On the Move...
Trip Start
Dec 27, 2007
1
7
11
Trip End
Feb 23, 2008
Stone Town, Dar es Salaam, Moshi, Tanzania
Monday, January 28, 2008
During the last few days of my placement I spent a short while in the paeds department which was just as eye-opening as the worst I'd seen before. This was where the lack of funding really became apparent as well as the shocking lack of professionalism. I shan't go into detail, it was pretty harrowing on occasions, but will say that children are dying unnecessarily by the day and money often isn't the problem. We, the students, found ourselves feeling pretty useless as our suggestions, which they were asking for, were either ignored or given not much credence as they would often require a little effort on the part of the care staff. On the plus side, it's definitely better than nothing. A lot of sick children never make it to hospital as their families do not recognise vital symptoms or deem them severe enough to seek medical help.
I have probably illustrated a largely negative picture of the hospital in these blogs and it is whilst writing that I really compare the situation to back home. I would say though that people's lives are saved and ability to work restored on a daily basis. The staff do work hard and were extremely friendly to us throughout. I would very much like to come back in a few years with a hope of seeing improvement and maybe actually to take on a more hands on role. I think I'd better improve my Swahili first though.
All that aside, it's time for a break! we left Zanzibar on Friday afternoon on the fast ferry which I'm pleased to say did not cause my stomach any problems on this occasion, although we got pretty soaked by the spray from the waves hitting the side of the boat. Even the group from the Royal Navy were getting a tad annoyed by the end of the trip.
Once in Dar, only a short taxi ride to meet up again with Matt, Nina, Laura and the others staying in Dar for two nights and one full day of doing not much at all! This was mostly because of the wonder that is the new NHS job application system so a large part of my Saturday was spent on the internet not having much fun at all. I'm still doing it now in between blog paragraphs!
Dar in itself was much better than we expected, although we only saw a small part of the city. We were staying in a hostel not far from the port and there was a good street bar nearby as well as a posh hotel to abuse for showers and hot breakfasts. Of course it was busier, louder and more polluted but that made a nice change to be honest! Had a couple of great nights out, despite fighting the sleep after the boat ride on the first night. The drinking scene is a lot more alive in Dar than in Stone Town, they actually have clubs! Somehow ended up in one on the second night - no idea where - with a friend from London and a group of
expats, a great way to shelter from the brief but impressive rain storm they seem more prone to on the mainland. Also watched my first full game of the Africa Nations Cup, Egypt - Sudan, having only seen small snippets beforehand and after finding a group of Americans who were watching them all religiously - power blackouts allowing. Good match! Poor Sudanese, didn't deserve to lose 3-0.
This was all well and good until we had to get up early the following morning for the bus ride to Moshi at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The bus ride itself was fine, with the odd stop here and there where apparently the bus was weighed which meant everyone at the back had to squash into the front (including us) and they shut all of the curtains. No idea why, but This Is Africa.
So far Moshi has been great! A nice little town and very cheap! Just as well as Kili's going to cost a little. We set off on Tuesday (my watch tells me that's tomorrow - I've lost track) and I can't wait! I doubt I'll be in touch much until we get back next Monday, hopefully having reached the summit! from down here it looks pretty daunting but we're all keeping our fingers crossed!
Wish me luck!
Benx
