ALO - Helping the 1st generation of Rwandan Sonographers

The Coosa Valley Technical College Sonography students belong to an organization called Alpha-Lambda-Omega or ALO (First and Last Wave). The ALO leadership has voted to assist with the tuition of the first Rwandan Sonographer.

There is no sonography program in Rwanda. The neighboring country of Uganda has an ultrasound school ECUREI which is operated in partnership with Thomas Jefferson University. For multiple reasons this arrangement seems to be the best current option for training. Kayiranga Saidi has been accepted into the Bachelor's in Sonography program. Foreign students can not obtain work permits and this makes for quite a financial hardship. The ALO students have accepted the challenge of covering tuition expenses. If you would like to join by helping with some of the other costs associated with training the first Rwandan Sonographer please contact Lori Wyman ALO president LoreliWyman@aol.com

From Saidi:

I'm a radiology technologist (radiographer) in KING FAISAL HOSPITAL, Kigali. In my day to day work I do radiographs with standard machine (or standard x-rays examination) with which I perform standard x-rays like Chest, Spines (cervical,thoracic,lumbar-sacral and coxxis), Plain Abdomen, Pelvis,Hips, Limbs, Skull... This job normally is done very well when it follows some radiological logics like radiation protection preparation of the patient, preparation of the materials, performing examination, processing films, labellings them and then giving them to the radiologists for interpretation and finally give the reported films to the patients or transmit them to the requesting doctors for follow up. I also perform special examination with fluoroscopy machine. I do different barium studies (Ba swallow, Ba meal, Ba follow through, Ba enema, myelography's, venograms and sometimes (rarely) angiography and in this examinations the rules are almost the same like the general radiography unless that in special we can see the different contrast materials that we give to the patients on the screen which enable to study the physiology of analyzed organs. Beside that I also do the CT's and here I can perform different CT scan examination like Brain, Chest, Abdomen, Skeletal some with or without contrast media as requested by the reffering doctor or decided by the radiologist. In the department sometimes I can do some non radiological works when asked by the head of department or other authority. As I am very interested in the Diagnostic Ultrasound, I'll be performing general abdominal ultrasound (liver, kidneys, pancreas, pelvic). I will also do the vascular (Doppler) and echocardiography, obstetrical/gynecological and other techniques as it will be dispensed.

I wish I'll be very useful to the people through the hospital and I hope I'll also be available when needed in other areas when conditions will permit it. I will not only be useful for the hospital but also in education with KHI (Kigali Health Institute) in teaching because right now we don't have any sonographer across the whole country.