Monday, November 19, 2007

Baba B

November 17th, 2007

Our everyday view - the desert-like dry-season with its sands and perfectly blue sky.

Working at the clinic, I have gotten to know some of the patients who return for check-ups regularly. The only long-term in-patient at the St. Luke’s Dispensary is Baba B. He had a serious bicycle accident a while ago and started treatment in a large hospital in Iringa. However, the family considered costs in the hospital too high and without notice, took Baba B and settled him at our clinic, some 5-6 hours bus ride from Iringa (it only takes 2 hours by car). I’ve become acquainted with Mama B and some of their adult children who have come from different cities and towns to take care of him. I’ve understood that the B family is from the HeHe tribe and they have taught me some HeHe greetings. It is clear that Mama B is a HeHe by the line markings carved on her face. Baba B is quite fortunate to have such a close family around. However, big and caring family seems to be the case in Tanzania anyways. There is always someone available to take care of another family member when they are in need, such as fostering related orphans, nursing sick family members and housing homeless relatives.

Baba B, in my opinion, is paralyzed and has little ability to respond. Sometimes he speaks a bit, but never to me yet, even though I have visited him everyday when I am at the clinic. He has extremely harsh bedsores on his back and sides. Some sores are healing, but the average size is about 10 cm in diameter. One of the sore is open, infected and almost deep enough to see his bone. Atu, the head nurse dresses his sores every morning. The bed sores, are however really preventable, by moving the patient’s sleeping position often, and the family was advised to do so. After assisting Atu one morning, Atu monitored me in dressing Baba B’s wounds first with hydrogen peroxide, then his medicine the next morning. As I was cleaning his wounds, I understand how hard it is to be a nurse. Emotionally, I knew that Baba B was in excruciating pain, yet I have to keep myself from crying while applying the medicines, pressing on his wounds. Imagine a regular nurse, who sees much more horrible things than this, how to keep oneself sane, caring and professional at the same time?

Baba B reminds me of my grandfather in his last days, very weak and waiting either for a miracle or for just the day that he’d breathe his last. Please pray for Baba B and his family, for encouragement and hope in their time of suffering.

Happy 23!

November 5th, 2007

One of the best birthdays I’ve had is in Africa. Well, I could call it the best birthday I’ve ever had in Africa, my first one. So on November 5th, a lovely Monday, I turned 23 years old in a land as far away from family as possible, but as warm and welcoming as being at home. I had the day free and made some errands in town by myself, enjoying my time of happiness, chatting to different townspeople as I ran about my business. Little did I know of all the quiet planning and strategizing that went behind my back during that time by the rest of the EI staff. After a peaceful day, I was invited to a birthday dinner at Andrew and Miriam’s place. I have asked for eggplant, rice and potato for dinner. That was what I got, because my favorite vegetable is eggplant and favorite food is rice. Yes, come to think of it, I’m a pretty cheap person to treat.

I was given Tangawizi (Tanzanian ginger ale) because it was my birthday. Previous days, everytime I ordered Tangawizi, it was out, so Sacha suggested getting Tangawizi for me. I was made very special that day. After the meal, Sacha and Miriam glanced at each other dubiously and ran into the kitchen. Within minutes, they brought out a beautiful strawberry shortcake with candles on top. I later found out that Sacha slaved away half a day making it. It was so delicious and just melts in my mouth! By this time, I was already extremely blessed and felt very special, thankful for the love and consideration lavished on me by these people that I have only gotten to know. Then, after finishing the fab cake, again, the same quite suspicious look came across again. Suddenly, out came the presents, all wrapped in shinny purple. As I opened each gift, I was surprised as each gift had a special meaning to me. A notebook from Neema Crafts, a Christian Swahili CD which I was planning on buying, and a Mr. Bean’s Complete Series DVD (as we all know that Jen loves Mr. Bean’s). I was laughing so much that tears rolled down my eyes. That was how happy I was. It wasn’t over yet as the funniest expression rolled over everyone and Joe, Paul (a friend who works at Neema Crafts), Sacha, Andrew and Miriam all rushed into the kitchen. In a line, they came, dancing up this round thing wrapped in excessive purple wrapping paper. As I received it, I knew exactly what was in it. Since my first week, I have spotted the most hideous thing in the world that it was even rejectedk from Value Village. It was a costume, suitable for children, of Miss Piggy with a huge head and purple sequins. However, the head fits right under Miss Piggy’s head which looked like one is being eaten by her. The doll was hanging right on the toy stand in the market. Ever since I saw it, I have shown it to everyone who would pass by the toy stand with me because I thought that it was the ugliest and funniest thing in the world. It would seriously give some children nightmares. So, everytime I passed by, I’d anticipate seeing it. It was moved to different spots, but I’d still always be happy to search for it. So, whenever I walked by, the sellers would pull out the doll for me to look at. When I opened the purple wrapping paper, I laughed hysterically. It was sweet of the staff in buying me Miss Piggy and I was very touched for their consideration. The hideous doll no longer seemed so ugly and was almost adorable because of what went in behind it to get it into my arms. So, it is now mine......

My goal for the upcoming year is to bribe a child to take Miss Piggy out of my possession. However, I don’t believe anyone can appreciate this gift more than me.

Happy Birthday! But Ben's the "real" star!


Awesome company for my birthday in Tanzania (from left to right): Jen, Andrew, Ben, Miriam, Sacha and Paul - Joe's taking the picture


mm.... yum..strawberry shortcake


The first present, a very good quality notebook made by Neema Crafts (a craft shop for disabled craftsmen)



Miss Piggy!!

Week One in Usolanga

November 11th, 2007

On Tuesday, Andrew brought Sacha and I officially back to our placement village, Usolanga. After two hours of driving, we’ve made it to our little house behind the dispensary. At this point, the house was still under construction and the workers are working in our courtyard where our kitchen, storeroom and bathroom are. After Andrew has returned to town, Sacha and I continued painting our rooms in the house and cleaning. During the summer, the time where no interns were in the village, the house was empty. A horde of bats invaded the clinic as their morning homes. As they were chased away, the only empty house nearby was ours! So for a length of time, our humble abode was home to 100 bats. The workers were successful to build a ceiling board to prevent bats from entering and living on the roof of the house. However, there were still bat remains and some who sneaks in through the cracks. Andrew and myself each killed one live one. The bat feces is considered really good fertilization for gardening which I will soon start.

Sacha and I, then cooked dinner on a charcoal stove (first time for me) and had a wonderful meal in the dark. The nights in Usolanga are most rewarding as on a clear night, the sky is lit up by millions of stars, so brightly shinning that you’d need to be out in the country to see in Canada. It was speechless and with the breeze of night, we prayed together for our 8 months in the village, for our work here that God would prepare our hearts to serve Him. We prayed for the mothers, the children, the men and women we will meet in our days here, for love and for a sensitivity to the needs of the people, to understand and help each other.

The next morning was the first Wednesday of the month which meant it was Clinic Day at the RCH (Reproductive Child Health) building, an extension of the clinic. Every first and third Wednesday of the month, the mothers of the area bring their under-five years old children to be weighed. During that time, we will be able to teach about health and nutrition and help to weigh and produce the child’s growth chart. This procedure is done so mothers can understand if their children are underweight and unhealthy or needs improvement in their diets. Approximately 200 mothers come to Clinic Day once a month which amounts to 400 mothers in total. According to surveys, there are actually 800 mothers in the region. This means that the clinic is only reaching half of the children in the area. The doctor of the clinic, Dr. Muheta is hoping to have outreaches to make our services available to all the mothers, especially those who live in farther areas.

As we were waiting for the sessions to start, Sacha and I sat in the courtyard of the clinic as a large of mothers waited with their toddlers. The mothers and children alike were interested in us and why we were there. Once in awhile, a mother will forcefully drag her child near us and the child would start wailing upon seeing us. They were scared of us, but everyone else just laughed about that event. The poor child is not yet accustomed to our presence and is terrified by mzungus. Fortunately, there were less than 5 of those children. Along with the health officers, Asha and Musa, we weighed the children and recorded their status. We introduced ourselves and about what we will be doing at the clinic. Upon meeting Asha and Musa, they expected us to teach a full lesson the first time. However, we explained that for the first time, we will help and observe. So, 250 cute, crying babies and their mothers was how we filled half our day.

Thursday, Sacha shadowed Dr. Muheta while I followed Stella, the nurse in the morning. The clinic was bustling with on-going patients. We were dispensing medicines (mostly for malaria), giving injections for malaria and family planning (to prevent pregnancies) and doing antenatal checkups for pregnant mothers. Many first time mothers are around 18 years old while women in their early twenties may be a mother of 3 already. There was a Maasai woman who was very lean and one could not tell that she was pregnant unless they were told. She was 30 weeks pregnant and have had 4 children in the past. Another woman who was severely disabled and deaf was brought by a relative to the clinic. She had 4 previous miscarriages and suspects to be pregnant, however as Stella checked her physically, she has edema (swelling caused by excessive internal water) in her abdominal area. She was sent to be take a urine test for pregnancy for further assessment. However, her case is actually more complicated and needs to be referred to a larger hospital. As I was filling in the hospital cards for the new patients, many information were missing. Many patients do not know their age or the age of their spouse, their profession, etc.

After a short rest, we headed to the primary school and set up a time with the headmaster to come and teach at the school. We will be starting an introductory class on November 22nd and 23rd and will be observing classes for the next two weeks. Beginning in January, after the Christmas break, we will be teaching about health and nutrition in Kiswahili. We need to plan our modules as previous interns has already taught a lot of different health topics to the students. The school has around 750 students from grades standard 1 to 7 with only 5 full-time teachers, however they seem to be doing well. We’ve been told that they need help and we are glad to be able to teach there. We roamed around the village trying to find the market but ended up at the pastor’s house. The pastor’s wife (Mama mchungaji) offered us a lunch of groundnuts and cowpeas while we conversed. The children were beautiful and we all sat together. Then, Jason, the second child who is 14 years old took us to the market. He later dropped by our house to learn English and had a nice pasta dinner with us.

On Friday, the clinic had few patients and the day was slow. I followed the doctor and we spoke much about everything from understanding the clinic, the villagers’ illnesses to gardening and keeping chickens. Throughout the week, we had many visitors just dropping in our house and sitting awhile to chat with us. Sometimes, we have a great conversation and sometimes, we just sit around each other, enjoying our days in silence and appreciation. One afternoon, the workers and a Masaai man who dropped in our courtyard on their break, we had an hour of conversation in Kiswahili about the language itself which then evolved to Masaai foods and the role and man and woman in the kitchen in Tanzania. Another night, we spoke to Simon, the clinic administrator who was very good in English and from Dar Es Salaam. All in all, it was a productive week for us in village. We pray for God’s guidance in the days ahead.

Our everyday view - the desert-like dry-season with its sands and perfectly blue sky.

Eating breakfast in our courtyard


Cooking rice on charcoal


Our courtyard consists of: charcoal and kerosene stoves, a large rain-water collecting tank and a table for the kitchen


Sacha's bread that in rising on top of the stove - Sacha's breads are one of the best in the world (my opinion)


A rainbow after the rain right above our courtyard - a sign for a good beginning

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Hello Animals! : Ruaha National Park

November 4th, 2007

Our everyday view - the desert-like dry-season with its sands and perfectly blue sky.

What comes to mind first when a non-African thinks about Africa? Maybe it is the wild safaris of animals roaming in freedom and unafraid across the vast, untamed land of tall grasses, mountains and acacia trees. If Lion King comes to mind, then you’re on the right track. On Saturday and Sunday, eight of us, 3 Canadians (I am Chinese Canadian), 1 Spanish, 2 British, 1 German and 1 American went on a safari to the Ruaha National Park, one of the less visited game parks in Tanzania that is only 3 hours away from Iringa by car. We went on a tour with a driver and tour guide, riding in a small bus that had a flip-open roof. Although not as high concentration of animals as in Ngorogonro Park or Serengeti Park, Ruaha’s landscape was incredible and in the dry season, it was clear to spot out all the animals. We saw all the animals that lived in the park from crocodiles, hippos, giraffes, impalas, elephants, zebras, kudus, warthogs, lions to various birds and 200 buffalos (the list is actually much longer). The highlights were numerous, but each time there was a spotting of any animal, there was something surprising. We spotted a lion with a zebra kill from far away and decided to drive up to it. We were literally 5 meters from the lion in the late afternoon. The lion was guarding her zebra and panting in the heat under a tree. Within 20 minutes another lion appeared, and actually switched duties in guarding their food. As we returned to the same spot, 3 lions were resting near the zebra. One was vigorously feasting on this zebra carcass. Another major encounter was the spotting of a LEOPARD! Most people have gone to 3 or 4 safaris without ever seeing a leopard. We were extremely fortunate to see one, thank God! We watched him for an hour as he sneaked slowly and craftily, trailing after an impala as prey. The leopard, upon noticing our presence, hid under the tall grass and quickly escaped our glances. We later saw him at a much farther distance. It was an incredible experience to be part of this “natural” and beautiful world where humans and animals, animals and animals live in harmony (unless you are on the menu!).

Landscape in Ruaha National Park


Crocodiles galore and hippos hidden deep in the water. Hippos come up to breath once in awhile, it is fascinating to hear them breath.


Our traveling gang


Jen


Impala family, following after the father


Lion and zebra kill


Time to switch the guard


Zebras


Elephants


Baobab tree - the most intriguing looking tree, looks like a tree in "Nightmare Before Christmas"


Giraffe portrait


I love seeing the giraffes in action, running fast on their long legs


Spot the leopard - we only had far away pictures


200-300 buffalos


Warthog jaw - reminded me of my dentist friend who practiced on pig jaws, the molars are so clear.

One Tanzanian Wedding

On our third Saturday in Tanzania, the E.I. staff had been invited to an authentic Tanzanian wedding. Thomas, the E.I. house guard was getting married and through Andrew and Miriam’s connections with him, the interns were guaranteed a part in this celebration. What a great opportunity to attend a “real” Tanzanian wedding in the first month!

On the morning of the wedding, Andrew was busy picking up the bride, Neema (Kiswahili for Grace), her bridal procession and such important characters. Miriam was left with the responsibility of taking the interns and giving another group of wedding attendants a lift to the wedding. As we neared the groups of family and friends waiting for our ride, it was visibly not a small group. We crammed in about 20 women and children in the LandCruiser, leaving the men behind to wait for the next round of pick-up. After getting everyone to the church for the wedding, the ceremony was finally starting. As the guests waited for the bride to enter, we all sang, sang and sang. Actually, we sang throughout the wedding whenever there was a gap of long waiting or silence, when there was confusion between the organizers about the program and just about anytime there was no one giving a speech.

With the groom and his best man in the front, in absolute solemnity, the bridal procession made their grand entrance. Leading the procession were four girls, in choreographed dancing, followed by the flower girl and bridesmaid. Then, as we all cheered loudly and the women yelling in high-pitched “lelele”s, an even gloomier bride joined the sad groom in the front of the church for prayer and a preaching on marriage. It is customary for the bride and groom to keep a straight, saddened face as a sign of respect for their parents as they are leaving their original family to start a new family. There was strictly no smiling while the rest of the guests laughed and screamed hysterically. It seriously takes some skill to keep a completely detached expression from all the happiness around. It was impossible to tempt the bride into anything close to a smile, while we caught glimpses of Thomas bursting the bubble and give a held-back smirk once in awhile. The bride and groom sat in chairs listening to the preaching while the best man and bridesmaid was closeby, always ready to do some kind of grooming job on the couple, either wiping their sweats or fiddling with the veil and dress throughout the day. After the vows were given, the papers signed and the couples blessed by the pastors and family and friends, the Christian ceremony ended and everyone made their way to a nearby house for the reception.

There was a large procession of dancing men and women leading the newlyweds to the reception place. After every guest settled down and took a seat, the program began. An extremely tall woman who spoke at a speed of 10 sentences per minute was the Master of Ceremony (M.C.). There were loud speakers playing Christian, upbeat, Kiswahili music in the background controlled by a D.J. It was very festive and everyone was in the mood to have some serious dancing, laughing and celebrating.

One of the highlights was the procession of gift givers. Different groups of guests were called to lavish their gifts to the couple by dancing up each gift in a throng. So the men and women, family and friends all lined up, dancing, moving to the rhythm of the music showing off their presents and surrounding the couple, blessing them. It was so lively and most enjoyable, with endless laughter. Previously, in preparation for the wedding, we went gift shopping, trying to pick out the most suitable gift. Trying to match our personal taste to the bright colored, motif-filled designs on the different kitchen accessories took us a long time to make the final decisions. After looking through many houseware shops, we settled for a light brown-colored thermos and a set of 6 brown mugs (our safest option). With previous warning, we knew that none of us could escape the dancing-the-gift-up part. As the mzungus (Andrew, Miriam and the interns) got ready for our turn at the wedding, not one Tanzanian at the party could keep their mouths from closing, gearing up for a hilarious sight – White people dancing! We took courage and wobbled to the front, giving the guests a real treat and the greatest, loudest laughs with our awkward dancing. (Later, a Tanzanian friend at the wedding informed me that I could dance well which was a great honor.)

From beginning to end, the music, the loud M.C., the 4 dancing girls and the laughter did not stop while the bride and groom looked upon this event through their sad expressions. Randomly, the guests would take up the microphone and either give a speech, dance or sing. The main pastor, whenever he gets a chance at the microphone would start another sermon. At the end, glorious food was served. Joe and I tried eating with our hands which was harder for us as we are accustomed to using utensils. However, food seems to taste better when we use our hands. The dinner was comprised of gigantic pots of rice, pilau, vegetarian dishes (cooked plaintain, potato, beans, etc.) and meat dishes. Everyone was full by the end of the day, we ate until our stomachs could stretch no more and were tired from the laughing. It was a happy day, and I sincerely wish Thomas and Neema the same happiness for their long road together even through the rough times.

Our everyday view - the desert-like dry-season with its sands and perfectly blue sky.



Wedding procession


Bride and groom before the pastor - notice they get chairs in this long ceremony (great idea!)


The tall M.C. lady


Thomas and Neema sharing cake


The women dancing up the gifts and blessing the bride and groom


The meal: beans, rice, pilau, plaintain, potato, meat.....


The four dancing girls