Whisperers Orphanage

Katie, Maiken, and I have decided to take Wednesdays off from work and spend them doing outreach in the community. My favorite place so far is "Whisperers of the Jungle," a home for adolescent girls that are either orphaned or abandoned. We have spent some time teaching women's health topics and answering any questions that they have (which are MANY), and some time just hanging out and bonding. Above, a few of the girls and myself during one of our teaching sessions. Below, a nice group shot of most of the 19 girls that live at the house, along with some of us foreigners mixed in:

This past Saturday, we went with the girls on a hike to Arusha National Park. It was great to get them out of the house and explore the scenery around Arusha:Brandon and the girls.

With Brandon in Arusha National Park.

A cute pic of the girls at the end of our hike, with the sun setting over Arusha:

Outreach Clinics: A New Definition of Rural

Yesterday I returned from three days of outreach clinics “in the bush.” These areas are so remote that I have a new definition of “rural.” For example, one of our clinics got broken up because a herd of ELEPHANTS came storming through! Ha, crazy. Below, a view of a Masai "boma" (village) as we were about to land:

With the same volunteer pilot service that I flew with a couple of weeks ago, Maiken and I headed out to Masai land to give vaccinations, do OB prenatal visits, and treat as many patients as we could.

Above, one of the clinic huts with Masai patients waiting outside.

Below, me giving vaccinations.

Masai boys next to one of the clinic huts.

We brought a suitcase full of medicines and vaccines and set up shop on a little portable folding table:

Our pharmacy-in-a-suitcase:

Sweet bubbas.

It’s a great system: if the village will build and maintain a runway (aka a dirt strip free of trees) and a clinic hut (aka the mud and sticks pictured above), then our little plane will arrive every two weeks and provide medical care. Below, the plane on the "runway" with goats and kids everywhere:

Masai kids with the clinic hut in the background.

In three days, we flew to seven different villages and had 40-50 patients at each one…it was exhausting! Below, moms lined up with their babies:

Above, a picnic lunch by the plane with Ezra, the pilot,

and Barnabus, the local doctor (who looks like he's twelve).

We gave a couple Masai men our Coke bottles...

remember the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy"?

I loved practicing such old-fashioned medicine. No fancy labs or imaging…we just relied on our clinical skills and a few simple medications.

Probably the most hilarious part was weighing the babies:

You can see this kid is not happy...I mean, we've got him hanging in a harness from a scale used to weigh fruits! I was so worried that one of the kids would fall, especially when we hung the scale from a janky tree branch:

Another thing that would only happen in Africa: we were given a goat as a thank you from the village. Below, Maiken in the exam room with the goat (we named him Gerald).

Poor Gerald got loaded into the bottom of the plane so we could take him home! He was pretty freaked out when we landed. Hilarious.

It was quite rewarding that the families at all of the clinics were so appreciative. They were also adorable. My favorite family was this grandmother, her daughter, and her two granddaughters:

P.s. I totally wanted to take this one home!

Overall, an incredible experience. Below, the sunset at one of the clinics:

The Circus

The circus is in Arusha! Apparently, the show hasn’t been through here in 30 years, so everyone is pretty riled up. We heard from some friends that it was worth going, and they were right:

A pic of us outside the circus tent.

Crazy strong men!

The show is called “Mama Africa,” and was really more like Cirque du Soleil than a circus. Although, there were some pretty freakish acts…

Right after this picture, this insanely flexible guy lit a pipe in his mouth with his FEET.

Some ridiculous acrobats (more balancing on their heads!):

Maiken and Katie both got called up on stage:

Maiken with the jugglers

Katie in a rock band

Overall, totally entertaining!

Hospice fundraiser choir concert

So, I am in the church choir...sort of hilarious, I know. They needed a top soprano, how could I resist? It is actually lots of fun, because "church choir" in Africa means drums and dances and cool rhythms. Yesterday was a big fundraiser concert for the hospice program at Selian (the hospital I work at). It was spectacular, hundreds of people from choirs across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda met up to sing and raise money for the program. First, we all walked outside and did this awesome procession into the church:

Somehow they all knew the words to this beautiful Swahili song.

Below, a picture of some of the choir members and me in our sweet choir polos:

From left: Chrisanne (Med/Peds resident from MN), Jennie (occupational therapist from Australia), Linda Jacobson (Dr. Jacobson's wife, who has lived in Arusha for 25 years), and me.

The best choir of the day was the "Girls Choir Makumira":

Of course, they're adorable too.

I flew a plane!

Flying Medical Service is a volunteer group of pilots that flies all around East Africa, usually to transfer unstable patients to larger hospitals. The medical staff is also volunteer, so yesterday they asked me to come along on a flight to Dar es Salaam. It was awesome.

The plane is a little single engine Cessna:

Above, I'm sitting on the stretcher for the patient...the doctor sits in the seat you see next to the stretcher. It's a pretty tight fit!

On the flight to Dar es Salaam, I played doctor, keeping the patient stable (with oxygen, medications, comforting words) for the 2.5 hour flight. On the way back, though...I got to play PILOT! With the patient safely transferred to Dar, the real pilot let me fly for 2 hours on our way home to Arusha, and also let me do a take-off all by myself. It was thrilling, and definitely whet my appetite for flying. P.s. it was also totally illegal...no rules in Africa I guess! We flew over Zanzibar Island, lots of cool river beds, craters/calderas, and actually flew right past Mt. Kilimanjaro:

Pretty spectacular.

The pilot, Pat, had some incredible stories from his past flights, too. He is from Detroit but has lived in Tanzania for 35 years. He has witnessed some pretty unbelievable things. For example, Pat described being the first civilian plane allowed to land in Kigali when the war in Rwanda broke out in 1994; apparently he was given clearance so he could evacuate American doctors that were trapped there. Once he got there, though, the doctors and he set up a refugee camp just across the border in Tanzania - long story short, what started as a day trip to Nairobi turned into over two weeks manning this refugee camp. He told me that the next time I come on a flight with him, I should be prepared for anything!

U.N. Tribunals for Rwanda

Arusha has been dubbed "The Geneva of Africa," since it has hosted the U.N. Tribunals for Rwanda since 1994. Only the top organizers of the genocide are on trial here; those lower down are being tried in Rwanda by "village courts".

The tribunals have been going on since 1994, and are supposed to be wrapping up in the next year or two. The courtroom is open to the public, so a couple of days ago we went to one of the hearings. It was intense! I have never been in a courtroom, so it was kinda cool just to see the whole set up (which looked just like in the movies). The lawyers, judges, and witness all speak different languages, so we had to listen in with headphones that were tuned to the channel for the language that we wanted (which really impressed upon me that this was REAL U.N. stuff!). The witness was testifying about seeing 200 Hutus gunned down in a market, which was sort of overwhelming to hear him talk about. The day we were there was also a big day for the tribunals - they had just arrested the "Butcher of Butare," supposedly THE head guy behind the whole Rwanda genocide. I guess they've been looking for him for 15 years. It's kinda creepy, because they keep all these prisoners here in Arusha, in a U.N. prison right next to the airport. Seeing the convoys drive by gives me the creeps, because I know there are some bad men in those jeeps.

Unfortunately, since cameras were strictly forbidden, I have zero pics to go with this post! Just wanted to share the experience...I'll leave you with a pic of cute Tanzanian kids, because that never gets old. Below, Muslim children on their way to the mosque for Eid, the celebration at the end of the month of Ramadan:

The first week at the hospital

Above, one of the wards at Selian Lutheran Hospital. There are about seven buildings this size that comprise the hospital, all arranged around a courtyard (below).

We started work at the hospital! There is a lot to get adjusted to: different diseases (like malaria and TB), limited available treatments, and a new language. Actually, it's two new languages, because most of our patients speak Masai instead of Swahili, since Selian serves the outlying areas of Arusha. Makes for a lot of time spent waiting for translations!

I am on pediatrics this month, which has been a great rotation to start with; the kids are adorable! Big surprise, all of you reading this know that I love kids. Below, two of my favorite patients from the past week:

As you can sort of tell from the pictures, the mothers all stay in the hospital with their children. It seems that because of the limited nursing staff, the moms have to be around to feed and change the babies. Below, the Tanzanian interns on my team during rounds in the pediatric ward:

(Those are mosquito nets hanging above the beds.)

Every morning at the hospital starts with morning chapel, or "sala." From there, we proceed directly into morning report, which is held in the chapel itself. Then we have chapati (fried bread) and chai, and THEN we finally start seeing patients. It's a much different pace than working at hospitals in the States.

Above, morning report, held in the chapel right after morning prayer.

A page from the Swahili hymns at morning chapel...

we have no idea what they say, we just sing along!

Megan, above, is a recently graduated Med/Peds resident from Michigan who is volunteering at Selian for the next year. She is shown here with one of our patients, Baraka, who came in with a hemoglobin of 3.5 and really needing a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, like almost everything else at Selian, blood was out of stock. When Megan realized that she was the same blood type as Baraka, she rolled up her sleeve and donated a unit right on the spot! This picture was taken a day later, with Baraka all spiffed up in his suit and ready to go home.

In contrast to the rural setting and financial instability at Selian, the other hospital we work at is shiny and new. ALMC (Arusha Lutheran Medical Center) is right in town, just opened a few months ago, and is fancy enough that local Tanzanians don't go there for fear it will be too expensive. You can see why from the pictures:ALMC

ALMC Courtyard

We have been walking home from work at Selian, which takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. It's a beautiful walk on a rural country road:

We pass adorable kids along the way, who usually want to hold our hands and always say "Good morning!" no matter what time of day it is...

We also get a great view of Mt. Meru on the walk home:

Closing pic: girls on our road on their way home from school. So cute, never gets old.