Thursday 18 October 2012

It's over a month now since I submitted my dissertation, and in two weeks we will have the results of the marking process. Time for some initial reflections on the outcome of all that study and work.
I continue to support and advise on the disability project at Global Care Soroti: the day centre has started receiving clients and I look forward to hearing about it from Paul Rowell after his recent visit there. I hope he will have some advice for me on how to disseminate the learning from the project in the Soroti area.
I have also just advised PHASE Nepal about a training day on disability for their community health workers there, which I was very pleased to be asked to do.
People ask, am I going to use the degree to seek work overseas? Unlike my fellow students, I am not starting my career but in the latter stages of it. I still have a dream that one day I will find a way to make a bigger contribution in healthcare in Africa, but I think I have to be a little patient still. However I can advise, try to spread what I have learned and continue to inform myself on development issues, particularly as they affect people with disabilities. In the meantime I am sorting out some sessions in an interesting GP practice in Barnsley, with a high quotient of international clients as well as asylum seekers and also many drug users, which suits my skills and interests well.
I am missing the buzz and stimulus of studying, and the company of my fellow students, but have plenty to get on with at the moment, and am looking forward to a little holiday and remembering what it is to relax!
Thanks for reading,