Elfrinks share Ugandan experiences at Santa Fe Trail Days kickoff

Dr. Roy Elfrink talks about the month he spent in Uganda earlier this summer at the Santa Fe Trail Days kickoff luncheon Friday, Sept. 11.
(Sydney Stonner/Democrat-News)

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The country, located just north of Rwanda in east-central Africa, is lush and mountainous with moderately warm temperatures, although it is situated on the equator. Winston Churchill once described the nation as "the pearl of Africa," Roy said.

He agreed and said, "Uganda is a beautiful, beautiful country."

But the people of the country are quite poor for the most part, eking out an existence by farming sweet potatoes, beans and other crops in plots of land passed down through generations. They typically don't have running water or electricity.

"Most of the people would rely almost entirely on what they could grow in their garden," Melanie said. "Life is incredibly hard."

Offering a little perspective, Roy said a bottle of soda cost about U.S. $0.50. But, the average housekeeper earns U.S. $5 per week; nurses make about $5 per day.

Roy, who is a general surgeon, spent his time seeing patients at St. Francis Hospital, but he said working as a doctor in Uganda was quite a bit different than working here in Marshall. For example, equipment used during surgery for IVs and anesthesia was more basic than what is regularly used here.

General medications are available, Roy said, though they often ran out of things at the hospital, making treatment difficult in some cases.

Plus, people often waited to come to the hospital until their symptoms were very severe.

"When somebody came in the hospital, they were sick," he said.

And as a doctor, "I had to be a lot smarter," he said.

Melanie also worked some at the hospital, in the pediatrics unit, and she mentioned the difference in hospital stays between the two countries. Melanie showed photos of children's laundry hanging outside the facility, which had been washed, by hand, by the patients' mothers.

"The basic care of the child is to be done by the family," she said, whereas in the U.S., nurses and hospital staff accommodate all of a patient's needs.

Malnutrition and starvation plague the country, Melanie said, as do deaths from conditions like anemia and diarrhea, which are quite curable here.

"That's hard for me to see, coming from America," she said.

Malaria and AIDS are also leading causes of death, and there are many orphaned children as well.

Despite all the differences between Uganda and America, Melanie said, "We really are more alike than we are different."

She showed a photo of a Ugandan mother and child, and said they both wanted basic things for their children: food, safety and a good education.

But, "the things that she worries about, we don't even have to think about," Melanie said, things like genocide and starvation.

Now that they are back in the U.S., the Elfrinks have a new appreciation for home. Roy expressed delight at eating a hearty fried chicken meal at the lunch, after a month of rice and beans.

"We came back feeling profoundly grateful," Melanie said.

Santa Fe Trail Days will be held at Indian Foothills Park beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net