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Lofamia: ‘It’s something I will never forget’

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Published on Thursday, July 14, 2016

Submitted Photo. Paula Lofamia standing in front of the Africa Mercy, the hospital ship on which she volunteered as a nurse in an operating room.

By Kira Paterson

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

On June 1, Paula Lofamia, of Neepawa, returned from a month-long volunteer trip to Madagascar. She left on April 27 and spent four weeks as an OR nurse with a Christian organization called Mercy Ships. 

The ship is called the Africa Mercy and it is essentially a floating hospital that docks at coastal developing countries to provide free health care to people in need. It was docked at Madagascar while Lofamia was on it. 

“They have five ORs, they have lab services, they have CT and x-ray departments [on the Africa Mercy],” Lofamia explained, adding there is also a pharmacy and a blood bank. “We, volunteers are the blood bank of the Ship,” she noted. “I’ve never been so close to a workplace. [My cabin] was literally five steps away from the OR.”

The experience was everything she thought it would be. “I’ve read a lot about Mercy Ships, so it’s like living the surreal information that you read,” she explained. “It was really good. When people ask how’s my experience with Mercy Ships and in Madagascar, I always say that it’s something I will never forget and I’m happy I’ve done it. It’s an experience that I would love to do again and something that I will strongly recommend for other people.”

“It’s different [than here in Neepawa], because here I work shift work, but on the ship I worked 9:00 to 5:00, Monday to Friday and then on call [on the weekends].” Lofamia said that the nurses usually had two or three on call shifts, leaving the ones who were volunteering for four weeks with at least one weekend off. However, there were some volunteers who were only there for two weeks, so they wouldn’t be able to have a weekend off to tour Madagascar. Lofamia said she was able to help a couple of the nurses by taking their on call shifts, letting them go and see the sights before they had to leave.

She was able to have a little bit of time for herself as well, though. “I had a weekend that we went to another island,” she said, “I was able to see and pet lemurs.” Lofamia, who immigrated to Canada from the Philippines six years ago, also immersed herself in the culture during her time off. “I spent one weekend at a local church. It was really cool... It’s much similar like the Philippines. The weather, the family orientation. I actually look like one of them,” she noted. “They have Malaysian and Indonesian influence, which is the same as the Philippines... so it’s funny, I blended in.”

Her favourite part about the experience was how close she felt with the patients. “Here in Canada... there’s a distance between a health care provider and a patient, a line between. But when a patient knows that the health care provider came voluntarily to render service that they needed so bad, that barrier is broken,” she explained. “They are very thankful and it’s very fulfilling for someone that went there to lend a helping hand... I can feel the difference.” She continued, “I experience praying for patients here, I know that’s not usual... I’ve done it secretly here as patients ask, but in Madagascar, we offer it to every patient that will undergo surgery... I have not seen a single person while I was there that declined to be prayed for.” 

“The other part I liked about my experience is meeting people from all over the world,” she added. “It’s funny, it’s not just me that has an accent, everybody has an accent.”

Lofamia enjoyed her trip so much she wants to encourage other people to get involved in Mercy Ships or another volunteer organization. “I don’t know how, but I would love to be an advocate for Mercy Ships, or for any organization,” she said. “It’s important that the message gets passed on that the world needs a helping hand... What’s more encouraging is when you see people and hear people who are interested in volunteering, not for the sake of being known, but for the sake of helping.” 

Lofamia wanted to express her gratitude to the community for their encouragement. “The community of Neepawa is very supportive and also the church that I belong to, the International Worship Centre. They really have provided good support in all aspects – in prayers, in wishing me well, even the financial. Also the support I got from my co-workers, I would not be the nurse I am now if not for Neepawa Hospital and the things I learn from the people I work with. I wouldn’t be able to have this experience without their support.”

Submitted photo. Every week, the volunteers had "Funky Friday", where they would dress up crazy just for fun after a long week.