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Learning Disabaility Nurse, The Netherlands

Period: January – October 2009  

When I arrived in Calcutta on the 13th of January, I really didn’t know what to expect. For me it was my first experience working as a nurse in a foreign country. In Holland, after my study nursing, I first worked in the hospital and also in home care. Then I decided to work in a rehabilitation center, where I have now worked for about 6 years.   But working in developing countries was always something that stayed on my mind.  I always had that vision that the world is unfairly distributed and that we should try to share as much as we possibly can. That’s why I would like to share the knowledge I have gained in the field of nursing with others.  Through discussions with my Dutch colleague, who worked 10 years ago for Calcutta Rescue, and now is working regularly for Medicins sans Frontieres, I became more and more encouraged to actually take that step. Now I am here in Calcutta for almost 7 weeks and I am planning to work for CR for about 9 months. My main task will be to give support in the development of the Learning Disability Project. During the last year,  the Disability Team has seen a huge increase in its number of people attending the clinics. We are based in three of the clinics per week - Tala Park, Belgachia and Sealdah.  In addition, throughout the year we have been to many of the other areas of Calcutta, to visit various people with disabilities that have been referred to us.  Because the department is growing so quickly, I believe it is very important to make the organization as efficient as possible so that continuity of care is maintained.   And I have been focusing my efforts in this area and hope to make some small but lasting changes that will benefit our patients for the long term.   What I have experienced up to now is that every culture has its own way of working. You have to respect that, accept it and adapt to it … otherwise it can be very frustrating.  The language barrier can sometimes be very hard, particiularly during the observation period – it can take a lot of time and effort just to get the right information, before even engaging with the patient. . Step by step I try to achieve my goals. And I try to be satisfied with every step, not matter how large or small, that I achieve….