“I worked through to get my GP fellowship in New Zealand, and once that was done I started looking for a long-term placement, looking through the different SIM mission hospitals out there, and Mukinge in Zambia perfectly fit the vision of where I was meant to go that God had given me about 20 years ago.”
She has been at Mukinge for two years, and has found it very different from hospitals at home.
“Primarily my training’s been in general practice but I have a passion for female medicine and gynaecological-related issues, so my mainstay of work here is in the female medical ward. And I’ll soon be taking up the food project, responsible for supplying patients with food and helping in the malnourished children programme.” Jessica also covers the whole hospital when she’s on call.
Working at Mukinge has meant getting used to a new kind of hospital environment. Jessica says, “Hospital life is very, very different, both in the conditions that we see — obviously a lot more tropical diseases such as malaria, but also in the resources that we have to combat the diseases. Often each day presents a puzzle, the need to adapt. As a result of the severity of the diseases and the lack of resources you can see more death in one day than you would in a year working in New Zealand.” Learning about new conditions and how to treat them, and trying to fix a problem with what is available, Jessica must depend on her skills, her colleagues and God to get favourable outcomes for the patients at the end of that.
She adds, “Then there’s working within the system here to do that — there are a lot of differences in how you can approach patients, how you can approach colleagues.” Learning to navigate that as well as putting the patient first can be a difficult balance.
The weather is much hotter and often drier than New Zealand, and the culture can be very different as well. Jessica comments, “As a feminist, it’s hard to adapt to the inequality. Part of what l’m trying to do is show that females can have an equal part to contribute.”

      Jessica does find plenty to enjoy about life in Mukinge.
“I love the expat community and the support we can give each other in our work and the advice and help from people who have been here longer, as well as the community between ourselves and the Zambians. I have some amazing colleagues that l’ve learned a lot from. I’ve made some good friends in the hospital.
“I enjoy the camaraderie, working towards our bigger goals together,” Jessica says. “As for how long I’ll be here in total — that’s up to God, but I’m open to being here for the indefinite future.
“Despite all those challenges, and the severity of conditions the people come in with, we see God working. People survive and are healed, when they easily might not. You see it 100% by the power of God and prayer — where medicine says that they shouldn’t survive; the lack of resources says that they shouldn’t.”

      Asked what advice she would give someone who wants to do cross-cultural mission work, Jessica says. “If that is where God’s calling you — just do it. My suggestion would be to start off with a short term mission trip in the field that you’re interested in, to get a feel for things, to get some experience without the pressure of the long-term. From interacting with the missionaries there you will get a better idea if this is where you are called. Then figure out what you need, to go longer.”
— Jessica was interviewed by Anita Shirley.
Prayer:
“At the moment, things are very, very busy in the hospital and we’re running very low on staff; pray as the staff manage the workload and for
endurance and energy through this time.”