We currently work in seven locations around the world and like to talk to students in depth about each destination before they make a decision – this way they can work out which placement is most suited to them. So the question we chose to ask the houses this week is “Why did you choose to do your placement in the destination you’re in?”

A Sri Lankan beach

Julie in Sri Lanka had already visited Asia and “loved the cultural atmosphere. So I chose Sri Lanka over Africa. Plus I was travelling alone and I could get a direct flight to Sri Lanka”

Delano is half Sri Lankan “So I decided it was time to revisit this beautiful island and to meet more of its people. I’ve been to Kandy before but was curious to see its hospital and experience healthcare in Asia”, Aqilah added “I wanted to meet other students and get the chance to travel with them.”

And finally Rhiannon heard it was “a beautiful island and compact enough to travel around in a month plus for me it was the most cost effective. The combination of beaches and mountains makes me very happy!”

In Mwanza, Sarah decided on Tanzania after studying the WTW website in depth.  Our summer placements get snapped up really early, “Originally I wanted to go to Dar es Salaam but the programme was full.  After reading through the case studies I decided that Mwanza was the place to be. I wanted to experience healthcare in different setting to the UK and this placement gave the opportunity to see secondary healthcare (Bugando) and Primary rural (Bukumbi). Plus I got to do safari and visit beautiful Zanzibar.”

Bukumbi Hospital in Mwanza

Cheron Li knew that she wanted to visit Mwanza from the start. “I wanted more of a rural placement and Mwanza is much smaller than Dar, also Lake Victoria looked beautiful! I had always wanted to visit Africa, go on safari and see the ‘big 5’ in real life”

Caitlin was another safari fan “Africa had been on my hitlist for a long time and I finally got to go. I wanted a healthcare experience completely different to England and after reading the case studies decided on Mwanza. It looked so pretty and we managed to tie in visits to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater”

Sheona told us “My friend Mark had already booked for Dar es Salaam so I booked too. I so wanted to visit Zanzibar!” Isabel felt the same after watching a TV programme about Africa that touched on Tanzania and it’s tropical neighbour, Zanzibar “plus I thought I would never have chance to go Tanzania any other time.”

Diving off Zanzibar

Humza heard about our programme in Tanzania through past students. “Some friends of mine came to Tanzania with work the world 2 years ago and strongly recommended it. Since the people are so friendly and the placement is very enjoyable.”

“I chose Dar because I have always wanted to go to Tanzania and I wanted to do a surgical placement and thought that Dar would be best for this,” said Patrick. Hannah added “I read the case studies on the website and liked the sound of the hospital placements. I liked the fact that Muhimbili is attached to a University and that there would be plenty of opportunities for helping to deliver babies at Amana. Plus the swimming pool at the house really appealed to me!”

Aaron came to Nepal on his friend’s recommendation. “Two of my friends came to Nepal through Work the World last year and they insisted I go.”

Poon Hill Trek, Nepal

Whereas Rosie had travelled to India before and said “since Nepal is a neighbouring country I figured it would be less daunting and less of a culture shock.” She did think about Africa and Argentina too but thought Nepal would be safer and the nurses from Hertfordshire felt the same. It was Becky’s idea and Lisa, Alex and Adele hopped on the bandwagon. Becky told us “I had been to Africa before so Nepal was the obvious choice plus I wanted to see the famous Himalayas.” Lisa mentioned lot of her friends back home didn’t even know where Nepal was “…they kept asking if I was going to Naples in Italy!”

Over in Ghana Tom reported “I knew I was going to come to Africa but my mind was not made up about exactly which country I was going to go.” He wanted to go to somewhere warm and through the recommendation of a friend who had travelled across Africa he decided on Ghana. “It is safe and the people are lovely.” David’s reasons for choosing Ghana was on the recommendation from a medical student who visited Ghana with Work the World last summer “even as a second year student, James told me he had an excellent hands-on experience and an amazing time exploring the variety of attractions in the country.” That was exactly what he wanted as a second year student.

Ghanaian Friends

Nat and Tiggy chose Ghana because of the language. To them communication is crucial to understanding the system and staff, “English being the official language of the nation was a definite selling point”…Joe, our Programme Manager in Ghana added “And if you love nice beaches like Eleanor, you will understand how the proximity of the WTW house to the beautiful beaches in Takoradi played a role in deciding on Ghana as her placement destination.”

Josefina, the Assistant Programme Manager in Argentina, says she always likes to ask students this same question when they arrive! “They tend to agree on two things,” she says. “Firstly, most of them have never been to South America before, so by doing their placement in Argentina they see a perfect opportunity to come visit and get to know a lot more about the South American culture, sights and traditions.  They usually come to Argentina to do their placement and then travel to other countries such as Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Peru (Machu Picchu is a must stop!). And, secondly, they all want to improve their Spanish, regardless of their level of skill, and think that travelling to a Spanish-speaking country is the best way of doing it.”

Neighbouring Bolivia

This is what happened to Lucy, a medical student from Wales who is visiting Argentina for the second time. “I first came to Mendoza three years ago and absolutely loved it but spoke almost no Spanish at that time. Ever since then, I’ve been studying the language and now that I’ve become quite good at it I thought it was the perfect time to come and put it into practice”. So far, Lucy’s Spanish has improved dramatically. She is now able to make her way around with ease and speaks Spanish 24 hours a day!

If you ever have any questions about the destinations and what is on offer just give us a call and we’ll be happy to chat through your options.

Often students tell us of rare and tropical diseases that they’ve only read about in the past.  Whether it be the treatment of patients, unseen diseases or progressed pathologies, an overseas placement is both fascinating and a great learning environment. We have asked this question a few times but we always get some really interesting answers… What has been your clinical highlight this week?

Zebras are brilliant!

Of course I am going to talk about safari…… “Bright Visit” was the safari company I used. The coordinator and cook were impeccable and we had so many breathtaking experiences. I had the opportunity to visit Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro crater. All three were amazing and filled with lots of wildlife – they were a beauty I can not put in words.

Following this trip I never had much liking to zebras, but after seeing them feet away from the jeep, I can honestly say that these animals are one of the most beautiful mammals on the planet. An elephant came into our campsite, drank from the water bucket, and sauntered away, probably mumbling “Kichaa Mzungu” (Crazy White people) as we hurried to grab photos with it in the background. This experience and more is what lies ahead for you.

Mount Kilimanjaro is another one not to miss. I went with Bright Visit again (also dubbed “mount kill me”) and can truly say it was a once in a life time experience- because I will only do it once! That in no way is because of a negative experience, just that it pushed me further than I ever thought possible and my reserve is all worn out. The summit is like being in a new dimension. Seeing glaciers to my left while the sun rose to my right was enough to bring tears. The tears also flowed because I was tired, nauseous, weak, hungry and thirsty too, but more importantly I was in awe at myself for the perseverance

Kili - one of the hardest challenges of my life

I showed to make it to the top. This experience is one I hope everyone tries. You don’t have to make it to the top, the importance of the climb is pushing yourself, a lesson many never achieve.

There is so much to do around Arusha, but if you want the beaches then you need to travel. I went to Zanzibar and it was everything I expected. White sand beach, hot blazing sun, and unforgettable sunsets. If you have the opportunity, take it. My only tip is don’t hold the monkey on the leash- it is not nice despite what the man says, and when it bites you, don’t give him 10000 TSH even if he tells you that you must! Instead, check out the spice tour and stone town. Go snorkeling and scuba diving and relax on the beach; if you work hard at the hospital you totally deserve some selfish sunbathing.

Finally, the only advice I wish to leave you with is to literally jump, leap, and bound to these amazing opportunities that await you. This is more than a medical placement; this is a life changing opportunity and one that can forever impact your future. Do anything and everything you can, from climbing a mountain, being bit by a monkey, to eating raw goat kidney. Your Tanzanian life awaits you. Have fun, play safe. And remember, this is Africa.

Thank you Work the World for makes my time in Africa so special and unforgettable!

Arriving on ferry to Dar

The move was quite a mission! 6 lorries and several ferry trips were needed, so Dave flew over to Dar to help Majenda and Baptista. “Apart from a small problem with the ferries – in that they were closed for the public holidays at the exact time we had planned to transport all the furniture over – everything went like clockwork (well African clockwork anyway!) and for a few days we were truly on the move!”

It was important to us that all of the locally handcrafted furniture was transported from Zanzibar as we had put a lot of effort into getting it created for the Zanzibar house when it first opened. We always use local carpenters and furniture makers and they in turn utilise local materials – the chairs, tables and beds really are a product of the local area.

Dar house, moving in day!

As with all moving days, the hard workers ended up kicking back with a beer… in this case accompanied by a plate of pig.  Dave told us that “after one particularly stressful day frantically mobilizing plumbers, electricians, carpenters, gardeners and a pool cleaners, Majenda and Baptista decided to introduce me to “Kiti moto” at Didi’s, one of the local bars round the corner from the house. This is a big plate of deep fried pork to share, and has to be one of the least healthy but best tasting things I’ve eaten in a while. Kiti moto literally translates from Swahili as “hot chair” – apparently a reference to the way pigs sit! Enjoying this local specialty under the trees with an ice cold Kilimanjaro beer to the sound of Bongo Flava music from Didi’s huge P.A. system was perfect way to unwind.”

Unfortunately for the boys, they had to be back on the case the next morning. Majenda told us that “after all the furniture arrived its was a lot of work to make sure that everything was put in place before the students arrived – the rooms and the house in general had to be ready for use. Thanks to great staff, who are so helpful and committed to their work, we were able to re-arrange all the items in the house quickly and everything is in operation as I’m writing this statement!”

Students LOVE the pool!

It was a relief that everything was ready for students arrivals, and although there were a couple of teething problems with the house, Majenda and Baptista assured me that for Tanzania everything had gone very well indeed and the new arrivals were soaking up the sun by our swimming pool after a day’s work in the hospital. “Students love the pool, which is one of the great things about the Dar house. You have to see it to believe it! The BBQ place is just by the pool and it is going to make BBQ Thursday extra special here. It’s gonna be more fun, interesting and a life experience to live and work from this house!“

Now that we are a week in, it has been really interesting to hear back from Majenda and the students about how they are finding the local area. Although we make sure we pick a good spot when we set up the house, and back in January when I was in Tanzania I stayed in Oyster Bay and loved it, you never really know which bits are going to become favourite haunts. In Arusha they all love Via Via and in Lake Victoria it’s the Container Pub. Dave has high hopes for Didi’s but at the moment the students are keeping their options open, checking out the local beaches, shopping centre and bars. One of the things I really liked about Oyster Bay is that you feel a million miles from Dar, but can still benefit from amazing transport links. The students are planning to go on safari one weekend during their stay, which most people would assume you couldn’t do in Dar. As with the other Work the World programmes in Tanzania, it is possible to arrange to be collected from the house by the safari company and driven straight out of the city and then onto the plains! Baptista tells us “I am from the central part of Tanzania and for me the safari in the South and centre is the best in the country. All the tourists go to the big safari parks in the North, so the parks here are much quieter and feel more wild”.

We have high hopes for the new programme so watch this space! For more information about the electives and placements available, click on the link.

Nicole's question!

This week, our office manager Nicole had a question for the different houses….

“What do the students get up to during their weekends?”

Poon Hill trek

Sunil was the first to come back with the lowdown on the two Nepal students – Sundeap said that “at home we would normally just hang out with friends, but in Nepal we always make set plans. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t and so we just go with the flow!”. Rosie added that “the most exciting trip so far was our trip to the peace pagoda on the other side of the lake. It was amazing, but we didn’t realise how long we had been there. At 7pm all the boats back to Pokhara had left and we got stranded. In the end we had to swim across……… ha ha, not really…… Sundeap shouted enough for a boat to eventually come and get us back to the right side of the lake.”.

Sunil was also keen to tell us their story about a trip in a local bus – “Rosie and Sundeap got a local bus to Lumbini. It was so hot they couldn’t even see the views properly and then Rosie suffered heat stroke. Not what you want on bus full of chickens and goats!.Hopefully she will have more luck on her next trip – she is off to trek to Ghorepani and Poon Hill while Sundeap is at the mountain museum and devi’s falls. When they get back the next new student Justin will have arrived, so they hope to all go to Chitwan National Park, Begnas lake the Gurkha museum and perhaps even some paragliding!

Restaurants at Varkala

In India, Jay and John have six students. Rachael, Marry and Lewys have been here for the last four weeks and the other three Alice, April and Niamh have been here for the last two weeks. “Heading to the beach is always good for a short trip. Varkala is a favourite – it’s a beach with clif top which is about 45 min journey by train, so easy to reach. There is also Kovalam, about 30 minutes by autorickshaw, and only a couple of rupees. It is one of the tourist place in Trivandrum where we can use beach, sea bath, restaurants, liquor shops, massage centres etc – it’s fun!”. John also tells us that “if students want a more traditional beach resort, Shanghumungham beach is really popular amongst locals”.

For those that want to take a bit longer, two of the girls recommended “Kanyakumari is good. It’s in Tamil Nadu and it’s famous as a place where the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea all meet. People go there to watch the sun set and rise at the temple or over Vivekananda rock which is situated in the midst of the sea. We also went to Padmanabhapuram Palace on the way home”. Jay also recommends Veli Lake for boating and a nice restaurant, or to take Friday off and use the long weekend to travel as far as Munnar, Periyar, Fort Cochin and Thekkady.

The top of Kili!

Freddy sent a big “Mambo Vipi!” from Arusha. He had a good chat with the students as there are many places to go in North Tanzania. Locally “students normally go on safari, snake park, Moshi to the water falls, the  Impala hotel for swimming or to the orphanage (Paradiso and Gohechi)”. We’ve included more information about all of these in Freddy\’s own factual blog but he also had a suggestion for a free afternoon  – “there is also the Maasai market where they sell hand craft things…. go when you are in good mood to bargain. Be firm andstick to your price. If they are really not making a profit, they will not sell it to you….most of the time they are lying when say that!”

A big favourite among the students though is the challenge of Kilimanjaro. You can’t do this in a weekend, but you can arrange to do a climb after your placement or during an extended weekend. Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and ranks as one of the tallest freestanding mountains in the world. Uhuru Peak rises to an altitude of 15,100 feet (4,600 m) from base to summit. There is also Mt Meru, which Freddy calls “the baby mountain”. At a height of 4,566 metres (14,980 ft), it is still visible from Mt Kilimanjaro on a clear day, and is the fifth highest mountain in Africa (not much of a baby!!)

Over in Ghana Joe has been chatting to the students about their free time.  Even though there is a variety of activities,  the main places that students visit are Kumasi Ketetia Market, Lake Bosomtwe, Voltal river, Boti falls and Axim Beach. The students have also travelled as a group to Cape Coast to visit Capecoast castle and Kakum national park, where they slept in the tree houses in the jungle and walked through the amazing canopy walk in the trees. Many of the students have also travelled to Nzulezu stilt village, where there is a town built on the water, and Mole national park in the northern part of Ghana.

W = Work the World at Africa Beach!

Apart from the tours on the weekend, Hannah and others usually read their novels in the afternoon when they are back from the placement. The leisure time is also sometimes utilised by playing games like cards, Ludo and table tennis or going swimming at Africa Beach, where they can enjoy the sun and swim in the sea. It is also very popular to write travel journals and students often use their free time to get up to date with their experiences in Ghana, or head off to internet cafes to check mails and write to their relations. “Perhaps the favourite afternoon activity for the girls is the same as home…. they like shopping! Hannah, Isabel and Sarah visit tourist shops to get local gifts and local textiles, including visiting seamstresses to get outfits made. Every Wednesday students and staff put on “African wear” during BBQ, so they get to wear their new clothes”

Majenda’s chat with the students showed that  Zanzibar students like to make the most of island living. Speaking to Emma, Rachael, Nichola, Hannah, Helen, Claire, Lauren, Jessica, Laura and Tina, the favourite escape was to Kendwa for a long weekend – “that’s where they were from Friday till yesterday, which is why we were slow to send back our answer! They love the beach, friendly people but also the parties which take place out there almost every week. The most famous parties being the full moon party every month. This weekend it happened to be full moon, so me and Rashid joined them on Saturday. It was a weekend celebration but also a celebration for Tina and Laura, who were celebrating becoming official doctors after passing their exams.”

Other places referred to by many students is the Dolphin tour which takes place in Kizimkazi area, spice tour and prison island. They said some time when they remain at the house during weekend they like to be at the Mbweni hotel beach and pool, they say its nice to be submerged in the pool when it 40 degrees outside!

Next weeks question is all about the food…. “what new foods have you discovered since arriving at the Work the World house”. We’ll give you the answers this time next week…….

This weeks big question was “What are the biggest cultural challenges you have found living overseas?”

Train timings beat UK!

India came back to us first, with transport at the top of their list. “It is very difficult to bargain with the auto rickshaw drivers and they blow their horns all the time (along with every other vehicle) which is very irritating”. Crowded transport was also hard work – “ in India traveling in a public transport is very difficult, especially on buses because it is always crowded and you cannot be sure of getting a seat – particularly for the boys. Males can sit with other males only and the same for the females. Also, seats are reserved for the women where men are not allowed to sit”. It’s not all bad though. Daniel and Andrew found it funny that “train timings and services are much better in India than in UK.  The trains in India always arrive and depart at the schedule time”. They also found that men and women are treated differently in other ways too.  Two of the girls went into a liquor shop to buy drinks for the weekly barbecue and “the salesman looked at us with huge surprise – even though some Indian women do consume it,  it is not the done thing for women to buy alcohol in India! “

In terms of their electives, there are always plenty of differences between India and the UK. This week the students focussed on the diagnosis and treatment procedure. “In the hospital, doctors always explain the diagnosis to the relatives and carry out the treatment after getting the consent from the relatives which is entirely different from what they see in UK”. Some of the students also commented on the heat and working conditions “the temperature in Trivandrum is approaching 35degree Celsius. It is very hot even for the Indian people, but there is no air conditioning at the hospitals. You just want to wear shorts or T-shirts to work, but of course that is not professional”.

Our Nepalese makes the kids laugh!

Over in Nepal, language seems to be the biggest challenge. Rosie commented that it was tough “when you can’t put your words across to the other person. It becomes difficult to communicate and this can create problem.  The other day at the hospital I was changing a dressing and there was a girl who smiled at me, I smiled back but this girl just wouldn’t stop giggling after that. She couldn’t really ask me anything and didn’t understand me, so I guessed it was because she was just shy of me as a I’m a foreigner“.  Sundeap seconded this “when talking to other nurses in the hospital (except for the ones who speak english) and patients, or even the conductor in the micro bus, it becomes quite difficult even to work out a yes or a no sometimes. It’s even harder to work out what that person is trying to convey or if he/she understood what we said to them”. Sunil, our Programme Manager has encouraged them both to practice their Nepali. “Rosie felt that even if she tried to speak a little of the Nepali she learnt, others would laugh at her because of the accent. But i told her that wasn’t to put her down or anything but if people laughed it was just because they loved hearing foreigners speaking Nepali with their accent. They really appreciate the effort”.

Interestingly, Sundeap who has an Asian connection felt that aside from language there isn’t too many cultural differences. Rosie found the differences between the UK and Nepal were quite noticeable though. “It was quite weird the other day when a junior Nepali doctor(male) bought me lunch. I’m not used to others paying for mymeal unless he/she is a very close friend. Back in The UK, guys don’t do that, If they do… there is probably an intention!”

Our Tanzanian destinations were super busy this week, but finally sat down to have a chat and send me their thoughts.  The Arusha house said there were cultural differences noticeable all the time. At work “having the patients put all their trust in the doctors is very different. At home we tend to discuss patient’s care with them and get their opinion”. This “all powerful” role of doctors came up as a comment in several of our destinations, highlighting how different western and developing healthcare can be. On a lighter note, some of the boys felt “the biggest cultural challenge is the fact that you have to bargain when buying things in Tanzania – something we are not used to doing in the UK”. He went on to comment how useful it is to read the comments book and “hear from previous students about how much they had paid for items/taxis. It’s a very useful guide to avoid paying way too much”.

The only way to cool down is to jump in!

In Zanzibar they had a good chat over dinner.  Language popped up again with Christina commenting that “in town and hospital most people will try to talk to me in Kiswahili. They laugh if I don’t answer, then they try to teach me!”. It all seems very good humoured though and several students felt there were no real challenges with the people or culture of Zanzibar. What they have all noticed is the heat and humidity. For months Zanzibar has had no power, and although we run the generator at set points to help charge phones etc, it’s not environmentally friendly to keep it chugging away all the time. Unfortunately that means there is no escape from the heat. Aleem said “ sleeping without fan when I arrived was difficult to cope with. It was very hard during my first day but thank GOD the power is back”.

As all the students from Ghana had headed off on a trip, so no-one could comment. Joe, our Programme Manager, wrote his own blog based on his chats with housemate Karen though. Click on this link to read what she wrote about life in such a colourful country.

So finally, the quote of the week comes from Arusha – we think it sums up what most of our students have said at one point or another……. “probably the biggest cultural challenge would have to be hand washing our clothes – we never seemed to get them back to their normal colour!” 

To read more about any of our destinations, click on our destination page.

This week we are asking students to talk about “travel essentials – what one thing did you take away that you can’t live without “.  To check out what they thought, follow our blog!

If you have a question you want us to send to our overseas teams next week, post it up as a comment.

Screening in Kivunge

The Dental Outreach Programmes are designed to bring free assessments and treatment to villages and schools that don’t have access to dental healthcare. We started offering them in Ghana and India as a way to create a sustainable project that utilised the skills of dental placement students, whilst also providing hands-on dental experience for our elective students. Visiting rural communities we quickly realised how much dental care they need – as many as 70% of the children we screened last year needed to be referred to our free clinic for actual treatment.

For students the benefits are in both the nature of the project – using and taking on new skills, learning about dental healthcare in the developing world and really helping out rural villages- but also  the chance to live as part of a local community.  Students get really involved, learning the village way of life as they work for and with the local people – a very different experience to regular ‘travelling’. They also get the best of what the island has to offer as the village of Kivunge also boasts some of Zanzibar’s famous beaches. Relaxing on white sands after a hard days work bringing free healthcare to the community – no wonder they are so popular!!

For more information on our Zanzibar, click on the link. For more information about Ghana, India or our new projects in Nepal, follow those links. There are still some spaces at each of our destinations for 2010, so if you are keen to get involved then get in touch and we’ll get you booked on.

A 7 hour flight to Dubai, a 3 hour stopover and a 5 hour flight to Dar later, we finally met up with Baptista, our Tanzanian Country Director. With him were Majenda, our Dar and Zanzibar Programme Manager, and Jay, our India Programme Manager. They had been waiting in Dar for three days for us to arrive and were very relieved that the snow had not stopped us.

Baptista negotiated our way through the airport and onto a Precision Air flight to Mwanza. 2 hours later we were greeted from the plane by Freddy, our Arusha Programme Manager, and James, our Lake Victoria Programme Manager. Finally, 24 hours after leaving Brighton we were all together and on our way to the Lake Victoria house – our home for the next three nights.

Ali and the boys outside the house

The Lake Victoria house is very impressive, even when you arrive after dark. It’s huge! We met Diana, the caterer, and Bosco, the housekeeper, who with James, showed us around and made us feel very welcome. The rooms are spacious and cool, the bedrooms have lots of space with bunks and mosquito nets, the bathrooms are big and the living area has lots of comfy chairs.

Once we had settled ourselves Diana and Bosco brought out fresh mango juice and an enormous feast for us. “Karibou!” (welcome) “have food!”. It was delicious – Tilapia fish, salad full of ripe tomatoes and avocado, rice, lentils and beans. It was very welcome after our long trip and even refuelled our energy supplies for a quick trip down to the local spot bar (a local bar). I had heard about “The Container Pub” from the students, so it was good to walk down and see their favourite spot.

The next morning we were up early, greeted by a smiling Diana carrying a platter of pancakes with fresh fruit.. Now that it was light we could enjoy the amazing view over Mwanza and  Lake Victoria. This house definitely has the wow factor! We could see the hospital on a hill in the distance and watch the fisherman and ferries on the lake. There was also lots of greenery, something none of us expected from the city. It is not often talked about in guidebooks and I was surprised to find it so  picturesque.

As a group we spent the day discussing the different programmes, talking about improvements and making decisions for 2010. It was fascinating to hear everyone’s viewpoint and it became clear very early on that all our overseas staff are incredibly dedicated to their roles and work hard to make sure the Work the World placements are a great experience for our students. They spend hours discussing each student at the hospital and working to place them in an area that they are interested in, and it is a credit to all of them that our students feedback such positive responses about the houses and support whilst overseas.

To help us get a clearer idea of what the placements involve, James and Baptista took us to Bugando hospital – the second largest tertiary referral hospital in the country. Here we met Sister Viola, the matron in charge of nursing, who then took us on a tour of the different wards, explaining to us what the students do while they are working and how they can get involved. We also met the head physiotherapist who agreed that it was great to have students working in the hospital as they all learn from each other.

Orthopaedic patients at Bugando

For a non medic, touring the hospital was quite shocking. In comparison to other hospitals in Tanzania, Bugando has a fairly high standard of care, but as this was my first visit to a hospital I found it difficult to see the patients who were suffering. Unfortunately burns are commonplace in this part of Africa as all cooking is done on open stoves, and lots of the children in the paediatric ward were covered in burns. There were also many motorbike accidents that required traction (a sand bag hanging over a rail in some cases!) and some fairly nasty wounds that must be difficult to treat in such humid conditions. I am sure our medical students take it all in hand though!
After we had visited the hospital Bosco took us on a tour of the city. Mwanza is a busy, lively city with lots going on and we checked out all the student haunts – the supermarkets, the tourist shops, the pizza restaurants – as well as walking through the markets where Diana buys all the food for the students. Bosco also took us alongside the lake, which really adds a sense of calm to the otherwise busy centre. There are huge rock formations jutting out of the water, as well as cropping up around the town. Bosco wisely informed us that it was because of these that the city was called “the rock city!”.

Tomorrow we wrap up our stay in Mwanza and head across to the Serengeti to experience what for many students is a highlight of the their trip to Africa – the safari. We shall travel across part of the Serengeti to Ngorongoro crater before heading to Arusha to visit the second of our programmes.

For more on our Lake Victoria programme check our our destinations page!

Sana's winning photo

The Big Picture

Overall Winner  – Sana Ghaznavi!

Prize: £250

We have had some amazing entries for this years competition, but it was unanimously agreed that the image that captured the spirit of living in another country, was Sana Ghaznavi’s shot of a young Maasai boy at sunrise.

Sana’s image was taken “in the summer of 2009. I did a medical elective with Work the World in Tengeru, a rural village outside of Arusha, Tanzania.  As a part of my elective, I went to live in a Maasai village, where I learned about traditional Maasai medicine, and met the village’s medicine man (a spiritual healer).  I had a great time during my stay.  The experience has given me insight into a culture and way of life vastly different than my own.”

Work the World Director Dave thought Sana’s photo stood out from the competition. “The young Maasai boy tending his families herd under an acacia tree, mud huts in the background and storm clouds building overhead, instantly captures the essence of the plains around Arusha. It is typical of scenes you might see on a village healthcare experience and really evokes a sense of what it is like to live as part of a Maasai community in rural Tanzania. The composition of this shot is fantastic, the boy and tree almost silhouetted really adds to the atmosphere.”

Congratulations Sana, you are a very worthy winner of our £250 Big Picture prize.

Destination Category

Tolu's winning destination shot from India

Winner: Tolu Ajayi

Prize: £100

Tolu has really captured the lively nature of the Southern Indian people, and this shot of him interacting with the locals as they pass, is a great mix of colour, character and smiling faces!

Dave and Omar felt that this picture deserved the prize because “it’s really natural. You really get a sense of  what it is like away from the tourist trails. The vibrant colours and happy faces, the donkey’s in the background… it’s just a lovely photo that shows a different side to India”.

Congratulations Tolu – you take home the £100 prize.

Heather captures the spirit of the Work the World community in Ghana

Work the World  Category Winner

Winner: Heather Sullivan

Prize: £100

This is a great shot taken on the village healthcare experience in Ghana. Heather has really captured the interaction between her Work the World housemate and the children, who are completely absorbed in the tale she is telling them.

Heather wrote “In the photo my partner Heidi is playing a number game with the children after our day in the clinic. I think this photo represents the placid, calm, laid-back nature of the village. Heidi and I really came to enjoy these times, playing many games with the children – head, shoulders, knees and toes, the number game pictured as well as many devised by the children (which unfortunately for us usually included us singing and dancing for them!”.

Dave and Omar felt “this is a great example of what village healthcare is all about – students getting really get involved in the local community”.

Congratulations Heather – you take home the prize of £100!

Placements Category Winner

Lottie's winning placement image

Winner: Lottie Boyer

Prize: £100

Lottie’s shot of a Work the World housemate treating a girl with a club foot was our favourite placement shot.  The setting really conveys the differences in healthcare between Africa and the UK. Although the Ponseti method being shown here is used in both countries, in Africa it is far more common for toddlers and older children in rural communities to have been left disabled. In the UK treatment will begin on newborns to try and correct the deformity.

Omar said “we chose this image because we felt that it summed up what it can be like to work in Africa. Providing care to patients with the most limited of resources is all part of the Work the World experience. This makeshift treatment area is typical of what students working in a developing country hospital can  face, and is a great way to teach our students about getting back to healthcare basics”.

Congratulations Lottie – you take home the prize of £100!

Well done to everyone that took part. We had some amazing images and it was really hard to make decisions on the winners.

For those that did not get the prize, keep an eye on our site as we will do our best to get your images posted. We may also be launching a new competition for 2010 – sign up to our blog for first details!

Over in Zanzibar, medic Emily commented that “doing a Gap year medical placement overseas would help in university applications. It shows you are dedicated to pursuing a career in medicine and would help you stand out from the crowds.” Sarah Burn agreed that “it demonstrates commitment to the subject”.

Deborah had some concern that patients and doctors “may get confused about the competence of the student and give them more responsibility than they can handle because they do not understand that they have not started med school yet” and we agree. In such a busy and often difficult environment you could easily find yourself misinterpreted and out of your depth. That’s why at Work the  World and Gap Medics we place such a heavy emphasis on good placement supervisors. If they understand your skills and why you are there, you should never find yourself in a difficult situation that you cannot cope with. More importantly patients are not put at risk,

The students seemed torn on one key point – was working in a developing country hospital likely to put students off studying medicine? Claire thought a placement in Africa  “even though it may look good on university application,  could be very off-putting. The care given out here doesn’t follow the same policies and procedure as England and can be quite shocking.” Fahima saw a placement in Africa differently – “the things that some students will see will be a definite cultural shock but coming here will make you a better person as you will appreciate the things that you already have. Gaining experience and being hands on in a hospital that’s in a third world country will definitely give you excellent advantages and will also help to make you keep an open mind”.

Overall the students agreed that “doing a medical placement would definitely help with medical school applications both on UCAS forms and at interview” and could contribute “to some extent with understanding some of the content of pre clinical years”. Because of the difficulties in language though, and the complications of organising a placement overseas, gap year students should plan their medical placement with a well established company that can ensure both themselves and the hospitals are protected.

If you would like to read more about our sister company Gap Medics, click the link. For more information on our placements, click here.

Calling home on your mobile is going to be expensive. There are lots of deals in place that can save you money while you are abroad, but the best thing to do is buy a local sim card. Get your phone unlocked before you go and it will save you heaps of money.

The other option is to head down to an internet cafe and use SKYPE. Connections can sometimes be a bit rubbish because of slow internet connections, but it’s definitely worth a try as it’s free (or practically free if you are calling someones phone rather than their computer or skype compatible phone). If you find a cafe with a webcam and you know that your family or friends have one on the computer at home, it’s doubly worth the effort. The first time  I did this I was amazed – I hadn’t seen my family for months and to be suddenly chatting away to them all as if we were in the same room was amazing!!

Of course the cheapest option is to get the folks back home to call you. There are tons of cheap phone cards available in the UK and Skype works both ways. Just make sure they note the time difference!!!!