Life on station

Some of you have been asking for a little more information on our set-up here at Chitokoloki so I thought I’d offer some description of ‘life on station’. Further details on the hospital and mission can be found on the mission’s own website (accessible here). Chitokoloki was first settled by missionaries from the UK in 1914 (including a Glaswegian called Fred Arnott). They came up the Zambezi river seeking opportunities to communicate the good news about Jesus Christ. Over the past century, the work at Chitokoloki has been supported by a continuous stream of expatriate workers from many countries, who have worked alongside local Zambian staff and church members to preach the good news about Jesus in both word and deed.

Over the years, there have been varying emphases on activities. At one stage, Chitokoloki was an important teacher-training centre, and the hospital initially grew out of a leprosy colony. In addition to the hospital, the approximately 1km² site encloses a large maintenance area, book room, grinding mill, tannery, airstrip and hangar, and multiple missionary and hospital staff houses. One of the former missionaries had the great idea of creating a kitchen garden and this continues to supply some of the needs of the hospital’s catering team. A chicken coop adds to the supplies of protein available for in-patients. We have started off our own small vegetable patch within the garden and will keep you updated on progress!

 

At present, the hospital can accommodate up to 180 patients in different areas, of which about half are in the acute part of the hospital. The other half serve longer-term residents and those from long distances who are receiving ambulatory care. There is additional accommodation for the many relatives who come to support the care needs of the patients. There are two well equipped operating theatres and a dressing room where some minor surgery is also performed. Over past years, the hospital has become increasingly well staffed with well-trained and well-motivated Zambian healthcare staff who are on the government payroll. Stuart visited Chitokoloki briefly in 2011 and has noticed significant developments in the service. We have been continually impressed with the compassionate and professional care that patients are offered. The hospital now has a large cohort of registered nurses, clinical officers (non-physician clinicians), radiographers and a physiotherapist. We also have a medical licentiate (a clinical officer who has undergone enhanced training to work in what is essentially a doctor’s role). Our working days begin at about 7.30am from Monday to Friday, and we typically finish between 4.30-6.30pm. We are grateful for about an hour's break for lunch and morning tea break is sacrosanct!

 

The mission currently has 16 permanent expatriate missionary staff who are supported financially and pastorally by their home churches. Most are involved in the work of the hospital, and other activities involves logistics, the flying service, maintenance, education, children and youth work, and evangelism. Over remaining months, we hope to feature some of the expatriate and Zambian staff in our blog, to explore their stories and experiences at Chitokoloki.

Apart from the mission station and adjacent government school, Chitokoloki remains a very underdeveloped area even in the context of North-Western Province, one of the poorest parts of Zambia. There is no surrounding industry of any scale and most people will live as subsistence farmers. We are able to source dried fish, tomatoes, onions and variable other vegetables at the local market and there are a few other small shops.  Our nearest town is called Zambezi, and is about an hour’s drive away, but its facilities are also quite limited. The main town in the province is called Solwezi, and is a good 6 hours drive away.

 

Despite the remoteness of Chitokoloki, it has become something of a referral centre for many facilities elsewhere in North-Western Province and the large majority of our cases travel from areas served by other hospitals and clinics. Chitokoloki has offered a consistently good standard of free medical care for many years and our medical director Dr David McAdam is very well-known throughout the region. His expertise in many areas of medicine and surgery is in constant demand. Unfortunately, standards in some neighbouring hospitals are not at all consistent and the quality of assessment and care that some patients have received elsewhere has been poor. Within the last couple of weeks, a number of patients have been transferred to us because other facilities have run out of basic equipment such as suture material. There are many challenges to operating in a low-resource environment but sometimes poor organisation and administration can be as much to blame as any lack of resource.

Dr McAdam and Sister JR Ellwood performing cataract surgery

 

There are compensations to being so out of the way. Much of the scenery is quite unspoilt and the violent crime that can be seen in the bigger Zambian cities is not often known.  In the absence of a vehicle, we have enjoyed absorbing the views of the Zambezi riverbank and surrounding villages on nearby walks. Enjoy the pictures below!