RI Grant for Zambian Project

ROTARY CLUB OF PERRANZABULOE AWARDED PR GRANT FOR FILMING HUMANITARIAN WORK IN ZAMBIA

The Rotary Club of Perranzabuloe has been awarded a Rotary International Public Relations Grant to help publicise the humanitarian work of Dr Peter Blackwell-Smyth in Zambia. Peter Blackwell-Smyth, who worked for nearly 30 years as a GP in St. Austell, Cornwall, and is now Deputy Coroner for Cornwall, has been doing voluntary work in Africa since 1993 helping to save the lives of mothers and babies.

 For the last three years, Peter has been travelling to Monze Hospital in Zambia, taking with him many pieces of greatly needed equipment, some of which is paid for through his personal fundraising activities, and some through Perranzabuloe Rotary Club where Peter is a member. The PR grant covers the cost of filming Peter’s work at the Monze Hospital for a news story for BBC Television to be broadcast later this month, to help raise awareness of Rotary’s international work and to encourage further support from within Rotary and the general public.   Rotary International introduced the PR grants in July and the $3410 award  is the first one to be awarded to a Rotary Club in Europe.

While Rotary International has given grants for Peter’s travelling costs, his work in the hospital is voluntary and unpaid, and when he was a practising full-time GP, Peter himself paid a locum to take his place in the UK.

Peter now works in the Maternity department in Monze where the Consultant, Michael Breen is from Ireland. Peter’s main job there is not only to look after mothers-to-be, especially those who need special care such as a Caesarean Section, but also to teach students and midwives. In Zambia, as in the UK, midwives care for most pregnant patients, but when complications, such as high blood pressure, severe bleeding or prolonged labour occur, patients often need more skilled assistance.

In the UK, this type of care is given in hospitals  however, in Zambia, as in most countries in Africa and the Developing World, there are not enough doctors, especially in more remote areas.  In Cornwall, including hospital doctors, there is approximately 1 doctor to every 500 people but in Zambia it is more like 1 for every 5-10000 people! Looking at it another way, the lifetime risk of women dying in pregnancy or childbirth is 1 in 2000 in the Developed World but in countries in the Developing World, such as Zambia, this risk is almost 20 times higher at 1 in 65.                                                 

Zambia, like several other developing countries, has responded to this situation by training Licentiates. Licentiates do 4 years basic training in patient care so that when qualified, they are able to treat problems like chest and urine infections, sore throats and minor trauma. Some students go on to do another 2 years training so that they also can manage maternity problems such as high blood pressure, eclampsia and severe haemorrhage as well as being able to perform Caesarean Sections, tubal ligations etc.

It is Peter’s job to spend 4 weeks with each group of Licentiate students (there are 2 groups each year) to introduce them to maternity work and enable them to benefit from the more specialised teaching given later by the Consultant.

Peter’s work in Africa and the support he receives from the Rotary Organisation, is another example of the way in which the Rotary Motto  – Service above Self - is put into action. This type of quiet and steady work makes a major impact on the well being of mothers-to-be and their children, and those who support this training can be sure their money reaches those who need it most.