Medicinal Secrets
Plants here are lush and hold many medicinal secrets.A wee walk to a hilltop taro plantation with some of the girls had us very enlightened. Papaya for healing wounds and the Noni plant now sold in many countries, hold the life giving properties for health and wellbeing. Its so good to see local plants being used so benefically.
One of the plants we saw, may hold the secret to assisting the spread of Aids virus in individuals. Studies are still being carried out and it sounds like ‘watch this space’.
Being a Registered Nurse, I was very keen to see how things work at the local village hospital. So under the tropical sun I walked the village roads leading to the new hospital and greeted with ‘ Where you from?’ Many of the Samoan people have links with New Zealand, love the rugby,…go Manu Samoa. Many have family who go to work in NZ to help their whanau here, some of the girls returning home to look after aging patents. A young RN showed me around the wee village hospital and without Drs,they become the practioners seeing people acutely and in clinics.
Medicines are often in short supply and everyone has to make do. With Apia being an hour and a half away, immediate treatment takes time so the Nurses have to do the best they can. As NZ nurses ,we take for granted our dressing packs and medicines always being on hand. Here it is back to basics, the nurses making up their own supplies for dressings.
Thank you for the insight.
