Meet Our Clinic Staff

Erica Trauba, MHOP Programs Manager, recently interviewed new clinic staff Dr. Bourama Diarra and Aissatou Bayo. Dr. Diarra and Ms. Bayo are putting their unique skillset and knowledge of the local community to use by leading the first clinic accessible to the Sourakabougou community.

Dr. Diarra (left) and Ms. Bayo (right)

Dr. Bourama S. Diarra: 

The first thing that strikes you about Dr. Bourama S. Diarra is that he is young but very serious. His dedication to his role as a community doctor is obvious in the quiet, pensive manner he assumes when engaging in conversation. Beneath his calm demeanor, though, is genuine excitement about his new post as the doctor at the Centre de Sante de Communautaire de Sikoro-Sourakabougou (CSCOMSISOU). 

Dr. Diarra feels lucky to be where he is, and has worked very hard to get there. His father was forced to quit school at a young age because of an uncle's mistrust for the colonial education system. "It's sad, but makes sense," says Diarra. "They were the children of people affected by slavery." Diarra explains that his father carried his disappointment for a long time, so education became a high priority in the family. Dr. Diarra comes from a family of farmers who are not very wealthy, but all 17 kids in the family went to school and studied hard.  

Dr. Diarra began his studies in 1991 and received his first diploma in 1999 from l'ecole fondamentale. In 2002, he received his baccalaureate, and then the DEF. He is proud to say that he never had to retake a class. When asked why he decided to seek a career as a physician, Dr. Diarra states that he has always had "l'amour de la blouse blanche," or "love for the white coat!" He has wanted to be a doctor since high school, when he first plunged into biological studies.  

Dr. Diarra went on to complete the 7-year curriculum at Bamako's medical school. "It's not easy [to be a medical student] because you have to work at the same time to finance your studies," explains Dr. Diarra. He graduated in 2008, and presented his thesis on June 12^th, 2009.  

Following medical school, Dr. Diarra worked as a volunteer doctor at the reference health center (CSREF, Centre de Sante de Reference) in the Korofina neighborhood. While working at the CSREF, he heard from three people about the new community health center that had been constructed in Sourakabougou through MHOP's financial and logistical support. When he heard they were searching for a doctor, he went to look at the structure, where he saw posters advertising the job. He applied, and the rest is history! 

Since the clinic opened its doors on March 1^st, 2010, Dr. Diarra has treated patients from six neighborhoods, including Sourakabougou, Sikoroni, Banconi, Banconi-Farada, Djalakorodji, and Djanguinebougou. He arrives at the clinic at 7:30 in the morning, and often stays until 6 or 7 pm. He says that he works the long hours because he understands how important it is to keep the clinic open when it is so new -- he wants the community to have as much access to medical services as possible.  

The most common afflictions he treats include malaria, cutaneous infections, small injures, various lung infections, gastrititis, and cavities. Dr. Diarra estimates that 70 percent of the patients he sees are children, including newborns. Women come in too. So far, male patients are rare.  

Dr. Diarra is interested in continuing to improve his medical practice. He states, "In the future, I want to study again, probably internal medicine." He is interested in chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, which are becoming more and more common in Commune I, the section of Bamako where Sikoro and Sourakabougou are located. Dr. Diarra guesses that 80% of people over age 50 in Commune I have hypertension. He states, "For a sick person, you have to support them psychologically, especially someone with a chronic condition because that never finishes." 

In Dr. Diarra's words, the best part of his job is "to have cured, to have saved a life." He explains, "God is there, but we have to help too. When you comfort someone, you feel comforted as well." Dr. Diarra hopes that his competence can help the new clinic be successful. He plans to work hard at his job because he knows he holds a lot of responsibility for the population that comes to the clinic's doors. Dr. Diarra hopes that one day, people will look at the CSCOMSISOU and remember him well. He hopes that they say, "Diarra was the first doctor at our clinic, and thanks to him, the clinic was able to develop." 
 

Aissatou Bayo: 

Aissatou Bayo is the sage femme (translated literally as 'wise woman') at the CSCOMSISOU. She is the midwife of the clinic and oversees all childbirths. She also sees patients for pre-natal visits and family planning.  

Ms. Bayo decided to become a sage femme for several reasons. First of all, she likes kids. Ms. Bayo also knew that sage femmes were needed in her country: "I noticed there are lots of maternal deaths in Mali. I want to help women here and work to improve these conditions." She is the only sage femme in her family, but her father is also in the medical field. He is a doctor and professor at Bamako's medical school, where he lectures on cancer. 

After attaining her baccalaureate, Ms. Bayo attended a public sage femme school in the Toukorobougou neighborhood of Bamako. The academic program lasted three years, and she began participating in internships from the start. Ms. Bayo has experience working in hospitals, regional health centers, and local clinics. One of her earliest internships was in the emergency room of Gabriel Toure Hospital in downtown Bamako -- not a place for the faint of heart. She states, "It was a little shocking. People came with many injuries. Ever since then, I haven't been afraid of blood!"

This is a good thing, especially for a sage femme! Ms. Bayo vividly remembers the first childbirth she attended -- people had warned her that if she were not brave, she would never want to have children! She says, "The first time I went into the birthing room, it was intense and it shocked me. It was hard to see that woman's pain -- "I almost felt like I was that woman. I remember the odor of the blood. But it went well. And I'm not afraid to give birth!"

Ms. Bayo helped deliver the first child at the Sourakabougou clinic in early March. She recounts that even though she has had plenty of experience with women in childbirth, "I was a little scared. I was scared because it is a new center and you have to do all you can so the population trusts you." A healthy baby boy was born that day. "After, when I told the mother she was the first woman to give birth at the clinic, she was very happy!"

One of the most difficult parts of Ms. Bayo's job is talking to women during prenatal and family planning visits. The challenge lies in making sure they understand what she tells them. Ms. Bayo explains that it takes some women a while to learn because it is information they have never heard before. She knows, though, that, "You have to persist with these things, and explain for a long time; you have to get to know people and give them information."

The other difficult part of the job is coming face to face with the population's poverty. Sometimes patients come to the clinic to get treated, but they don't have enough money for the medication. Ms. Bayo states, "Sometimes you have to pay for the patients. When you see someone suffering, you can't just leave them alone. You pay from your own means."

In the future, Ms. Bayo hopes that a separate maternity building, that was once promised funding by the Malian government, will be built. She also hopes that a gate can be constructed around the clinic grounds. This is especially important in Mali, where women are often ashamed to be seen going somewhere to give labor. She explains that there are enough materials to do her work, but it would be nice to eventually acquire more.  

Ms. Bayo states that one thing she really enjoys about working at CSCOMSISOU is that the personnel have a lot of respect for one another. She says, "We eat together, we talk together, we chat." This is important to her because, "If there is collaboration, there will be hope for the future; for the clinic to work well, the personnel has to get along." She has a positive attitude about her work. When Ms. Bayo looks towards the future and her career as a sage femme, she states, "I hope to do more, to do all I can to fight for health. I hope God will give me the strength to do this."