Final day of the medical caravan!
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Cœur de Gazelles
The Uppercut project following its course
The volunteers are up at 6:30 a.m. to start their final day of the caravan, after a pleasant evening camping together under the stars: despite the fatigue, many would like to prolong these final days together.
Today the team gets set up in a new village, Oulad Jamaa. There is a great need here, and the patients arrive early. While the patient triage unit gets to work, the two employees of the Uppercut project continue their mission. Donations received before this year’s edition allow Cœur de Gazelles to collect plastic waste in remote areas of southern Morocco. This plastic will then be recycled by a local organization, which will transform it into design objects.
As the morning advances, the consultation rooms are always full. Once they have finished their consultations, patients make their way to the pharmacy to pick up their prescribed medications and then to the donations truck to collect donations distributed in a biodegradable cotton bag.
In addition to the direct benefits of the donations, this initiative is part of Cœur de Gazelles mission to raise awareness about the dangers of plastic bags, known in Morocco as Mika Khala. The cotton bags replace the plastic bags traditionally used for shopping.
Last patients of the 2019 caravan
After lunch, the caravan reopens its doors for the last consultations of the year.
Noura and Christian, nurses in charge of patient follow-up, still have work to do. A family arrives with a 22-year-old daughter, Khadija, who has a very unusual tumor. The tumor appeared at the age of 6, on her back next to her spine, and prevents the young woman from moving freely or sleeping on her back.
Noura and Christian immediately make an appointment with a specialist in Fez and arrange to pay for her transportation. Like all patients taken in charge by the patient follow-up unit, Khadija will continue to be followed by Cœur de Gazelles after the caravan to ensure that she receives all the necessary care.
See you next time!
As the day draws to an end, it is time for the doctors to pack up their equipment and return to the bivouac. It has been a long week, and the next few days promise some well-earned rest. Tomorrow the team will head for Essaouira, where the official presentation on this year’s edition will be held in the presence of the caravan’s partners.
Like every year, the members of the association have accomplished exceptional work. Cœur de Gazelles is extremely proud to have them on its team, and each member will have lasting memories of the adventure.
Patient follow-up
Patient follow-up in the only unit of the caravan that continues to operate throughout the year. The objective is to accompany patients who require further care in order to act as a liaison between them and the appropriate medical facilities.
The patient follow-up team makes appointments for the patients in their charge, and pays any costs associated with these appointments. Some of these people have never consulted a doctor and are not even registered in the Moroccan health system: Noura and Christian see to it that this is done, and take care of the administrative procedures.
Transportation costs are also covered by the association. In general, patients have no means to reach the medical facilities: Cœur de Gazelles therefore pays the necessary taxi and ambulance costs.
The mission of the patient follow-up unit is simple: to facilitate, as much as possible, each step of navigating the medical system for the patients it helps. This commitment is part of Cœur de Gazelles desire to make a long-term difference in the lives of the communities it visits.
