New Adventures - Rwanda and Zambia 2022

 Tuesday 6th September, Kigali, Rwanda

After a break of over a year, the Fergussons have returned to Africa. This time, I (Stuart) am travelling without Jess and I begin my trip in Rwanda, before then making the long onward journey to Chitokoloki Mission Hospital in Zambia on 14th September, returning to the UK on 2nd October.

Over the next week, I will be teaching on two Basic Surgical Skills (BSS) courses. This course provides learners with a safe, proven method of completing key technical skills, beginning with the basics of secure knots and sutures, then applying them to various simulated surgical scenarios such as skin closure and bowel anastomosis. It is delivered to junior doctors in many different countries, and is very similar to the course that I completed in Glasgow 15 years ago when my own surgical journey began.

Back in 2015, I was invited by my friend David Sedgwick to join him in teaching on this course for the first time. David was for over 20 years a Consultant Surgeon in the Belford Hospital, Fort William, and we connected many years ago through our shared passion for rural surgery and for the Christian faith. David had made connections in Rwanda through teaching trauma skills and was keen to support the Rwanda Surgical Society in delivering the BSS course. Our annual visits were interrupted by COVID in 2020/2021 and we are really pleased to be back, together with Dr Lynsey Forbes who manages the skills centre at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd). The RCSEd have provided key logistical, financial and accreditation support.

I write this after completing a long 32 hours of travel from our home; a busy train and then bus ride from Aberdeen to Edinburgh last night, a nerve-inducing delay waiting for an early morning taxi, flight connections to Kigali via Amsterdam, and finally a whiz through the evening atmosphere of the capital city, twinkling in the darkness and draped across the hilly topography.

Grateful to come to the end of the journey! (Stuart, David and Lynsey)

Rwanda has been in UK news over the past few days as the Government's plans to send asylum seekers there come under further legal scrutiny. The arguments have been presented in court that Rwanda is an oppressive one-party state where human rights cannot be guaranteed. While we have no special insight into the claims being presented, our experience has been of a warm and welcoming culture where the rule of law is respected and the benefits of steady economic growth have been shared in a way not characteristic of many countries in Africa or beyond.

David and I look forward to further partnership with our Rwandan surgeon colleagues whose skill and hard work we have admired over several visits. Rwanda has hugely increased its compliment of healthcare professionals over past decades but the gap between surgical need and system capacity remains very significant. Ours is a small contribution towards ongoing capacity-building, and we hope we pass on not just technical skills but the attitudes that will underpin personal and institutional effectiveness: humility, diligence, and a passionate commitment to make the best possible use of our gifts and opportunities.

In the coming month, I will try to live out those values. In doing so, my own overarching desire is to glorify God, taking satisfaction in the service of my Creator and Lord.

Stay tuned to the blog for more updates! The blog posts prior to this one relate to the experiences Jess and I had in Chitokoloki in 2021 and might be of interest.