding me. All of these children showed signs of malaria, a disease that is easily preventable.
In each village, 200-400 people would gather to be a part of these new services offered by GRI’s Malaria Initiative. Women and men of all ages listened intently to the FMRs who taught about malaria prevention. A pregnant woman from Anyomolyec stood out from the crowd when she voiced that she had slept under mosquito nets her whole life and she had never once been infected with malaria. She is unique among her community, since the majority of her peers do not own or use mosquito nets. It is clear to me that there is a need to spread awareness about malaria in this part of the world.
On graduation day, 25 Ugandan men and women, GRI certificates in their hands and backpacks full of medical supplies on their shoulders, smiled proudly. They had spent the entire month of June devoting their time and energy to studying malaria. They learned about the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of this disease. The medics have a deep cultural awareness, which allows them to understand the barriers to malaria prevention within their villages. They are now equipped with the tools they need to fight malaria. It’s rewarding for me to see them passionately serving their people and helping to eradicate the disease in northern Uganda.
-Denise
Denise Vidas is a Physician's Assistant working in Denver. She spent the month of June training 25 medics for GRI's first round of Global Refuge's Malaria Initiative in Northern Uganda.
In each village, 200-400 people would gather to be a part of these new services offered by GRI’s Malaria Initiative. Women and men of all ages listened intently to the FMRs who taught about malaria prevention. A pregnant woman from Anyomolyec stood out from the crowd when she voiced that she had slept under mosquito nets her whole life and she had never once been infected with malaria. She is unique among her community, since the majority of her peers do not own or use mosquito nets. It is clear to me that there is a need to spread awareness about malaria in this part of the world.
On graduation day, 25 Ugandan men and women, GRI certificates in their hands and backpacks full of medical supplies on their shoulders, smiled proudly. They had spent the entire month of June devoting their time and energy to studying malaria. They learned about the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of this disease. The medics have a deep cultural awareness, which allows them to understand the barriers to malaria prevention within their villages. They are now equipped with the tools they need to fight malaria. It’s rewarding for me to see them passionately serving their people and helping to eradicate the disease in northern Uganda.
-Denise
Denise Vidas is a Physician's Assistant working in Denver. She spent the month of June training 25 medics for GRI's first round of Global Refuge's Malaria Initiative in Northern Uganda.
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