May 2010

Hello to all our wonderful donors and friends,

 

Greetings from sunny Tanzania!  We are working like fiends to prepare for the team of 27 coming from Iowa and Kansas.  Most of them are medical but a few are going to help with construction, too.  We’re excited.

 

Two weeks ago we had Debbie Chong’s OB/Gyn team (Medicine In Action) of 9 here.  They saw 150+ patients a day and did some major, sometimes life-saving surgeries.  It was busy, dramatic, hectic, satisfying, and inspiring.

 

Sometimes, especially when things aren’t going easily, it’s easy to ask ourselves, “Why are we doing this?”  Then, we go to the clinic, see people being helped, know that lives are saved and improved, and we remember.  Yes, this is worth it.  Another aspect is that we’re providing employment for the clinical staff, for our construction workers, and even for the guards who watch out for everything for us.

 

If you are asthmatic, or have respiratory problems and are going to volunteer here, you MUST bring your rescue inhalers and your medication.  There is a factory next door called Mwatex that spews out horrible, choking, black, sooty smoke day and night.  Especially at night.  Last night the steel mill was also blowing smoke from both stacks and there was so much smoke in the houses that one of our guests thought the house was on fire.  There are laws against air pollution in Tanzania, but at least in this case, they are not enforced.  This situation has been going on all four years we have lived here and is getting worse daily.  Our patient population suffers terribly.  We see many, many unnecessary respiratory ailments, especially in children.  It is cheaper for Mwatex to burn the cotton they can’t make into textiles, including the seed that contains oil, than to buy less polluting fuel. Their stacks are low and have no scrubbers.  It makes the community sick. Do they don’t care?  The attached pictures were taken on different days, but one could take them almost any day.

 

Fortunately, the team that is coming includes several respiratory specialists. They are needed. We’ll also have an internist and two pediatricians. It will be a busy, busy two weeks but what a huge gift to our patients. So, stay tuned…

 

A Note from Selemani Shabani, our Project Manager:

My understanding is that all of you show up to work in many ways; everyone has a job to do and you show up for your job every day and we show up for our jobs as well. Together we are working to make IHP-US & TZ and we are helping Tanzanians and we are building the world as well to be a better place.

 

Dear ones who care about IHP US & TZ, be aware of how much we are depending on you, and without you we cannot go forward! Each of your dollars or Euros that comes in makes a big difference. We can go buy supplies we need, i.e. petrol for the generator when we need to use the generator, plumbing supplies, cement, wood, nails, electrical supplies and many more tools and supplies.

 

This is what keeps coming into my mind, “Where is God for all of this time we are doing this work? “  The answer is God is in all of this and I think all of this is the work of God.  Every one of us has our own little assignment from God.  Sometimes it’s better to think and pray before doing it.  All in all God is great and we are moving forward.  The buildings are being built up because of you.  Now we are almost done with the Patricia Ward, plumbing is done, toilets are flushing, electrical, and painting.  Next week we are going to start hanging the shower curtains.

 

Thank you very much and may God bless you for all of your support. Asanteni (Thanks to all of you). Sele.

 

Now, we’ll let the guests, volunteers, students have their say:

 

Manchester Medical Students, May 2010

Today is the last day of our stay here at Nyakato Health Centre, and saying goodbye has made us realize just how much the people here have become like our family. Everyone we have met has been so friendly and welcoming, and patient with our stuttering Swahili! Six weeks after our arrival, patients are still amused by our attempts at the language, but are always pleased that we try.

 

We have learnt so much during our time here, from treating malaria and typhoid to being involved in gynaecological surgery with a visiting team of American doctors. But we have also learnt so much about the problems facing health care in Tanzania; the need for safe and affordable health care, patient education, and public health improvements. Nyakato Health Centre has begun to tackle these, and will continue to do so as it develops into a hospital.

 

The work Paula and Denny do here is priceless, and the effort they put in is astounding. Without kind contributions, their work here would be unable to continue, and we would not have this amazing experience, so thank you to everyone who supports this project.

 

Roisin Porteous, University of Manchester writing:

I am a final year medical student from Manchester in the UK, and I chose to come to Tanzania for my elective, as I’d always wanted to see healthcare in a country very different to the UK. 

 

I came to Mwanza seven weeks ago and it’s now nearly time for me to leave.  When I first arrived at Nyakato, I was made to feel so welcome by everyone, in a culture very different from my own! 

 

I joined the doctors in the clinic, and we saw patients from all round Mwanza.  The fact that so many patients come from so far away to use Nyakato Health Center speaks volumes.  They receive care for both acute illnesses and more chronic conditions, or sometimes they just wish to have a checkup.  Education of the local population is an important role for the team here, and even advice as simple as telling patients to boil their water can make a massive difference.

 

 Everyone works very hard to ensure patients get the investigations and treatment they need, but the resources are still limited.  Patients often need simple tests or medications that cannot yet be provided onsite.  Paula, Denny and the rest of the team are always trying to improve Nyakato, and they are doing an incredible job.  They would not be able to do this without the generosity of others, who give whatever they can, be it donations or their time.  All of this generosity makes a very visible difference to patient care. 

 

I have enjoyed my time in Nyakato immensely.  I have learned about diseases I had never seen before, considered social & cultural issues different to those in the UK, and even learned a lot about healthcare planning just from breakfast at Paula and Denny’s.  On a personal level, I have a new appreciation for many of the things I had previously taken for granted at home in the UK.  I have many memories to take home with me and I am very grateful to everyone here in Mwanza, and all the supporters of IHP-TZ for that.

 

Matthew Catania writing:

Prior to my arrival in Tanzania, I was focused strictly on how I could be of use to IHP-TZ.  I came to Nyakato with my wife, a physician spending May at IHP-TZ as an elective month for her residency program back in the US.  I, however, am not a physician, but don’t mind physical labor, so I figured I’d be working construction.  That has rung true, but I missed the bigger picture of spending a month in Tanzania by focusing my attention on my usefulness.  It’s been just under 3 weeks since I arrived in Nyakato (by way of Nairobi-Arusha-Mwanza), and in that time I’ve learned so much about a way of life that up until now has been completely foreign to me.

 

Sure, I’ve seen clips on the internet of villages and towns in Africa and have traveled fairly extensively internationally (albeit nowhere in Africa), but until one actually sees the way of life here with one’s own eyes, walks the dirt roads, shops in the markets and visits the city centers – all the while trying to communicate with the locals – there is a disconnect.  Planning my day around the sunrise and sunset, as opposed to my own personal preference (I’m not a morning person and tend to stay up very late), has changed my daily routine for the better.  I know I will not wake up at sunrise everyday without fail back in the States, but I enjoy this much more than my routine prior to coming here, and it’s something I hope to adopt in part upon my return.  I enjoy the quiet nights here, where I’m not bombarded by phone calls, the internet, TV, and tons of artificial light.  We sit around a coffee table and talk over a beer – no worry about the time, no one is texting, and no one is stressed out.  It’s a welcome change.  The incessant stimuli in my life before coming to Africa now seems out of control, yet I never thought twice about it until I got here.

 

I may sound very cliché by saying how much I love the change in life and how I wish to adopt it upon my return.  However, I am also grounded and a realist.  I know that I cannot completely remove all the things that keep me up late at night or don’t allow me to just relax in the US, nor do I want to.  That is a part of my life.  However, I have now seen another way of living and have the luxury of adopting as much or as little as I choose.  That decision will have to be made once I’m back – but I know this experience will not be for naught, and my life will be forever changed for the better.

 

Jelena Catania writing:

I did not know what to expect from working in a clinic in Tanzania.  I knew it would be different from my practice in the US, but how different, I did not even dare to guess.  After seeing patients in the clinic here for three weeks, I can say that although there are many differences between how medicine is practiced in the US versus Tanzania, there are far more similarities.  Patients are scared, they are sick, and they are looking for help.  Since the resources are fairly limited, and I cannot order CT scans, endoscopies and biopsies as freely as I would in the US, I decided to concentrate on something that anyone can accomplish, even in a resource-poor setting – that is patient counseling and patient education.  I’ve been amazed at the answers I received from questions such as asking a woman, “Do you feel safe at home?”, a teenage boy whether anyone is bullying him at school, or simply, “What do you know about HIV?”  Although I can’t order an endoscopy to check if a patient’s epigasteric pain is due to an ulcer or just gastritis, I can counsel him to abstain from eating more than three hours before bedtime and to avoid alcohol.  I have also seen a teenage girl’s face light up when I explain the mystery behind the menstrual cycle and an elderly farmer having a “light bulb” moment when I showed him how to properly lift heavy weight using his legs rather than his lower back.  Patients appreciate such advice no matter where you are and it helps the doctor-patient relationship in spite of a language barrier.  I will try to remember this as I continue to order expensive, invasive tests back in my practice in the US.

 

Lindsay Zeichner writing:

I am a family physician in the US who had a fortunate opportunity to spend one month practicing medicine internationally.  I have always had a very romantic idea of coming to Africa.  I wanted to “make a difference,” but honestly, I was selfishly hoping for my own life changing experience.  I feel as though I have succeeded in achieving my goals.  I believe that practicing good medicine is not simply about the skill of diagnosis, prescribing medicine, or curing disease.  More importantly it is about listening to patients, providing a feeling of safety and support, and empowering people with education.  Practicing medicine in Tanzania is about making small changes, not sweeping ones.  Some examples of these small changes include recommending that the medical staff wash their hands before examining patients, educating about sterile technique during procedures, and encouraging the physicians to think outside the malaria and typhoid box by taking more thorough histories when evaluating patients.  As a young physician with limited medical experience, I was unsure of the impact I could make here, but I have gained so much confidence and I will never forget all the experiences and friends made here.

 

Paula writing again:

So there you have it, another month, progress, visitors, patients served.  None of this would happen without your support.  None of it.  Some days, really, most days, we go through far more money that I’d hoped we would.  We need money for wood, cement, mixing sand, wire, tools, for paying construction workers, for water lines, for paint, fuel for the car and truck, new tires, an oil change that leads to a new differential, food for the workers.  The clinic needs more chairs for the waiting patients, more anesthesia medicine, more gloves, IV fluids, laboratory reagents, etc.  It all adds up and adds up fast.

 

To help us keep going, please, please send what you can to:

 

International Health Partners, US & TZ

Joyce Zemel, Treasurer

1811 So. 39^th St. #36

Mesa, AZ  85206

 

You are part of everything we do.  You are the answer to our prayers.  When I ask God to put it into the minds of those who can help to help, you’re the ones who answer and say, “Yes.”  Thank you.  People ask us why we do what we do?  The answer?  Trust God and do what comes up.  We said, “Yes,” and we just show up for work every day when the birds awaken us and the day unfolds.  Your gifts make that possible.

 

Blessings and gratitude, Paula and Denny

 

 

Lets take a look at some pictures!

 

 

Dr. Frank Major is a gynecological oncologist and surgeon who came to help out at Nyakato Health Center.

 

 

Dr. Jenny Keen from England takes a careful history from a patient.

 

 

Medical students from Manchester England

 

 

Mwatex smoke for the whole community to inhale.