I may have found my Mozambique here in Rome, by Gianni Murzi

 A couple of years ago I moved to another part of Rome, Trastevere, literally 'On the Other Side' of the River Tevere,  to be closer than before to my eldest brother, and to have a slightly larger flat than the one I used to lease. 

In Trastevere, I then found a lively community and I managed to establish new friendships. Among them a neighbour, a distinguished and recently retired haematologist and paediatric leukemia specialist, Anna, and David, a psychologist. Talking to them, and somehow motivated by them and their work, I started querying myself about my strongest roots, those of a retired UNICEF staff member or those of a medical doctor? 

Do I miss UNICEF? I do, but in my soul searching exercise, my medical training roots came first and strongest. Then, I went out of my way to look for opportunities asking friends and associations. Finally a friend of a friend said that the NGO Binario 95, literally 'The Train Track Number 95', was looking for a medical doctor for its mobile unit.  The unit provides health care to the most fragile in the society, being these the homeless, the migrants, or the economically challenged. 

First contact, followed by an in-person meeting, was very positive, as the NGO needed to restart providing health care both in a stationary clinic located near the Colosseum and a mobile unit serving the city suburbs. The mobile unit is a gorgeous ten meters long camper with the interior divided into two main compartments, or rooms, one for the social workers and the other for the clinic, and a in between service area with cupboards and refrigerators.

I then applied to get enrolled again into the Medical Doctors Order, I bought my stethoscope, a blood pressure digital measuring device and a few other professional implements.   My application to join the MDs' Order was approved and I started working teaming up with the haematologist colleague. 

I have plenty of patients' stories, some heartbreaking. The most important part of this time in my life is that one can find purpose and interesting work just around the corner from where one lives and just following one’s roots. The second point is that our listening to the patients, our taking a detailed account by the patient of their medical history, and our detailed physical exam as well as our caring attitude, make for a large part of the treatment. 

Do you want to  know something? I think that I found my Mozambique not far from where I live!