Finally we did it! Was Mirko’s expression of satisfaction when we finished the process of dismantling, packing and shipping about 15 hospital beds to the Kitovu Hospital in Masaka and a local health clinic in Kibaale, both located in Uganda. When we received this donation our knowledge and skills about the subject were minimal in terms of operation or sanitation; in fact none of us have had the opportunity to operate a hospital bed before, therefore the task became a real challenge for the group of volunteers involved. It should be noted that this is just a one time job and not our real field of activity.
The process of dismantling took a couple of days due the complexity of this medical equipment (it is not only about nuts and screws) we are talking about suspension, lifting handles, small springs and so on. However the very important test for us consisted in reducing the volume of the bed to a minimum without damaging its structure and ensuring a safe journey to Africa.
Apparently “Mission Accomplished” at that stage, nonetheless Mirko noted we missed a very important part of the task… the “Manual of Instructions”, how do we produce a set of basic instructions that are simple and understandable? It was probably the greatest challenge for the volunteers, but Finally we did it!