Final Teaching Day and Closing Ceremonies

Today was our final day of teaching. We were able to demonstrate the Ellavi intrauterine balloons and present the Butterfly IQ ultrasound systems to 3 of the hospitals. We presented the certificates to each of the participants. I also brought some Tabernacle Choir CD's that we gave to each one as a gift. One of the local stake presidents as well as a representative from the Ministry of Health spoke in the closing ceremonies.

This sweet woman is a Catholic nun who has been hired by Latter-day Saint Charities to do follow-up for the next six months. She will stay in contact with each of the doctors, midwives, and nurses to make sure they are training their colleagues and also assess for improvement in treating postpartum hemorrhage and caring for small babies.

Farewell, Lubumbashi! Tonight I will fly home as I leave the vast Democratic Republic of the Congo which is roughly the size of the portion of the United States that is east of the Mississippi River! 

Au revoir!

Teaching Day 5

Today we completed the Helping Mothers Survive course for the midwives and nurses and then began the Essential Care for Newborns course. 

Our Ellavi intrauterine balloon kits from South Africa finally arrived. We stopped at the distribution center and Lubumbashi's first chapel to pick up the balloon kits that we will present to the participants tomorrow along with the teaching kits.

Teaching Without Electricity

 

We began our second Helping Mothers Survive: Bleeding After Birth course today. The 19 physicians and midwives we trained in the first half of the week now became master trainers of the 37 midwives and nurses who arrived today. They did a great job teaching this curriculum. I noticed that some of the tables conversed primarily in Swahili, which is the main indigenous language here. Almost everyone we meet here speaks French. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a multilingual country where an estimated total of 242 languages are spoken. The official language is French. Four indigenous languages have the status of national languages: Kituba (called "Kikongo"), Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba.

 

During part of the day, the electricity went out. The room we are using has no windows. The participants continued the course without interruption, as they are very used to power outages. I learned that a great way to make a lantern is to turn on the light of a mobile phone and set it under a water bottle such that the light shines up through the bottle and the water.

Of note, 99% of the population of DR Congo (mostly those in rural areas) do not have electricity. In urban areas, about 50% of the residents have electricity.)

Essential Care for Small Babies day 2; USAID Prosani

 

We concluded the first Essential Care for Small Babies course today. Some babies are too small or weak to nurse, in which case it is recommended for the mother to express breast milk and then feed the baby with a cup. We used the MamaBreast model for the participants to learn how to express milk into a cup. If the baby is very small and unable to tolerate even cup feedings, a nasogastric tube can be placed, and then the milk can be given to the baby through a syringe.

Latter-day Saint Charities is partnering in this training here in Lubumbashi with USAID Prosani, a U.S. Government project that “seeks to achieve sustainable improvements in the health of the Congolese people by building the capacity of health institutions and communities to deliver quality integrated services.” Prosani operates in 9 of the 26 provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have participants from all nine of these provinces in our course in addition to one other province.

Helping Mothers Survive day 2; Essential Care for Small Babies day 1

 

Today we concluded our first Helping Mothers Survive course. We went through several skills and also spoke about a new intrauterine balloon that has been developed in South Africa which will hopefully be available in DR Congo soon. I am hopeful that it will reduce postpartum hemorrhages significantly here as it has done in several other African countries. 

It is shown in this video: 

Ellavi YouTube video

We worked on how to repair lacerations of the cervix.

I demonstrated the Butterfly IQ ultrasound system for the participants. I learned about this system from my son, Brian, who is in medical school and has one of the Butterfly IQ ultrasound probes which he has used in his training. Latter-day Saint Charities has donated 3 Butterfly IQ probes and iPads which I brought over in my carry-on. One unit will be used here in Lubumbashi, one will go to Kinshasa. and one will go to Mbuji-Mayi. We have participants from all 3 cities in our course this week.

Butterfly IQ Ultrasound YouTube video

 We also practiced putting on the anti-shock pants which are designed to push blood into the vital organs in the case of a severe postpartum hemorrhage.

We then began the Essential Care of the Small Newborn and practiced "kangaroo care" where the mom uses a cloth to hold the baby close to her in order to help the baby maintain a normal temperature. I loved the colorful African prints they used.

Helping Mothers Survive day 1

Today we began our Helping Mothers Survive: Bleeding After Birth course. We taught 17 physicians and 2 nurses who will assist us in teaching a larger group later in the week. We began with an opening ceremonies in which a representative of the DRC Ministry of Health spoke as well as the local Area Seventy.

In the updated curriculum, we use the acronym E-MOTIVE to MOTIVATE the participants to remember the steps to treating postpartum hemorrhage:

Early detection

Massage the uterus to get it to contract

Oxytocin-give this medication to help the uterus contract

TXA-also give the medication Tranexamic Acid to reduce bleeding

IV-start an IV

Examen the patient to find the cause of bleeding

Kalubwe Ward

We attended Church at the Kalubwe Ward chapel which is one of about 40 chapels in Lubumbashi where there are 4 stakes, each with 12 units. The hymns sung by the congregation and the ward choir were beautiful and energetic and the talks were excellent. Sunday School was taught by a sister who is a nutritionist who teaches at the University of Lubumbashi. The "Come Follow Me" lesson was on 2 Nephi 3-5 and included the teaching point: "Joseph Smith was chosen by God to restore the gospel."  I again saw the fulfillment of this prophecy right before my eyes: "[Joseph's] name should be had for good . . . among all nations, kindreds, and tongues." (JS-H 1:33) The lesson was in French, but occasionally the teacher would summarize in Swahili for a few of the older sisters who do not speak French. It is always inspiring to me to see how the teachings of the Book of Mormon are relevant and inspiring to people of all cultures.

Baptismal Font

Lubumbashi

Lubumbashi is the second largest city in DR Congo. In Belgian Congo days it was known as Élisabethville. The current population of the metropolitan area is about 2.5 million. It is the mining capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is a base for many of the country's largest mining companies. The Democratic Republic of Congo produces more than 3 percent of the world's copper and half of its cobalt. The elevation here in Lubumbashi is 3963 feet which serves to cool the climate. French is the official language, but most people also speak Swahili. 

 

DR Congo’s second temple is now under construction in Lubumbashi. I was able to stop by the construction site on the way from the airport to our hotel. It is expected to be completed in late 2025.

Teaching Bleeding After Birth and Essential Care of Small Babies in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo

This month I will be volunteering with #latterdaysaintcharities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our team will help teach two medical courses to local doctors and nurses. The first course is called Helping Mothers Survive: Bleeding After Birth. We will teach various interventions which can be used when there is a postpartum hemorrhage. The second course is called Helping Babies Survive: Essential Care for Small Babies. In this course, we will help the providers recognize and respond to problems and danger signs in newborns.

This will be my fifth time teaching in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and my second time teaching in Lubumbashi, which is in the south of the country--just 18 miles from the border of Zambia. This will also be my 14th journey to the African continent. I always look forward to working with the excellent physicians, midwives, and nurses in Africa who are anxiously striving to improve health care in their communities.