There are physicians and nurses from varying specialties including nephrology, emergency medicine, pediatrics, anesthesia and more along with occupational therapists, medical students and residents, all of whom have seen 100's of patients this week, each patient worthy of a story. One doctor found it funny when a patient described burning upon urination as 'feeling like hot peppers when I pee'.
Another HIV+ woman came to the clinic today crying with a sick and fussy baby. She had been told by the hospital to stop breastfeeding and her baby was now on antibiotics and drinking watered down cow milk. There are dramatic differences here in Africa between babies who are breastfed and babies who are not. Not being breastfed is a death sentence for a baby here in Africa and the mothers know it.
In www.sunoverkili.blogspot.com there is a photo of a newborn baby wrapped in a red blanket. His mom came to the last caravan and gave birth. She was HIV positive. Her husband had been drinking and beating her and she was depressed. It took her four days of staying at the clinic to finally tell Agnes that she had a toddler she had left at home on his own. When Agnes went to the woman's home they found the toddler lying in a bed covered in his own feces and emaciated. He was brought back to the clinic, cleaned up, fed and loved and within a few days he was happy and healthy. The baby died at 3 weeks of age, but the mother and the toddler received assistance from the center and mom now has a job and they are doing well and living in peace.
A teenage orphan came to the shelter looking for residence. She was also working as a translator this week. She was HIV+, but chose not to take ARV (anti-retroviral) medications because she thought God was going to cure her of her illness. She requested to stay at the clinic for a year while she completed her studies and wrote her exams that would get her into a boarding school. This seemed like a good plan, except for the fact that without ARVs she would not survive long enough to carry it out.
We have all been moved to tears this week and at times overwhelmed by the suffering around us. The only way for the lives of the Tanzanians to improve is through education, followed by a decrease in the practice of polygamy, followed by a decrease in population that allows parents time and means to look after their children and a consistent breastfeeding policy that encourages all mothers to breastfeed their babies and put the theory to the test that babies of HIV+ mothers who are breastfed may develop a lifetime immunity to the disease.
Empowerment: During the caravan week, 20 women were identified as candidates for Ivan's business program to help them become financially independent so they can find their own shelter for their families, feed their children and send their children to school. In a culture where men value having multiples wives (i.e. 4) and many children by each wife (i.e. 4 again), resulting in 16 children per family, it is not surprising that women find themselves in a situation of primary provider for their families.
Dialo's story: Dialo is a reggae musician who has spent 3 years in prison in South Africa for a crime he did not commit. He is working as a translator for us on the caravan along with over 20 other Tanzanians. Dialo knows first hand the struggles of the young men of his generation. The young men are led to believe that if they do well in school and work hard they can lift themselves out of poverty, but the reality is that there are few opportunities available for work and leaving the country is almost impossible. Dialo feels men are unfairly blamed for the violence and oppression of women because the men know no other way, they are raised to be violent and oppress women. There is a 'jail' here in Moshi for young children. If parents are having difficulty controlling their child they have the option of sending them to 'jail' where they are beaten and lo and behold they come home and don't give their parents any more trouble, but it perpetuates the cycle of violence. Dialo is interested in working with young boys to help break the cycle of violence by educating them on alternative ways of behavior. Kashini and I were both familiar with the 'Challenge Program' from North America and suggested he may want to begin a 'Challenge Program' in Moshi.
This was a sad day for some of us. This was the day that Milley's father picked her up to take her home. Ritika, a family practice resident from Toronto and Damon, a medical student from Vancouver, said a tearful goodbye to Milley as she said "I love you all and I want to stay". Milley's family brought gifts for Amy who had been looking after Milley during the caravan week.
On the last day of clinic as we were cleaning up and packing medical supplies, a duffel bag full of toys and trinkets from Canada was found. Sandy brought it out and she was immediately swarmed by children and some adults.
This was a sad day for some of us. This was the day that Milley's father picked her up to take her home. Ritika, a family practice resident from Toronto and Damon, a medical student from Vancouver, said a tearful goodbye to Milley as she said "I love you all and I want to stay". Milley's family brought gifts for Amy who had been looking after Milley during the caravan week. It made us feel grateful for the opportunity to climb the mountain together and grateful for the freedom that we have to come and go from any country in the world at anytime and know that we can go back home to our western lives and our families.
Although some people don't have enough food to eat, a roof over their heads or access to clean water, cell phones are plentiful and most of the advertising one sees on the streets are from a few cell phone companies. People may not have access to medical care, but it seems almost everyone has a cell phone.
There are so many contrasts. There are unbelievably beautiful fabrics, works of art and colorful and delicious tasting fresh fruits and vegetables. There is awe inspiring landscape and wildlife and yet so much tragedy, illness, loss and poverty. There is also joyous music and grateful happy people who seem to be strongly connected to one another, and yet there are also outcasts, some with HIV, but we are here to show that people with HIV can live normal lives, in fact, they can climb Kilimanjaro. We can eat with them and we will not get HIV, we can provide health care for them and we will not get HIV, we can climb the mountain and camp with them and we will not get HIV. We can live and work with them and we will not get HIV.
This evening we are packing our bags for the climb. We have been anticipating this moment for many weeks . . . the time to depart is finally here!
The T.V. is on in the background while we are getting ready to go. It's surreal watching 'Usher' speak at Obama's inauguration commenting on Michele Obama's gown . . . the dichotomies continue. Each of us are creating our own personal history by climbing to the roof of Africa while watching history in the making on T.V. Happiness and hope abounds in Africa as a result of Obama's inauguration.
Packing light for the climb is a challenge for some of us. Given our current situation the sayings "Less is more" and "Live simply so that others may simply live" seems particularly appropriate.
The mountain we have faced over the past week has been offering knowledge, empowerment, healing and hope at the women's center through the medical caravan. Now it's time for the real mountain which will also offer hope and healing to the women with HIV, strengthening them from within. I found this quote on an Internet blog: "The mountain will try to kill you." This seems a little over dramatized, but nearly 35 people die on the mountain each year (around 15 tourists and 20 porters). It is something to be taken seriously and knowledge of symptoms of High Altitude Mountain Sickness is crucial.
If you are reading this blog and planning to go to Africa, bring a bank card with you! I was told not to bring one because it's difficult to access money and if you do you can be robbed outside the ATM. Robbery outside ATMs happens at home and I still use them, so I don't know what I was thinking when I didn't bring one. It turns out we need another $100.00 to tip the porters since we need more porters than we originally planned for. The porters make $6.00/day on the mountain plus tips so I have no problem tipping extra, but I don't have any more cash - the porters and I thank you for the loan Rachel!
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