Our new home

Three weeks have passed already and I feel like we just got here yesterday, yet at the same time it feels like we’ve been here for months. I’ve noticed that everyone on the team has started to refer to Sister Sophina’s as “home.” Testament perhaps to the hospitality of our generous hosts here at the hostel as well as Tanzanians. People here always seem to take the time to stop and chat with you. Smiles and small talk are more important than rushing through your day - pleasantries have never been so pleasant. And though our rudimentary Swahili seems to be laughter-inducing in those who are subjected to it, most people are extremely patient and willing to help us stumble through it.

The things that I have seen here in this short time have been incredible and there is so much to say but it feels like there is a lack of words to say it. I wish my eyes were cameras, though I am trying my best with my more bulky digital version. In a few words (or paragraphs, more likely), everywhere I look, Tanzania is bustling with life. It seems that plants, animals and people are growing out of every pore of the earth. The flowers here belong to made-up planets from science fiction novels and I’m positive that seeing them would make my mother think she had gone to gardener’s heaven. The multiple layers of fabrics that people drape themselves with are folk art collages. I never know where to look because everywhere is so beautiful and everywhere is a story. From the barefoot kids rolling heavy carts behind them down the street to the women carrying gigantic bags of rice on their heads (gracefully as well as sweatlessly), each is a snapshot of a life completely different from anything I have known.

            As for our work here, it is interesting and there is a lot of it. I have been surprised by the things that have brought me joy and the things that have been most difficult. To keep this weblog less than novel-sized, perhaps for now I will just share a few things that have struck me most at the various organizations we have worked with:

CCF Arusha – This is the temporary home for street youth in Arusha where they are provided food, shelter, clothes and an opportunity to get off the streets and return to school or receive vocational training. We did medical and dental screenings here on the kids in the first week and will return in a few weeks time to continue our work. This was the first project we started and our introduction to the realities of Tanzania. Most of these children have lived lives that no child should have to. They have been physically, mentally or sexually abused. Many have known what it is like to starve and to beg and have been lured into various combinations of substance abuse. And as hard as street life can be, most choose it because it is better than what was at home.

When we arrived there, I expected the atmosphere to be more sombre, but amongst the dusty faces were smiles and a willingness to welcome us to their makeshift home. In between the medical and dental screens, we played games of soccer, cards or got Swahili lessons from them. I was really impressed by their openness, but also by how much they all supported each other, with the older kids taking care of the younger kids.

One child that struck me in particular was a very sad little boy that was sitting on his own and not taking part in the other kids’ activities. When we did the medical exam on him, not only did he appear completely depressed, but we found he had a myriad of health problems. The dental exam was similar and the dental students decided that they had to take him, along with some others, to the dental clinic the following morning to get some of his teeth extracted. The next day, when they returned from the dental clinic, it was as if they had brought back another little kid. He came back grinning and joined all the other kids in their play. The dental students told me later that on the dala dala (local bus) ride home, he and the other children made a protective circle around them and insisted on holding their heavy bags loaded with dental equipment. This particular little boy proudly carried the heaviest bag for them. When we left to go back home that day, he ran out to the front of the building waving and smiling until our taxi was out of his sight. It was extremely touching to see the dramatic change in affect that we saw in this little boy. Though we knew that not every problem could be fixed so easily in our short stay here, it was incredibly encouraging to know that something could be done to help.

CCF Maji Ya Chai – This is the more permanent, out of town centre for street kids that have shown a certain responsibility and desire to improve their lives at the Arusha Centre. Half of our group spent the last week here along with the Upendo Leprosy Home. We also decided to do medical and dental screens here. What was most striking here was the incredible environment that was completely different from the CCF centre in town. This is a generous piece of farmland with lots of space for children, cows and dogs to roam. Instead of concrete it has green grass for a floor and Mt. Meru and Kilimanjaro for walls. Aside from the natural beauty of the place, there is the atmosphere of mutual support among the kids. And the individuals here who help run the centre are volunteers and act as teachers and role models to the kids. They also took the time to act as personal guides and translators for us during our visit. To say the least, we were pleasantly overwhelmed.

The other side of the story is that though this seemingly wonderful haven exists for the kids, the centre seems to be barely holding itself together. Often, there is no food and the kids return to the streets because they can at least find something to sustain themselves there. The day we arrived, there were very few kids around precisely for that reason - they had run out of food the previous day. Luckily, they received donations the following day for the rest of the week. However, even when there is food, it tends to be starch laden and vitamin poor. Though MedOutreach traditionally waits to give donations until the end of the trip when we can more fairly judge where the resources we have should go, we decided to bring in some fruit and more varied foods throughout the week. Sadly, these meagre donations are a far cry from helping the centre become financially stable and self-reliant.

Upendo HIV/AIDS group – This is a group of 55 HIV positive individuals that was organized for the purpose of mutual support as well as ease of health care delivery in that particular neighbourhood. When we first met with them on the second week of our stay, they were all seated on a sunny hill, waiting somewhat apprehensively to greet us. As we introduced ourselves and gradually explained that we were basically there to figure out how we could best help them, the group slowly warmed to us. We decided that we could offer them medical and dental screens to try to pick up where the government left off – though they have access to free antiretrovirals, the story of medicine for opportunistic infections is a little bit different. Throughout the week that we did the screenings, we learned some incredible stories from this highly marginalized group of people. Many had lost their families, whether due to an AIDS-related death or because they had been shunned. Many were still the sole source of financial support for their children, though they had no source of money themselves. Food was often a greater issue than the illness itself, and frequently it came before healthcare. One woman that was screened even had a deformed arm from an old fracture of her humerus - she had not been able to afford the open reduction surgery which would have costed her about $40 US, and it had long since healed improperly. Our screens in these individuals revealed many issues worthy of medical attention and there is still much left to do in order for us to help them as we would like to.

Upendo Leprosy Centre – this centre is based outside of town around the corner from CCF Maji Ya Chai. The group that spent time at CCF this past week split their time between CCF and the Leprosy Centre. In a few words, the centre is impressive. It is essentially a self-reliant farm that happens to be a residence for leprosy patients and their families. Since leprosy is rare to come across in Canada, we found ourselves learning a lot about the illness from both the residents and the health officer there, Elisante Simon Kaaya. Leprosy is essentially an illness of the past. These days, it is easily caught and cured, not to mention that transmission of the disease is extremely low. However, once neurological and certain tissue damage has occurred, it cannot be reversed. The residents at Upendo are individuals who received treatment too late to reverse the effects of the disease. Most had limb amputations and severe vision impairment for which little could be done. Admittedly, at the beginning of our time here, I felt somewhat helpless and the medical screens seemed more like confirmations than discoveries we could help with. But slowly, as I realized that this was a valuable learning experience for us, I began to look at my surroundings in a different light. Then I saw that though many of the patients sat confined to their wheelchairs, the children at the centre would run and play around them and if they fell, they would come running to be comforted by these communal grandparents. One man even got up with his oversized crutches and started shaking them in the air, dancing and asking us to take his picture, just to make all the children and residents laugh. In the same courtyard, one of the younger adults would work an ancient loom, weaving beautiful fabrics that would be sold to help sustain the centre. Just outside, others would be collecting eggs from the chickens, milking the cows or planting vegetables in the garden. Soon, we began to focus on helping with dressing changes for wounds, doing more targeted exams on anybody who approached us with a problem, and of course, playing with the adorable children. The Upendo Leprosy Centre was probably the biggest surprise for me in terms of what I expected to see there.

Last but not least, Dr. Mhando’s Inpatient and Outpatient Clinics – Basically, without Dr. Mhando, there would be no MedOutreach. He is our contact in Tanzania who donates incredible amounts of time to our various projects and takes us into his clinics to educate us about his work. I also have to acknowledge Sister Kupaza, the Nurse Officer behind the scenes that helps run everything and has been a wonderful help and translator several times for us. The rest of Dr. Mhando’s staff have been equally amazing in helping us, from the drivers that have helped us find our way around Arusha and the various organizations we work with, to the clinical officers who share their expertise with us. I’m very thankful that there is such a group of individuals willing to help us.

I guess that’s it for this weblog entry (or should I say novel after all). Thanks to everyone who is following our experiences in Tanzania.

Olga

Posted by owrezel2009 on July 7, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Comments

We would like to bring some gift that were given to the student to the center, on 11th November 2009
I hope to hear from you
Thanks

Anande Mirisho

Posted by: Anande | 2009-11-10 3:16:18 AM

Is my intention to join with Nursing studies because I feel better if i will be a Nurse but the reason which hindering me is absence of fee
So i request you to offering me in oder to study nursing studies ,I strong feeling to be a nurse

I declare that I will pa form all my level best to insure that I get nursing studies.

Posted by: BARAKA VICENT | 2009-11-14 9:46:57 AM

I will be happy if my request will be considered

Posted by: BARAKA VICENT | 2009-11-14 9:50:15 AM