Bid Farewell

It rained again all night and into the morning. Mohammed gave  me a ride early in the morning to the secondary school to say goodbye to the superintendent and promised to return for tea at ten to bid a farewell to the teachers and school matron.

After lunch we went to the other school for health campaigns. We were well received. Edward translated and was very animated to engage the students.

It is sad to bid farewell.  

The Clinic

I headed out to early this morning to meet edward at the Primary school before 7.30 to explain to the students why washing hands with soap and water is important. I presented the poster. It went well and the students were great.

After breakfast I went to the clinic a  meet with the doctor. There were two inpatient who were feeling better. Both had been admitted the day before. He also showed me around the outpatient clinic and lab. It is difficult with the lack of electricity and the limited supply of medications. They keep the vaccines cold with a gas powered refrigerator. I was impressed with the cleanliness and organization. We saw about 6 patients together and then 2 dental cases. I watched him do an extraction with just Novocain and a couple fillings he prepared from powders. He can not perform root canals here without electricity at present but he does them on Saturdays in iringa.

After lunch the rain started and continued all afternoon. So I stayed at the mission house. By the time it cleared up it at 5 everything was muddy and I did not care. Edward informed that the other  primary school felt slighted and would really like us to present to their students . so we decided we would do it the following day. I got started making a poster and I finally got one made.

Mohammed made it back safely from dar and reported. The evening fire was warm and welcoming.

Work as Usual

This morning I headed out as usual to work with matron but we were done by8.00am and the clouds were becoming ominous so I returned home to meet with Edward.  We had planed to visit the primary school before tea time to coordinate with the teachers about washing hands with soap. The down pour thwarted our plans, but when it cleared up we set out and repaired several tippy tappys  - a clever wooden device that holds soap and water that pours out when you step on the lever. There are a couple near the primary bathroom and one at the secondary school.

The exams are proceeding well without drama. Edward and I met the primary school superintendent and agreed to return before lunch with buckets of water and soap to wash all the students hands and return tomorrow morning to explain why it is so important.

Over four hundred students gathered, although it seemed impossible at first, we soon saw the end of line. The kids were all cooperative and Edward translated into Swahili my poster outline and I worked on it in the afternoon.

Hand Washing

 

Morning started with sun shining again.  I headed to secondary school as usual motion and I efficiently cured for the students with colds and diarrhea then took down the decorations used to celebrate a teachers wedding the day before.  We did some exercises together pushups, sit ups, leg raises, lunge squats and burpies before getting ready for tea. 

It was fun.  The students were busy with final exams-We set up a hand washing station for the teachers and washing station for the teachers and I helped with some listing of grades.

After lunch I helped in the office a while and talked to some teachers. I headed home before the Afternoon torrential rain began-

Edward returned from Iringa without problem and we chatted for while before dinner.

Tonight I worked on a poster. About worms for the primary school students.

Lovely Day

Another sunny morning despite rain overnight.

Flavian joined me for breakfast and escorted me to the Catholic Church. African time prevails: the 7:45 meet for breakfast occurred after 8:00, the 8:30 mass began at 9. The church was almost full and the choir was composed of secondary school students. There are no mass or song books but some people bring their bible to follow along. Flavian hung out with me the rest of the day on the porch. It was a beautiful day, the weather was particularly nice. In the afternoon I took the kites I had brought out to the children and we watched as they ran around trying to get them to fly. The Lutheran pastor came by around dinner and visited a while. I enjoyed hearing about his community projects. He is also tackling sustainability aspects.

Slept In

I slept in until seven thirty this morning and was happy to see the sun shining -  it had rained overnight. Mama Tony made a special breakfast for me today: French toast and these fried egg/dough/greens round balls.

Later morning I met with Mjuni and another pastor and about thirty girls who believe they are possessed by demons. Some of them have fits when overwhelmed and only the pastors intense prayers over them get them out of it. Some have nightmares and all struggle with studies and exams. I explained how their brains allow this to happen and how they can regain control with practice over time. I shared some relaxation techniques and I think it will help. The pastors were pleased and asked me to return tonight to speak with all the students before the Sat. evening prayers.

Edward showed me their garden this afternoon and then I visited with his wife and daughter. He showed me a video of Baswanian song and dance which was fun too.

I went for an hour long walk/run up the north end of town which I had not visited yet. This town has lots of hills and I am out of shape but it felt good..

In the evening Mujuni picked me up for the 7:30 singing and prayer with the secondary school students. They do this every Saturday night and really  look forward to it. Initially they all sing together and they sound phenomenal, better than Hugh Maskella. They could sell CDs.

Teaching

Heather and Mohamed were up before the crack of down and by 6 AM had the car parked and ready. Edward and Mama Tony and I wished them well on their long journey to Dar es salaam.

After attending to the students with matron I was taken to the Catholic Church compound to get on the internet. Since the generators weren’t on yet Edward showed me around the large compound including a large kindergarten, a huge nursery of seedlings, a medical clinic. We met a brother and three Italian women who told us about their work on the agricultural school.

I returned to school to teach with Wingled and in the afternoon met with a group of students to tell them about common infections causes of diarrhea and the importance of hand washing and clean water. I think telling them about the meter long guinea worm will get a few more hand washers.

 I met up with Eliot around five and we headed out for a walk which ended up being a 90 min trek! It felt good.