From Santiago to Africa: UC Chile Delegation Carried Out Health and Education Missions in Chad and Kenya

Four members of the Department of Health Sciences, Bernardita Severin, from the occupational therapy program; Carolina Tirado and Ricardo Capos, from the kinesiology program; and Andrés Sánchez, from the speech and language therapy program, travelled to Kenya for two weeks, visiting the Orione Kaburugi Community Training Center in Nairobi, where they conducted workshops for the academic and rehabilitation teams, both at practical and theoretical levels, as well as doing multidisciplinary work for the children at the training center, implementing tools for children’s rehabilitation. The academics visited the Chilean embassy in Kenya as well.

In 2024, the academic team secured funding from Santander Open Academy, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs (VRAI as per its Spanish acronym), to support this group-based, interdisciplinary project on pediatric rehabilitation, which aligns with UC Chile’s international cooperation efforts in health and education. “The three of us who were awarded the grant were supported by the office of the Faculty of Medicine, the president and department heads from the School of Health Sciences, as well as Ricardo Campos and Nicole Parentini, academics in the Kinesiology program, who were part of this project from its inception,” the professional researchers mentioned.

This project seeks to continue the work begun in 2023 by physical therapists Ricardo Campos and Nicole Parentini, who at that time brought in teams of professionals to offer pediatric rehabilitation. This time they expanded the support network to include the disciplines of occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, thereby improving pediatric care practices.

“Their workshops contributed invaluable knowledge, strengthening our efforts to support and protect children with special needs. Their dedication has had a lasting impact on the Orione Kaburugi Community Training Center, helping us to uplift children and foster their independence. We thank the collaboration with UC Chile and the Chilean embassy in Kenya,” the Center stated on their social media accounts.

Work with UC CHRISTUS in Chad

Between March 24 and April 17, an interdisciplinary team from Medicine UC and UC CHRISTUS participated in a mission in Chad to collect information for a forthcoming update to a project in collaboration with The Good Samaritan University-Hospital Complex (CHU-BS), located in the capital city of Yamena.

Medical attention and training activities were also provided for students and professionals in the field, with two main areas of implementation: training, where 18 formative sessions were held, totaling 31 hours of training for 744 participants; and clinical care, which included 32 surgical procedures for different pathologies, 62 sessions of physical therapy, 144 dental services, 120 outpatient consultations, and approximately 240 visits to hospitalized patients.

This mission is part of the cooperative project on training and healthcare established in 2009, under which 18 missions have been conducted and more than 70 professionals from both institutions have participated. This project is of great importance for the UC Chile community, considering the context of Chad, which ranks fifth among the world’s poorest countries, according to the Human Development Index (HDI) compiled by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

Doctor Besa pointed out that this trip was an opportunity to have “meetings to assess the situation, exchange ideas, and make projections, so that with all this input on the current state of affairs in Chad and in The Good Samaritan University-Hospital Complex we can create a joint plan and a new agreement to keep working together in the future.” 

“This is a South-South collaboration, which is very important for us to develop as the UC Chile Network, and it is also a great learning opportunity for our residents and interns in relation to holistic human development, interculturality, and learning to work in difficult environments with limited resources. In this sense, it has many benefits for us as well, so it is truly a collaboration in which we receive a lot,” added the project coordinator.

Regarding the work carried out in Chad, UC CHRISTUS physical therapist, Bárbara Raty explained that her role consisted of setting up a physiotherapy clinic and an outpatient rehabilitation room. She worked side by side with a physical therapist trained in Cameroon and a physical therapy technician trained in Chad, with whom she was able to “share knowledge, treat hospitalized patients, and also create, organize, and dream about an outpatient service for The Good Samaritan University-Hospital Complex,” she said. “One thing that never ceases to amaze me is everyone’s desire to improve and learn, their interest in others, their welcome nature despite being so different, their friendliness, kindness, and respect,” the specialist added about the work done there.

Along the same lines, Noskar Navarro, nurse and head of training and professional development at the Nursing UC CHRISTUS executive office, who was responsible for identifying the local needs in health training during the mission, mentioned that “the opportunity these instances give us to establish ties of genuine bilateral collaboration is noteworthy, because those of us who have taken part in this mission in our capacity as professionals feel tremendously strengthened, as, of course, do the communities that welcome us. It is mutually enriching."