Waverly Mellies is an architectural student at the University of Arizona. This is her first trip to Africa.
A motto I have had since I started college, and the motto that has motivated me to participate in this trip is, “do what makes you uncomfortable” meaning that without some discomfort you are not able to grow and evolve as an individual. As a student graduating within the next school year it is more important than ever for me to take every opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and take the opportunity to see the work being done around the world.
So with that in mind, we boarded the smallest airplane at the Entebbe airport to continue the highly anticipated final stretch of the journey to Moyo. The flight was stunning, there was not a moment that I wasn’t looking out the window watching Entebbe fall behind revealing farmland and eventually Moyo.
Immediately after touchdown we proceeded to the local hospital where we were warmly greeted by the executive board and district representatives. It was such an honor to witness the ceremony of the opening of the housing project completed by Pipeline to provide improved accommodations for hospital staff. It was interesting to see the network of collaborators from the community, hospital, and district that came together with Pipeline to make it all possible. People from different walks of life came together for a common goal.
For myself the visit to the hospital’s NICU was very difficult, it made me confront the uncomfortable truth that in some parts of the world hospitals struggle to provide basic life saving care and babies are sadly lost due to a lack of infrastructure and the simple fact that the hospital can not afford or does not have access to the recourses that could save a child’s life. The visit to the hospital also brought into perspective how important the work Pipeline is, every small thing they do makes a big difference.