A New Nurse in Tattaguine

Pierre Faye - Posted on May 4, 2009

After waiting so long, the time has come for the people of Tattaguine to have a nurse appointed by the government. The joint efforts of World Vision and the community leaders have finally borne fruits, since the arrival of Mrs. Faye. With passion, Mrs. Faye shares about the work that awaits her in Tattaguine. It’s a challenging experience to work in a remote area.

Mrs. Faye, the nurse appointed in the village to take care of the heath center, is the New Year’s gift for the children of Tattaguine. Built last year and equipped by World Vision, the health post is now operational and began delivering medical services to the people of Tattaguine when Mrs. Faye took the job of head nurse.

Many of the children in the surrounding neighborhoods are sponsored. So, a health post is a community infrastructure needed for the wellbeing of the children.

Running a heath post in a remote area is a big challenge for the nurse of this village in Tattaguine. “I know that the mission that I am expected to carry out is not an easy deal, but I am so motivated by the presence of World Vision in the area,” Mrs. Faye says.

Eight neighborhoods are covered by the health post. In terms of staffing, one assistant and one pharmacist for the medicines management are assisting Mrs. Faye in the operation of the heath post.

“I now that the challenge is big, but I am convinced that I will not be alone in the many tasks that await me. The services delivered by a health post in a rural area cannot be done properly without equipment. I am lucky to have a partner like World Vision who provided more than $36,000 of medical equipment,” Mrs. Faye says.

A health post is the grassroots part of the organizational health system in Senegal. To help people get basic health care, like shots, and treatment of the most prevalent diseases, like malaria, a nurse is appointed to manage it, supported by a local health committee whose members are from the community. These community board members and overseers have a determining role.

This means that there are two factors that are very important: a motivated staff, available at any time, and dedicated people to provide quality services. When people are welcomed and treated, this enhances the confidence of the people and it raises the frequency of the visits and makes it more accepted by the people.

“We have received $6,000 of medicines and a refrigerator to keep the vaccines for the immunization of the children. I have all I need to do my job, every month I make outreach immunization campaigns in the remote parts of the rural community,” Mrs. Faye adds demonstrating her dedication.

“The challenge is the lack of transportation means to do the immunization in remote areas. But, the intervention of World Vision is praised by even my colleagues living in villages where World Vision has not intervened. They are amazed by the transformation in the community,” Mrs. Faye says.

The heath post was constructed by the government last year, but the children were the ones who suffered the most from the lack of a nurse. The appointment of Mrs. Faye is a delightful event in the community. Her willingness to stay there to work with the health committee is praised by everyone in Tattaguine because many nurses want to work in the big cities where the facilities are better equipped and the working conditions less stressful.

“It’s only when I see that I don’t have the expertise to diagnose and treat a certain disease that I ask them to go to the hospital. We take care of many diseases here locally,” Mrs. Faye concluded.

Come back this spring and accompany Mrs. Faye on one of her immunization excursions. Learn about the children that she treats and how her service is helping them.

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