Good morning! Today we are on our way from Ilula to Tungamalenga. We stopped in Iringa for business (that means most of us are trying our best to be patient with slow internet). From Tungamalenga most of the group will head out on safari in Ruaha, but Randy and I will stay in Tungamalenga.
I just spend 50 minutes trying to include some pictures on my blog, before I gave up. I guess for now you will have to continue to use your imaginations. It is beautiful here. Although they could use some rain to keep the corn and tomatoes growing, it is much greener than I had anticipated. People have been very busy working in the fields. It would seem daunting to me to head out to the huge fields with a single hoe. No space is wasted -- the crops are planted right up to the houses. I knew there were mountains in the area, but had no idea they would be so big. It makes me a bit concerned about setting my eyes on Kilimanjaro for the first time.. Yesterday was probably the warmest day since we arrived -- it definitely felt like we were near the equator when we went out for an afternoon walk.
In addition to our time at the hospital, we have taken trips to visit the Ilula Orphan Program and Imagi Secondary School. I think I wrote about IOP previously, but I'm too afraid to leave this page to go back and check. Imagi has lots of MN ties. It was crazy to spend an hour driving to the middle of nowhere to find a school with 800+ students. Although many of the buildings are finished, others are without roofs. I did not go in the dorms, but some people in our group did. There are 4 bunks per small room and each bed sleeps 2 for a total of 16 kids per room. It made our accommodations at Ilula seem quite spacious. It was mealtime when we were walking around and I witnessed a man stirring a gigantic pot of ugali with a 2x4. Before we left the school, the students did a performance of singing and dancing.
On Thursday I went along on a mother and child mobile clinic. We traveled beyond Imagi another 10 k. They say the road keeps going, but I'm not exactly sure. The more away from the main road we got the more of a spectacle we created. Babies were afraid of us and the older children were curious but very shy. The mothers were most interested in our cameras and kept coming back with more people to get their pictures taken. I spent most of my time at the clinic helping to take weights. This was nothing like height and weight at Gillette. The mothers present their child's growth record and then hang their children by shorts with suspender like straps to a hanging scale. The kids who are a little bit older try their best to hold onto the hook on the scale. While some of the babies are quite content hanging from the scale, others are terrified. In other parts of the clinic women received pre-natal check ups and birth control and babies were vaccinated.
I have spent quite a bit more time in the wards at Ilula Hospital as well. Although I have not done as much PT as I had hoped, I have learned a great deal and have a list of ideas for myself or other PTs who may visit in the future. It is quite an experience just to be in the wards. The rooms are crowded and there is really no such thing as privacy. Families to stick by each other and help each other out the best that they can. Families are responsible for providing patients with food and water and are often seen sharing what they have with others. It must be such a challenging place to heal, especially when so many around you so ill.
I have spent the most time with a little boy who sustained burns to his back and buttocks when he fell in a camp fire. He spends most of his days and nights under a cage covered with a sheet to keep the flies off of his burns. He must be in an incredible amount of pain, but he smiles and laughs as we work on stretching out his legs. His mom is such a strong woman. She has done her best to follow recommendations for positioning and stretching. Yesterday I was at the bedside when the nurse came in to clean the boy's burns. It was terrifying experience for me, I cannot imagine how it was for the little boy and for his mother. That was the only time I have seen the boy's mom cry.
After spending a few days in Tungamalenga, we will return to Ilula for one last day. After that most of the group will be heading back to Dar. Kelsey, Ken and I will head to Iringa for a few more days. I am looking forward to spending some time with the PT at Neema.
Continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I hope everything is well back home in MN!
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