Friday, August 10th: Hallelujah! Inspiration!

Finally, at the end of our third week, Raelyn and I were getting the hang of our work. We each came up with some great ideas that will need to be implemented within the next week!

After Raelyn’s interviews, she decided to make plastic mattress covers for the infant beds. We were able to salvage a nice crusty piece of mattress cover from storage that we can hopefully clean and tailor into zip-able covers. We’re also thinking about making dust covers for some oxygen concentrators. These ideas will definitely help to maintain the equipment and keep them clean!

On another note, in Tanzania, the power is 230 Volts, but many pieces of equipment are donated and require 110-120 Volts. We’ve noticed a few examples of damaged equipment resulting from incorrect input voltages. So we made small guides to place near outlets to direct staff about checking equipment and utilizing transformers. We hope to give the staff a presentation about it next week.

After my own interviews, it came to my attention that the female ward lacks an X-Ray film reader, which is literally just a big light with which to read X-Rays. While in our workshop, I noticed our abandoned bili lights. Bili Lights are a type of phototherapy device used for babies with jaundice (I was actually a jaundice baby!). They provide UV light to break down bilirubin, and require specific blue UV bulbs. The current bulbs installed are just regular halogen bulbs, and replacing them would be an impractical and expensive job. We can’t expect that the staff would be willing to find and purchase the UV lights on their own when they need replacing. Also, we already found and installed easy-to-maintain, EWH brand, and working bili lights. I thought it might be a cool idea if we converted the abandoned bili lights to an X-Ray reader by simply putting some type of shade over the lights and installing it in the wall. That will be another project for next week!

Brutal Honesty of Tanzanians

Something I appreciate about Tanzanians is their honesty. Some in America might see it as a lack of a filter, but I think Americans are just too “politically correct” and afraid of saying it like it is. We’re too damn sensitive!

If you’re white, Tanzanians will be sure to tell you.

If you’re a little bit heavier, or too skinny, they will also feel the need to let you know.

If you have acne on your forehead (like I did this week), multiple people will want to know if you’re okay or attacked my mosquitoes. One of the nurses, Peris, asked me if it was just, “adolescence.” -____-

Wednesday, August 8th: Nane Nane

Week three started off much better than last week. We started interviewing hospital staff to get a better idea of which equipment needs repairing and perhaps some inspiration for our own projects. Our Italian housemates also taught us how to make gnocchi! Delizioso!

Today is a Tanzanian agricultural holiday, called “Nane Nane.” Translation: “Eight Eight,” for August 8^th! Much of the hospital staff took off, and we were encouraged to relax during the holiday. Traditionally, all the farmers bring their crops to Arusha and Njiro to show off their goods and hopefully make some moneyz. We were interested in going, but it sounded like a nice opportunity to sit in traffic and get pickpocketed. So instead, we met up with some of our colleagues and set off to some hot springs near Machame called, “Maji Moto.” (meaning: “Hot water” – yet another creative African title). It was soooo nice and ridiculously fun. Definitely a highlight of my trip to Tanzania!

And a five! six! seven! eight!

Tanya convinced Raelyn and I to attend a cheap aerobics class with her on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I myself have never been to an exercise class, but thought it’d be a nice way to work off some of the African calories I’ve been accumulating. Also aerobics is just a hysterical phenomenon to me.

The class does not disappoint. I break a sweat, get to dance around to an ABBA soundtrack, embarrass myself with other middle-aged white women, and follow the suave moves of my Tanzania instructor, Amadeus.

Needless to say, I’ve attended every class so far.

Sunday, August 5th: Machame Hike

Today we went with Tanya and her friend Debbie on a day hike near Machame. Debbie is from Colorado, and worked at the hospital in 2008-2009. It was really nice of them to invite us on their hike, and I enjoyed getting to know them better!

First waterfall of the day!

Raelyn and I by the second waterfall

BATS!

August 3rd: Ending the week right

After a “pole pole” week at the hospital, we enjoyed Lasagna day once again, and then went into Arusha to pick up parts. Additionally my four-year old computer adapter decided to stop working this week, so I had to pick up a new (and extremely expensive) one. On our way home, we changed dala dala’s twice, and one of the conductors pretended we didn’t pay him. Of course we didn’t give in, such a jerk.

To unwind after a rough week, we helped out at the orphanage! The kids are so sweet, and a little mischievous! It’s nice to go in the evening because it’s when the Mamas have the least amount of volunteers to put the kids to bed. The children are starting to get to know my name! :D (Well, “Lili,” if you can call that my name) 

Neema stealing my glasses!

My little friend Andrea and "Mama Lili"

Absolute Chaos

Wednesday, August 1st: Taking the Initiative

This week we had the arrival of some new housemates! Martina, Lorenzo, and Daria are medical student from Italy. They help out tremendously around the hospital. Anne also arrived within hours after the Italians, but from Germany to volunteer at the orphanage. Our house right now is PACKED with 11 people!

Unfortunately, week two of the hospital has been off to a rocky start. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, and had a hard time focusing at work. I worked at the house Monday afternoon and wrote up some cute little instructions for phototherapy lights we’d like to install that we found in the OB ward.

What has been bogging me down the most is the how Nkoaranga operates. It can be so unorganized, and no one is really aware of what equipment the hospital owns. The staff lacks a certain initiative to look through a cabinet and maybe plug some equipment in to see if it works. So far we’ve been digging through the wards, and finding some perfectly good equipment that has been neglected.

Donations to Nkoaranga are also just as frustrating, not because the equipment is broken, but because the donations are usually irrelevant. It would be nice if our hospital used ECGs, nebulizers, or ESUs, but it doesn’t. Therefore good equipment collects dust in storage. Our friend, Tanya, is a nurse from Belgium. She’s been working here for almost four years now and wishes she could ship all the useless donations back because most of the time they just sit here taking up space!

Sunday, July 29th: Being a typical mzungu

On Saturday, I got to meet up with many of my colleagues (who I missed so very dearly) at a coffee farm in Usa River! We got to pick our own coffee, learn the Tanzanian way of preparing the beans, and, most importantly, drink it! Needless to say, it was a tasty and unique experience.

On our way home, we stopped by the supermarket in Usa River, and had yet another African experience that I thought I’d share. As I was climbing into the dirty-ass dala dala, a local was sort of harassing me. I’m quite used to guys yelling and talking to me as a “mzungu,” so I wasn’t phased, ignored him, and hopped into the world’s crappiest public transportation vehicle. Well, my dala dala conductor must’ve had a beef with this particular gentleman, because the conductor punched him square in the jaw. Classic, and ohhh so satisfactory.

Today, Raelyn and I checked out a mzungu church called, “Arusha’s Vineyard.” We heard about it through Daryl and Shirley, Baba’s Canadian friends working on “Dashir Lounge.” They’re both very involved in the ministry, and it was one of the best Christian services I’ve ever been to. I never thought I’d be so happy to hear the song, “This Little Light of Mine.” It helped remind me of how lucky I am to have the opportunity to serve God and others in Tanzania.

Gotta pick the red ones!

Grace and Oriane with them beans.

Interesting bean squishing mechanism...

Friday, July 27th: Surgery - The African Way

Our first official week is already over! We’ve been having a fantastical time getting to know our housemates. We hang out, cook, and eat together. Lately we’ve been watching some sweet Louis Theroux documentaries after dinner. We’ve also been able to escape Nkoaranga a few times after work to visit our host family (they’re doing great!), spend the night with our lady engineers in Arusha, pick up spare parts for some equipment, and even discover our new favorite food obsession: Lasagna Fridays at Tanz Hands. It’s a Mzungu-friendly place to eat in Usa River, and also school for the disabled! Check it out at here.

Thursday was my Dad’s birthday! Happy belated birthday Daddy! J Thursday also marked the glorious day I got to watch a Tanzanian surgery! In classic African fashion, I literally walked into the surgery unit (scrubbed in, of course) to watch. No problem. Hakuna matata. The pulse ox actually malfunctioned a bit during the surgery, so I got to touch the patient's hand and equipment. Again, hakuna shida.

Last year, I shadowed at Huntington Hospital on Long Island, so I was curious to see the differences. The surgery itself was really boring. It was a hernia repair - YAWN. So I watched for a bit, but I was more curious about the things occurring around the patient. Here at Nkoaranga, they don't use an anesthesia machine - they give the patient a drug called ketamine. You may have heard of it, it's a horse tranquilizer. They only used a pulse oximeter, automatic bp monitor, and oxygen concentrator (patient was breathing on his own) to make sure the patient fared well during surgery. Dr. Julius also didn’t use an Electrosurgery Unit, just a good ol’ scalpel. This surgery, and generally all surgeries performed at Nkoaranga, went really well. Dr. Julius is a really skilled doctor and surgeon. He’s actually the only doctor at Nkoaranga.