MY TY: Barry O'Connell(17) of Belvedere College dealt with serious illness working with his uncle in a Zambian hospital

'I went to Zambia to work in a hospital. My uncle is a surgeon over there so I thought it would be a good idea to go over and work with him as I want to do medicine after my Leaving Cert. My aunt and cousin went over the year before and they recommended I visit.

"So I went last Easter for two weeks. I stayed in my uncle's house, which was within the hospital complex. It's not a huge hospital like we're used to here. It was a one-storey cement building with no air-conditioning. The windows were open all the time because the heat was unbearable. The heat makes the conditions more difficult as infection spreads quicker. A lot of the surgery would have to be done in the early morning when it's cooler.

"I did a lot of general work around the hospital: lifting boxes, bringing meals and drinks to patients. The people didn't have much English so there wasn't much communication between me and the

patients. It was very different to an Irish hospital. To be honest the conditions were terrible. There were just so many patients and most of them were just on the floor on mats. The food was terrible - it was a kind of slop made from maize.

"They don't have very good facilities there and a lot of stuff gets stolen if it is left lying around. My uncle would get supplies from charities in Ireland and keep them in his home here until he needed them and only then bring them over.

"The Aids epidemic is rampant so we had to deal with a lot of patients with HIV. You give them medication, but there's really not a lot else you can do for them.

"My uncle has worked there for 10 years which must be difficult. I've learnt how tough working in medicine is. The hours are long and you have to be really dedicated. You must also deal with pretty difficult sights like blood and seeing patients with serious illness.

"But I'm still going to go back to my uncle when I'm in college. I'd really like to help others. It felt great to put smiles on other people's faces. Many Zambians have nothing but they're so happy. Everyone smiles even though they are living in atrocious conditions."