AMSA International Health Project 2005

Sri Lanka is a tiny island in the Indian Ocean with a landmass the size of Tasmania but with a population near that of the whole of Australia! Sri Lanka was one of the nations hardest hit by the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 with over 30,000 lives lost and nearly half a million people displaced from their homes. In December 2005, a delegation of students from the Australian Medical Student Association (AMSA) visited the Tsunami affected area of Galle, Sri Lanka as part of the AMSA International Health Project (IHP). The aims of the project were: - Providing an opportunity for Australian medical students to deliver eye care to Sri Lankans. - Encouraging medical students to confront international realities they encounter in Sri Lanka and promote reflection on social justice inequalities and their relationship to health care. - That through this experience, as medical practitioners they carry continued consideration of these issues in their careers. The team consisted of the following students: Hsien Chan, Xavier Harvey, Jen Martins (University of Western Australia), Asha Patel (University of Adelaide), Geordan Shannon, Geshani Jayasuriya (University of Newcastle), Ashanya Alles (University of Sydney), Marion Davies and myself, Isuru Amarasena (University of Tasmania). The project was supervised by Dr Quintus de Zylva (a cardiologist from Melbourne and one of the members of AuSLMAT – Australia Sri Lanka Medical Aid Team) and Professor PL Ariyananda (Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, Galle). We assembled in Perth a week prior to departing to Sri Lanka. This time was spent attending workshops on Emergency Medicine, Ophthalmology and cultural awareness. As part of the project, used eyeglasses and sunglasses were collected to donate to people in Galle. Some 1,000 pairs of glasses were collected and part of the time in Perth was spent grading and categorising these glasses. We arrived in Sri Lanka on the 3rd of December 2005 and spent the first week in the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, learning about the healthcare system in Sri Lanka and getting acclimatised to the conditions. This included seeing patients in the paediatric, general medicine and cardiology wards at the hospital. This was a very valuable learning experience as we were able to learn about diseases that we were unlikely to see in Australia. In the second week of the trip, we assisted in ophthalmology clinics that were conducted in the hospital. This included performing preliminary assessments for refractive error, cataracts and eye infection in patients before they were seen by the ophthalmologist. We also helped conduct an ophthalmology clinic in a remote village outside Galle. This was a very worthwhile clinic, because it allowed patients who lived in remote areas and who otherwise would not be able to easily access a hospital, to have their vision checked. This was again a great experience because it allowed us to learn a lot about ophthalmology while lending a helping hand. The collected eyeglasses were donated to the hospital to give out to patients who were in need of them. In the third and final week of the project, we spent time at a local childcare centre set up by the Southern Tsunami Trust of Sri Lanka. During this time, we taught English to the children at the centre and assisted in art and computer classes. On our final day at the centre, we conducted a child health day. This involved making posters and organising educational activities to teach children about nutrition and personal hygiene. This was a very enjoyable experience – although it was somewhat exhaustive trying to keep the energy levels of the children in order! However the smiles on the faces of the children made it all worthwhile. During our weekends, we were fortunate enough to be able to visit some areas outside Galle. This included visiting a tea plantation, a catamaran ride to a cinnamon plantation, a dawn safari at Yalle National Park and visiting an elephant orphanage in Kandy. All were amazing experiences. This project was a real eye-opener for many of us. It was amazing to hear how people in Sri Lanka coped with the Tsunami. A year after the tragedy, there are still many areas of destruction, but slowly, slowly these areas are being rebuilt thanks largely to the overwhelming support provided by the international community. Our time in Galle filled us with a sense of despair and hope. Despair - because we couldn’t do much more to help the people of Sri Lanka right now. And hope – seeing the difference that Doctors in Sri Lanka are making to people’s lives and that one-day we can also do the same for people in developing countries. Travel insurance for the trip was kindly provided by World Nomads. We are very grateful to World Nomads and all other sponsors for their support. This project would not have been possible without their support.