Our last weekend in Tanzania. Wise advice for market shopping is to browse, barter and finally buy, and boy did my wallet take a beating. Serious stamina is needed as each shop keeper lures you into their pokey stalls and corners you inside with “support me sister” – all with puppy eyes. Every single store sells the same wooden masks, beaded jewelry and ornamental hippos… it gets old very quickly. A group of volunteers gathered at Africafe for lunch before we headed back to the markets. Saturday night = Chapati Night! Mama’s chapati compares to eating warm pastry and will be one of my most missed dinners. Pam had been feeling ill for days and decided to pay the clinic recommended by TVE a visit. Despite many Western clients, it was unnerving to watch the nurse attempt cannulation 3 times. The next night the nurse read the wrong file (confusing Pam with 62 year old John) –the mistake was realised after the John’s meds were already administered but luckily John was on the same antibiotics!
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| Amazing Pam/Grace |
Sunday morning I hand-washed my entire wardrobe before heading to Mama’s church service. After our last visit Pam was inspired to sing to the congregation, and blessed us with the most beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace accompanied by myself on the keyboard. When we finished, Pam received heartwarming applause. When it came time for the 30minute homily in Swahili, the priest called for English speakers to sit amongst us and translate. Today I felt the least like a mzungu since being here as we were welcomed into the church community. The after church auction of food to raise money for parish funds saw item after item be purchased for the “beautiful musicians.”
We celebrated with chips mayai (an omlette with hot chips) at Sakina Bar and toasted to Pam’s fulfillment of a dream. To indulge ourselves we bought 3 litres of ice-cream from Sakina supermarket and after chicken sandwiches for dinner the 10 of us polished off the most convincing dairy I’ve tasted here.
I went to a night shift Sunday night and was delighted when I saw 23 year old male midwife Gasto was working, however the night was quiet with only 1 delivery of a chubby baby girl. A woman also came in around 1am complaining of ruptured membranes for longer than 24 hours. Due to the increasing chance of infection the longer membranes are ruptured without delivery, the midwives demanded the woman go to the Mt Meru hospital. I’ve learnt that women are hesitant to go the larger hospitals as they often are money hungry. Even in the case of emergency caesarean sections, women are required to pay the 400 000tsh ($250USD equivalent) for surgery. The woman was sent away, but at 4am she returned with her son delivered at home – women are prepared to risk delivery without sufficient assistance and equipment for fear of crippling medical bills.
Later on in the morning, her baby experienced hypoxia and was referred to Mt Meru anyway. After handover, Anika and Hannah arrived with a van full of all the equipment we’d purchased. One by one we unveiled each new gift, the stove however got the most enthusiastic applause. No doubt the midwives are looking forward to making “chai” (tea) for themselves as well as the mamas.
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| Doctors + Baby Heater and Sterile Drapes |
Spent my arvo sleeping, shopping, and preparing for tomorrow’s Snake Park adventure.
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