It’s a long way from Hythe, Alberta to Kampala, Uganda, but Paul Godel knows his medical knowledge can travel anywhere.
The northern Alberta paramedic will make the long journey this week to volunteer his time in the capital city, training 40 Ugandan students in emergency care.
Godel said the trip was inspired by his father, who spent years volunteering across the African continent setting up health clinics for mothers and their children.
Paul Godel is spending a month in Kampala, offering emergency care training to more than 40 students. (Paul Godel/Facebook)
“I’ve always been very interested in the idea of volunteering overseas and I have some roots in Africa as far as experience,” Godel said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM on Wednesday.
‘Honour his legacy’
The senior Godel returned to Africa every year for more than a decade, and often brought his wife and children along with him — exposing the rural Alberta family to life in western and northern Africa.
“My father was a pediatrician and he went over there, every year for about 15 years, and set up a string of child and mother health clinics,” said Godel.
“I thought it would be kind of a nice thing to honour his legacy by going over there and doing some volunteer work as well, but that rapidly expanded into something quite a bit more.”
‘There is really nothing for the average people, the average citizens for emergency medicine.’ – Paul Godel
When Godel began researching volunteer opportunities, he realized emergency care in the country was seriously lacking.
Paramedic training programs are rare, and reliable ambulance services are scarce, leaving patients dangerously isolated from medical services, he said.
For instance, Kampala’s largest hospital has an ambulance, but lacks adequate funds to use it regularly, said Godel.
“There is really nothing for the average people, the average citizens, for emergency medicine,” Godel said.
“About seven per cent of the population has access to EMS and it’s very expensive when it is available.”
‘Training people out in the trenches’
In partnership with a local skills development NGO called Hapa Resources, Godel will spend a month in Uganda with two fellow paramedics. They will offer staff at local medical clinics the same training provided to Alberta EMTs before they enter the field.
The team is also bringing donated medical supplies such as stethoscopes and basic first aid kits, to better equip local clinics to care for emergency patients.
Godel funded the project out of pocket and with backing from a fundraising campaign he set up online.
“There are 12 outlying clinics in the parishes around the hospital that we will be working from so they will be coming in from the clinics on their own time and taking the courses with us,” he said.
“Then these people will be there to treat any life-threatening injuries, stabilize them and make reports to the hospital so the hospital knows what’s coming.”
If the first training sessions prove successful, Godel hopes to establish a permanent program to train Ugandan paramedics.
“It’s already looking like, if everything is successful and works out right, this may turn into a long term thing,” Godel said.
“At this point, we’re just training people out in the trenches and then, hopefully starting a grassroots, effective, EMS program — something that hasn’t managed to be started there.”
Godel can’t wait to meet his first students. They already seem hungry for more training, he said.
“Everybody is really enthusiastic, the students are really enthusiastic in saying ‘We want to do this, but we want more. We want everything you can offer us.’
“I’m really looking forward to meeting them.”