There are always projects under way at Sibanor! Those listed here are the big ones that we are working on at the moment, but there are always small projects on the go aimed to improve things such as our buildings, our processes, our IT systems, and our interaction with our staff, patients and communities that we serve.
If you have a particular skill or interest and feel that you could contribute to a project at Sibanor we would love to hear from you.
Neuro-rehabilitation Project​
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Following our involvement in the rehabilitation of two
young men at Sibanor with severe spinal injuries
causing paraplegia, we havebecome aware of the
high number of people suffering spinal injuries in
the Gambia every month.
There is no neuro-rehabilitation service in the Gambia.
Working with the local neuro-surgeon and specialists
from the Department of Global Health at Edinburgh
University we are investigating how to implement
a sustainable service and also how we
at Sibanor can be involved.
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​​Village Outreach Project
There are many large and small villages and family communities living in the vicinity of Sibanor. The Village Outreach Project objectives are to ensure that people in these villages are visited regularly in order to screen for hypertension and asymptomatic diabetes, two non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that are prevalent in The Gambia. This gives an opportunity to engage with Christians from the local church. If a village member is diagnosed possible hypertension or diabetes, they are given a ‘free pass’ to come to Sibanor Health Centre for further tests, confirmation of diagnosis, and for a regular treatment plan to be started if necessary.
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High blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes are two of the highest causes of illness and death in The Gambia, but many people with them are un-diagnosed. The treatments (regular medication) are inexpensive and effective once a person is diagnosed. Village communities are very receptive to the offer of a free screening service and it is a very effective way to build relationship and trust with them.
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An aim of the Outreach Project is to establish a dedicated team consisting of a driver, a nurse and nurse assistant, and two ECG pastors to visit villages most days of the week. In the future, it might be practicable to establish a hub in another village which could be visited possibly weekly. As relationships with village communities grow, the intention is to add health education sessions on some visits and to extend the scope of the interaction with the pastors. Right now, we have made a start using part time team members, visiting one village or community per week. The team has been very well received and a high proportion of people with a suspected NCD have taken up the offer of the free follow-on tests.
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The main barriers to extending the work are the availability of a dedicated vehicle (which needs to be
4-wheel drive in order to reach villages along dirt roads), and the recruitment and funding of more Christian team members. If you would like to help us overcome these barriers please visit the 'Support Us' page, or by clicking on the link below.
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Outreach
We seek to share the Good News with our patients and the local community. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, a local pastor preaches in the waiting hall. We show the Jesus film on the ward and offer to pray with patients. We also run Kids club on a Wednesday which is a lot of fun and importantly the children learn about Jesus.
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