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Midwife Sam's mercy missions
A midwife who spent nine months working in northern Uganda is now looking forward to her next humanitarian mission.
Working in a refugee camp with limited drugs and facilities was a huge challenge for Sam Perkins, but one the 27-year-old relished.
After graduating as a midwife in 2003, Miss Perkins worked with asylum seekers in England before working with women in New Zealand and Aborigines in the Australian desert.
But it was her trip to Africa in June last year which proved to be the biggest eye-opener as Miss Perkins was the only one with real maternity training in a camp of about 5,000 people.
Miss Perkins, of Kylesku Crescent, Kettering, delivered babies, helped with family planning and trained Ugandan midwives.
The camp for displaced people also serves the surrounding area and women in labour often have to walk for up to four hours to get to the camp.
Miss Perkins said: "I have worked in different places in the world but nothing prepares you for this.
"The equipment and drugs are very limited and there was such overcrowding.
"There was no specialist doctors to help me – I was the one making the life-or-death decisions.
"Normally a midwife would have the support of a paediatrician, anaesthetist – a whole team.
"There wasn't any incubators or oxygen or anything for premature babies. It was the survival of the fittest.
"There was just nothing and no training can compare you for that."
She added: "Initially it was hard but I was working with some great Ugandan midwives.
"They have gone through 20 years of war and have lost their families, homes and their independence but they are so dedicated."
Miss Perkins said the most difficult thing was seeing mothers and babies die because of a lack of medicine or equipment.
She said: "Because of security restrictions, no ambulances could go out at night so if there was an emergency we had to wait until morning to get a woman to hospital. You just had to hope and pray they would make it to the morning.
"It was physically and mentally the most challenging thing I have done but it was the most incredible nine months of my life."
On coming back to the UK, Miss Perkins said: "It's hard to come back to your life of privilege."
Miss Perkins went to Uganda after joining aid organisation Mdecins Sans Frontires and is now waiting to hear where she will be posted in July.
She said: "I can't imagine a life without this now. I'm looking for an even bigger challenge next time."
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Weather for Kettering
Sunday 27 May 2012
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