Fausch's in Tanzania 2015: Hospital & another School

11-10-2015

The pharmacy

We were up and gone with Bo, Juli, and Michelle at 9am to go to the Ilula Hospital. We met a doctor and got a tour around the hospital grounds from a man named Alamu Kikoti. We saw admin offices, a pharmacy, clinic, and general ward. We walked by the operating room, but did not go in. We also saw a maternity ward and I saw a newborn baby. Alamu said to me, "When the babies are born, they look wuzungu." Wuzungu means "white" and I guess as they get older, that's when their skin darkens. I thought that was pretty interesting, especially since I remember that when Ellie was born, she had dark - almost an olive color - skin, and she lightened up as she aged.

The lab

While a woman would be put on bed rest in the US, they get admitted into a waiting ward here. There they sit for a few days up to a few months waiting for their baby. I have also heard that when a person is in the hospital here, his/her family will stay nearby because it is the family that takes care of the patient. Feeding and washing patients is apparently not the job of the doctors or nurses here.
We did see some private rooms, which were quite nice. They weren't quite completed, but when they are, they will cost around 20,000 Tanzanian Schillings (about $10 a day) to stay there.

The holding tank

We walked through the new nursing school, which just opened yesterday, and peeked through windows of some of the classes. Then we walked down to where the volunteer nurses from elsewhere (like the US) would have their quarters. They also have dorms for the nurses, which weren't completed quite yet either. There were nine dorm rooms, each with six beds in them. There are 15 students currently enrolled this first year.
Adam, Julie, Michelle & I peeked into the church on site while Bo talked with the guys about the problem they're having with their water. Their holding tank is contaminated, and the pump cuts out. While we sat there and had lunch, Bo was communicating with someone to get their problem fixed. It's amazing that in this area of the world, he could have a constant connection with someone back in the States (or wherever) and get moving on the problem in real time.
After the hospital, we went to Image to look at the boarding school there. The headmaster there has great vision for that school, and while it is very much farther along than the school we saw yesterday, there is still a lot work to be done.

The children at Image school dancing for us

As we drove up to the school, the students were standing outside singing and clapping for us. We got out of the car and they grabbed us to sing and dance with them. This went on for about 25 minutes! We couldn't stop smiling - and neither could they. They were so welcoming, I couldn't believe it.
We introduced ourselves, and then we went to have lunch (again). We had a nice visit with headmaster Ngogo and a couple of the teachers, then they took us on a tour of the school. I think he said he had something like 700 children at that school.

Joice, Dennis, and Desidelia

Three students are sponsored by our church back home so we got to visit with them. They were very sweet kids and they told us what courses they liked best in school: one girl, Desidelia, is in Form 6 (like a senior in high school to us) was interested in geography and history, the boy, Dennis - also Form 6 - was interested in accounting and economics, and the other girl, Joice - Form 2 - likes chemistry and biology. They seemed very bright. Desidelia and Joice are from Ihemi, and Dennis is from Sadoni. We are going to those preaching points this weekend. Dennis asked if we could send a message to his sponsors; he wants them to know that he is working hard at his studies and that he is doing well. It was very sweet.

House built around a boulder

After the school, we went to visit some friends of Bo & Juli's. These friends have a compound that is just amazing to see, including two homes that are spectacular. The guy's mother lives in one of the houses and it was unlike anything I have ever seen - it was built around a huge boulder! I made Adam take a picture of it.
After that, we went to the home of the district pastor of Ihemi, Donald Kiwanga. He and his wife fed us supper fit for a king. She is a caterer, so really knows how to cook. He told us of all of their children - it seemed like he had five sons - but at least a couple were adopted. They're all going to school and he explained some of the problems they're having getting loans and covering the fees.
We got back at 9pm and tried getting online, but the internet is not 100% reliable, and since we couldn't get on, we put off communication til the morning and turned in.

I wanted to add more pictures, but the connection is too slow -- it's already taken me two days to upload these.