A Rose In The Desert


A ROSE IN THE DESERT

By Jeremy Leariwala

History has it that on 13th April 1969 Padre Della Consolata founded a 38 beds capacity hospital at the foot of a mountain in a place called Wamba. He put it under the management of one Dr. Silvio Prandoni (A specialist in tropical diseases) supported by Consolata Sisters as the nurses; nursing and caring for the sick has always been more of a calling, a devotion and a sacrifice, just like evangelism. He named it Wamba Catholic Hospital. The purpose of the hospital was simply to provide access to quality healthcare for all who needed it, regardless of their economic status. The immediate beneficiary was the nomadic pastoralist of those years, but the facility, through fund raising acquired medical equipments and medicine, grew to be a de-facto referral hospital with a 200 beds capacity, unrivalled quality service and an airstrip to be used by the flying doctors when the need arose.

Wamba Catholic Hospital and Dr. Silvio Prandoni became the hope of the vulnerable herders who roamed the arid north frontier back then. To the pastoralist children, the name Prandoni was equated to the characters met in their traditional folklores and myths. Narrations of the cases he handled baffled everyone and referrals to him were believed to be a last, and sometimes the only, option. The facility never let its patients down. It grew and expanded to a level 4 hospital, gradually acquiring a new name: The Rose in the Desert! This is because of the higher number of services and interventions it could offer. The challenges facing the pastoralists grew too and in the mid 1980s when I suffered a mysterious illness everyone feared it was only Dr. Prandoni who would treat me. The first challenge was to stabilize my condition, then get me out of the bush.

Many things have changed since that time and a few days ago I met someone crying out for help on the social media. To him The Rose in the Desert is crumbling down and dying. So loud was his cry that it felt like the ‘pastoralists’ refuge would be no more if no one comes to its help.

***

Providing quality healthcare services is a challenge almost everywhere. The Rose in the Desert worked tirelessly to address this issue for over four decades now in/with the support of the government. While the guy crying for the hospital’s help pointed at its old structures and some equipment, the history and the experience gathered over the years in service can never be ignored. The tested and proven systems of the hospital are an ‘asset’ without forgetting its support units like its own community nursing school plus the complementing catholic dispensaries at the local parishes.

Dr. Prandoni aged and graciously retired. The hospital transitioned into the hands of new managers. Several other stakeholders also moved into the health service environment that was served by Wamba Catholic Hospital. Their main objective: to address the challenges facing our ever growing population that needs to be self reliant and a master of its own destiny. Devolution on the other hand saw the creation of new health centres situated closer to the people coupled with equipping and expansion of the existing ones.

With this increase in the number of health centres there was going to be a rise in the demand for nurses and other health practitioners. This might have led to the exodus of valuable personnel looking for greener pastures and it is the old hospitals like Wamba Catholic Hospital that suffer. Establishment of new and equipped facilities, the exit of the founders like Dr. Prandoni and probably withdrawal of sponsors would automatically affect an historical institution like Wamba Catholic Hospital. This is because the hospital is now in a new environment and it will need some time to fully adjust into it.

***

In the mid 1980s, natural herbs were administered to stabilize my condition. A donkey ferried me to our nearest health centre for proper treatment. But a few months ago a friend of mine drove a brand new ambulance that had been acquired by one of the ingenious programs, aimed at tackling problems facing pregnant women, named ‘Linda Mama Initiative’. Inside that ambulance he had a pastoralist who was to guide him through the bushes in order to evacuate an expectant mother to that same health centre in our town. The time was just a few minutes to midnight and it was raining. That powerful ambulance cut through streams and slippery paths for close to an hour before the crew realized that they were lost, surrounded by water, darkness and wildlife. The driver could not trace his way back to the main road or to the village where the woman waited in labour. Another group had to rescue them first.

For the sake of synergy, systems succeed by complimenting each other! The upcoming new health centres and hospitals, once completed, will reduce the burden carried by The Rose in the Desert thus making it the referral facility for specialised cases only. This is because age and experience often leads to maturity. And there is a strong relationship between wisdom and experience & maturity both combined.

Once that man’s cry is answered, I know Wamba Catholic Hospital will be shining like the rose it is. It will have upgraded machines, equipment and any other support needed to face the challenges of this day’s world. The state-of-the-art ambulances in the hospital will be fitted with the necessary technologies like GPS systems to ease navigation among others. Long Live The Rose in the Desert!

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