It was the year 2000 and I was running the GP and worksite medical services for a construction site in Matola, Mozambique.
The site was very busy but I had been struck down by my third bout of malaria and I had to follow my own rules and stay away from work for five days until the medication had a chance to work.
Then disaster struck – a massive flood hit Mozambique and large parts of the country were inundated with water.
Slowly international aid started arriving, but it was patchy and there was great need. I could stay at home and feel sorry for myself while recuperating or I could make myself useful – I chose the latter and hitched a ride in the back of a transport chopper to one of the relief camps 300km to the North.
The camp was extremely basic – half of it had a foot of water over it and the Puma could not even land – we had to jump the last metre to the ground – it was rather unnerving to see the snake slither away just as I hit the water.
The refugees were housed in lean-tos made with tarpaulins and branches and they were desperate. Our only supplies were in a marque tent manned by a small group of volunteers who all looked like they had barely left school. My medical supplies consisted of my personal tools and a few boxes of supplies sent from charities abroad, mostly from Australia.
My first challenge was to find a place to work in. I had a tarpaulin, crepe bandages and my Swiss army knife. So that afternoon, I built a clinic.
The next morning I looked out and there was a line of people stretching over a 100m, waiting to be seen.
It turned out that there had been no medical services of any sort in that area for nearly 30 years.
In a country ravaged by nature and civil war they thought this one GP with his stethoscope and a few boxes of basic supplies could cure them of anything from heart failure to cancer.
I tried my best over the next three days, then I had to leave. I had a worksite with 10, 000 construction workers that depended on my expertise to keep them safe from malaria, cholera and work injuries.
Did I make a difference?
I would like to think so, but how do we ever know?
Dr Thinus van Rensburg
