Isabel Miller Reflection – Clinical Outreach to Uganda

Isabel Miller is a College of Health Professions student at MUSC. She was awarded a Center for Global Health Student & Trainee Travel Grant in early 2024 to pursue a project in Masindi, Uganda. View more photos of her time in Uganda in this Flickr photo gallery.

As I have returned to my typical life and everyday schedule in the U.S., I am constantly thinking of the beautiful smiling faces of the Ugandan population and my time spent on the interdisciplinary healthcare team with OneWorld Health this past May. Our team was immediately welcomed by Aikki Joseph when we arrived at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda and were happily transported by him and his team the entire week. Each day we learned from a local about the culture, customs and what everyday life looked like as we traveled to set up pop-up, medical clinics at local school buildings in rural areas of Uganda. These clinic sites consisted of 4 main areas with nurses in triage, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and primary care doctors in the provider room, a therapy clinic with occupational and physical therapy, and a pharmacy for medications. Additionally, we had a Ugandan discipleship team that shared the gospel and prayed with individuals receiving care. We worked alongside a Ugandan medical team of doctors to serve over 1,000 patients, from infants to older adults, during the five outreach days.

One experience that created a lasting impact on me, was when a parent of a 3-year-old, non-verbal and non-mobile baby, with Cerebral Palsy, asked if we had a pill she could take to walk and talk again. Unfortunately, this child likely developed Cerebral Palsy after a high fever for multiple days from untreated malaria. The parent was under the impression that we had something for a “quick fix” for their child and it was heartbreaking and very difficult to explain that even in the United States we do not have any medical intervention that guarantees the child will walk and talk again. Even in these hard moments, it was evident how thankful and appreciative each patient was to be seen and listened to. Each day, when we arrived at the clinic sites, there were hundreds of people lined up waiting, where many had come and slept on the ground the night before to get their spot in line. Even after a sleepless night, they were smiling and waving as we drove up, were patient waiting for house to be seen and still there to say goodbye when we left each afternoon.

I was encouraged daily by witnessing how strangers were so quick to help one another. Every Ugandan we encountered immediately shared a smile with us and waved hello and goodbye. They had a desire to learn more and about how they could help themselves, their children or their friends and families in their villages. We were able to build assistive seating devices out of cardboard boxes, PVC pipe and lots of duct tape to help young children with low muscle tone with feeding and independent playtime. Our team gave out wheelchairs, crutches and shoes to those in need and cleaned multiple wounds each day. Everything we created or gave resources to were from materials that can be obtained in Uganda to create and fulfill OneWorld Health’s mission to create sustainable healthcare.

This experience left a profound impact on my personal and professional journey of becoming an Occupational Therapist as I gained valuable clinical skills and knowledge to use in my future career. I will forever cherish the memories and people I met on my team and in Uganda and will continue to look forward for the time when I can return.