The childrens ward
The Martha Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC) in Yei, South Sudan now has a beautiful and well equipped children’s ward thanks to The Brickworks. In 2010, having received a very generous donation, The Brickworks gave £50,000 to the Martha PHCC to fund the renovation of an adjacent building to make it suitable for use as an 11-bed children’s ward and eye clinic. The Brickworks paid for all the furniture and equipment as well as providing a kitchen, washrooms and toilets.
The families that have had children as patients in the children’s ward are all delighted with the care their children receive and many have made very positive comments to the staff.
A child given treatment
A typical patient would be a child of under two who is admitted suffering from malaria or severe dehydration. Given the right treatment, within 24 hours, there will normally be a dramatic improvement in the health of the child and most can be discharged on the next day. Without this care, many will have died. The child in the photograph below is one such child whose parents were gravely concerned about its health. They rode by motorcycle with the child from Juba (about 100 miles) on bumpy roads to admit it to the Martha children’s ward. In just a day, the child was remarkably improved.
The Brickworks wanted to ensure that the ward was finished to a high standard. The specification included tiled floors, which are easy to keep clean, electricity and running water, cots made by a local welder and toys for the children. There is even a television showing children’s programmes. There are six trained nurses who provide round the clock nursing care. An experienced paediatric nurse from Ireland gave some of the initial training and was very impressed with both the facilities and the calibre of the newly qualified nurses at Martha.
Our next goal
To raise enough money each year to keep the children’s ward fully staffed and equipped.
Did you know?
In South Sudan one in five children die before their 5th birthday?
