Well, first off, in my last post about BSSC I told you about
the course but I didn’t actually write about what I personally did to pull it
off – basically, everything except teach it!
Anything it takes to make that course happen is my job to sort out or
get done. Communication with the
incoming instructors, writing the project plan, logistics, venue, catering,
chair and table rental (if off the ship, as most are), finding participants,
invitations, coordinate travel, photocopy materials, set up the venue, acquire
all required materials… communication, communication, communication… then after
the course I clean it all up, sort out any data collected, coordinate the follow-up
and refresher days, write the project report, and make recommendations for the
next course.
So this week, I had the privilege and honor of doing all
those things, plus I got to TEACH the course! Most of the courses we run are taught by outside instructors and the target
audience is surgeons and other physicians, anesthetists, nurses, etc. Fields in which I am not exactly qualified to
teach. So I’ve done my job well if the teachers
can just come in and teach and don’t need to worry about any details. But this week was different!
Helping Babies Breathe is a newborn resuscitation program
created by the American Academy of Pediatrics for low resource environments and teaches basic skills and actions that
can have a dramatic effect within the first few minutes of life. Because I have so much experience in my
previous life of being an instructor for the American Red Cross, and because I live
in a hospital with a whole lot of clinical experts, I was able to step in as an
instructor on this course – and it was so much fun!
Part of why it was so fun was the participants! They were
Peace Corps volunteers that work in small health centers across Madagascar. Back when I first got to this country I met
with the Peace Corps director with the hope of collaboration, and this was the
result. The reason this was so near and
dear to my heart was I was a Peace Corps volunteer (PCV) in Benin before
joining Mercy Ships, and know how difficult it can be to feel like you aren’t
really making a difference. This course would offer them a tangible way to help see transformation in their villages. We invited
ten PCV’s to come to the ship and learn the action plan for the first few
minutes of life – and then sent them out with all the teaching materials needed
to train the birth attendants and healthcare workers in their rural health centers. They were awesome students, caught on very
quickly, and are quite excited to share their new-found skills.
Not only was teaching fun, having the PCV’s on the ship was
awesome! I got to visit the ship in the middle of my service in Benin and got
quite excited about things like dairy products and ice – things you don’t ever
get in the bush! Well, these volunteers were no different. They got so excited
about the ship shop, American junk food, coffee, ice, beds, warm water… and the
welcome they received by this amazing ship family was second to none.
Overall it was an incredibly fun time that reminded me how
much I love to teach, how much I love Peace Corps, how much I love this ship
and the awesome work I get to be a part of…. And hopefully it will all lead to
saving precious babies lives across Madagascar.
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