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Sandra Lako: An introduction
When I was two years old my parents moved onboard the M/V Anastasis, a hospital ship run by the organisation Mercy Ships, which provided relief and medical services to communities in developing...
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Sandra Lako on her return to Freetown
After being away from Sierra Leone for a year, it is good to be back. Previously I spent four and a half years in Sierra Leone working for an NGO, running an outpatient pediatric clinic. Now, I am...
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Sandra Lako on progress at the Ola During Children’s Hospital
During my time in Sierra Leone from 2005-2009, I often visited the Children’s Hospital in Freetown. At the time I was working in a paediatric outpatient clinic and frequently saw patients who needed to...
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Sandra Lako on the nurses’ workshop in Freetown.
Recently the Welbodi Partnership was privileged to have a paediatric nurse from the United Kingdom volunteering at the children’s hospital for two months. The volunteer nurse spent the first month...
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Sandra Lako: Intraosseous access saves lives
One afternoon I passed through the emergency room and noticed two doctors hovering over a patient attempting to get intravenous access. As in many of the emergency cases, the patient’s circulation was...
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Sandra Lako: The death of a child …
This afternoon an expatriate internal medicine doctor started an ultrasound workshop with the doctors. I thought it would be useful for me to go, so I did. The ultrasound room is adjacent to the...
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Sandra Lako on a night check at the hospital
It’s 1:00 am. My colleague and I have just returned from a surprise visit to the hospital. Three times a month we do spot checks on the wards; periodically we check during the early or late shifts and...
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Sandra Lako on the importance of prevention
A few weeks ago a child came to the hospital with classic signs of tetanus: a locked jaw, rigidity of the muscles, and jerking of the body. The diagnosis was obvious. The doctors and nurses tried to...
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Sandra Lako on the prospects and challenges of a functioning x ray department
The Ola During Children’s Hospital is close to having the x ray unit up and running. This is very exciting especially since it has been 6 years since the last x ray was taken at Ola During Children’s...
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Sandra Lako: Journal club
Today was the launch of the journal club at the Ola During Children’s Hospital. Two professors, seven national doctors and three expatriate doctors sat together in an office for the first meeting of...
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Sandra Lako: Life-saving blood
While driving past an NGO hospital last week a friend read out a sign painted on the hospital wall stating that patients need to come with their own blood donors. He thought that was very odd but...
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Sandra Lako: Operation oxygen was a success
Over the Christmas holiday $11,760 was raised for oxygen concentrators for the Children’s Hospital in Sierra Leone. This is enough for at least 8 new concentrators. Last year I was amazed to raise...
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Sandra Lako: World Water Day in Freetown
On my way to Spur Road this morning I walked past a group of children scooping murky water out of the gutter into some buckets. These buckets were then lifted to their heads and carried home. Further...
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Sandra Lako: Oxygen for the feeding centre
Last week Monday the final four oxygen concentrators from the “Operation Oxygen” campaign made it to Ola During Children’s Hospital. Thanks to all of you who contributed generously to this campaign. Of...
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Sandra Lako: World Malaria Day in Sierra Leone
World Malaria Day was this week and unfortunately, although a preventable disease, malaria still kills many people in the developing world. At the children’s hospital I work at, we see malaria cases...
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Sandra Lako: coordination and clinical work
A lot of the work the Welbodi Partnership does is to coordinate and facilitate projects and training programs within the hospital. Our aim is capacity building – helping others to improve their skills...
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Sandra Lako: Why do children come to the hospital so late?
One night, not too long ago, four children died in the emergency room at the Children’s Hospital. Two of them had been sick for more than two weeks before coming to the hospital for treatment, and...
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Sandra Lako: Busy times for Welbodi
My lack of recent blog posts is by no means due to a lack of something to report. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Life at Ola During Children’s Hospital (ODCH) has been busy and there are many...
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Sandra Lako: Sierra Leone seven years on
Seven years ago today I flew into Lungi airport on an SN Brussels flight together with a few other people who were soon to be my colleagues and housemates. I remember it being hot and sticky while we...
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Sandra Lako: Clinical work
Monday marked my first full day of clinical work at the Ola During Children’s Hospital. I spent the day in the outpatient department talking to parents, examining children, making an initial diagnosis,...
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