Back Again! by Barb Griffin

Bob and I have traveled to Dodoma yearly since 2001.  During our early trips we saw Dodoma struggling to be the parliamentary capital.   In 2011, it’s clear to see with University of Dodoma’s six colleges already  reaching 20,000 students,  the  ongoing construction  and the increased  hauling and traffic including numerous piki piki’s  (motorcycles), that the economy is growing and there is new energy in Dodoma creating both opportunities and challenges.

Baptist Mnyalape; Chief of Administration & Finance

There clearly is a new energy at DCMC! Baptist Mnyalape, loving Dodoma and catching the vision of DCMC  became the Chief of Administration and Finance in April. His  relational experience and leadership as Barkley’s Bank  Branch Manager translates into creatively catching the DCMC vision of teamwork , excellence and  financial sustainability.  His enthusiasm for the staff style show and  sports day was infectious even involving us “senior citizens”. Uninhibited joy of that day was caught in the antics of Hugo, Nicholas, and King (children of the management team).

New energy  is emerging at the Reproductive and Child Health Center over anticipation of the completion of  remodeled area and the normal and surgical deliveries to follow. Dr. Chotta was delighted with  the five suitcases of hand carried supplies for that purpose.  On my first trip, I toured the maternity ward at Dodoma General and then again on this trip.  I saw the evidence of  the overwhelming number of deliveries  requiring the new moms to share a bed.   Tears of gratitude come to my eyes knowing that DCMC will be able to meet an essential need.    Even though not yet complete, the pregnant moms of Dodoma are pushing for the service.    With the service comes the challenge of  increased nursing staff. (Nurse volunteers would be welcome!)

Dr. Chotta & Dr. Gamble reviewing donated equipment

New energy is also emerging for the staff as DCMC participated in the mass deworming and vitamin A campaign for school children and the distribution of bed nets.  We witnessed a steady stream of parents and children parading from the village for the distribution.  In addition the dental and medical staff are courting  many companies to sign with  DCMC as the preferred provider for their employees.

Although enthusiastic for the completion of the emergency and surgical buildings and wards to bring that needed service to the emerging Dodoma, there is something that specifically touches me about DCMC’s the impact on public health. One day we experienced a HIV testing campaign in the Dodoma’s Chang’ombe ward with children crowding  the sidelines and the next day a rugged 12 hour round trip (with Katrin Boehl driving)  to remote Lwihomelo dispensary.

Distribution of Bed Nets at DCMC

Rural Lwihomelo Village Leaders & Health Care workers

Children in that primitive but beautiful landscape seem somehow safer.  The basic building has not changed nor have the needs of the 7,000 plus people dotted over that remote country side.  Philip, the new energetic  Clinical Officer,  makes  piki piki  rounds.  There is the constant challenge of a woman in need of a surgical delivery getting to a health center! The presentation by the dispensary committee was particularly touching to me.   Karl and Nancy Cambronne and I were named  honorary Patron  and Matrons, an honor  which I cherish as a bond in caring about the  medical needs of God’s people of Lwihomelo, Tanzania.

Rural Tanzania

Rural Dispensary (Clinic) in a Mountain Village

Today, we drove about 4 hours to a small village in the mountains/hills where DCMC manages a Rural Dispensary (Clinic).  The scenery along the way was spectacular as it changed from dusty and desert like to more green and lush in the mountains.   However, the roads are quite a challenge to drive as they went from black top, to dusty dirt roads, to water eroded roads going up the mountain, and ending with a “prairie trail” to the dispensary. 

The Rural Dispensary is the only health care facility for the people in this village in the mountains but it is very basic, with a few full time staff and some medications for some common conditions.  That being said, the staff provides a huge service to the community with very few resources.  

I’ll just attach a few pictures as I didn’t have many scenery shots on this camera.

Rural Tanzania

 

 

Arusha Road Church

Sunday, we had the opportunity to attend church at Arusha Road Lutheran Church in Dodoma together with the group from Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park. 

Arusha Road Lutheran is a large church and the main floor was full for the 10 am service.   There were a few things different than our Lutheran churches back home.  One thing is that everyone dresses up for church; I don’t think I saw anyone in casual attire.  Second, there were no empty pews in the front row and third, the church service went 2 hours and 45 minutes and I didn’t see anyone complaining.   Imagine that!

Dr. Gamble & a Child at Arusha Road Church

Westwood Lutheran focuses their mission work in Africa in Dodoma, so they have partnered with Arusha Road Church and have assisted several other nonprofits as well.  In addition, they have partnered with us at DCMC, donating the Internet Satellite which allows us to communicate across the continents now and to do telemedicine in the future.

The church choir was a group of about 15 (and one girl about 3 years old that was with them doing a lot of the moves).  They were very lovely singers and the songs were uplifting and they had coordinated dance moves (that might be pretty tough for most of us Norwegians).  I’ve come to understand that singing is a big tradition in Tanzania.  Our staff at DCMC starts each day with devotions and songs and everyone participates in the singing.   And, they always do the singing in harmony.

Arusha Road Church & Westwood Group

Later in the afternoon, we had a DCMC “sports day” for the staff members.  Part of the event was a fashion show where staff members came in their version of traditional African attire representing a certain African tribe.  It was all quite charming!

DCMC Fashion Show

Dodoma – The Reality Tour

 

 Hospital Corridor

Yesterday, Dr. Chotta from DCMC, Aaron, Barb and I went to a hospital for a tour.  I didn’t take any pictures of the patients because of patient confidentiality and also because it felt too invasive.  But, it was all a bit overwhelming to see the way health care is given.   I also want to acknowledge that the hospital staff is working hard and is probably doing the best they can with the resources they have. 

Delivery Area

To give you a sense of the Hospital it is presently about 400 beds located in multiple single story buildings connected by covered walkways. We toured the maternity, delivery and pediatric wards. The maternity wards were one building, with no walls or curtains separating patients. In one area there were about 16 beds with less than a foot between each bed for the Moms and their newborns. The Delivery area was…well, not like any delivery area I’ve seen in the US, although the picture doesn’t quite capture reality of the situation.  In the space of the five minutes we were there, we saw three babies delivered with one nurse doing all the new baby care.   Keep in mind that this is still many times safer than the Mom delivering at home where many will have dirt floors.

I should also mention that our DCMC doctor, Dr. Chotta, just the day before loaned the General Hospital some boxes of gloves as they had no gloves to do surgeries  because the government had not delivered any to the hospital. We also hear that the hospital supply stores for the government hospitals will close for a month to count inventory.

So, we have a real opportunity at DCMC to change the mindset of what quality means in a clinic and hospital. Of course, working in new, clean buildings makes a huge difference but having standards of cleanliness will make a difference as well. Again, I can see that DCMC can be an oasis for the people of Dodoma.

Girl Waiting for Care at DCMC

 

DCMC – an Oasis

Hill behind DCMC

The last several days have been spent touring DCMC, learning more about their programs and visiting the place in Dodoma where the Community Services team conducts anti-drug education and counseling.  In the next few days, we will go out to the villages to visit the rural clinics that are so important for improving care in Tanzania.

Today, we had the honor of hosting a group of seven people from Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park as they are working on several projects in Dodoma, including work with the orphanages.  One of the members of the group commented that DCMC is like an Oasis in Dodoma.  Not just because the grounds are clean, green and well maintained, but also because you get a sense of healing, quality care and spiritual strength from the surroundings and from the people working at DCMC.

DCMC - an "Oasis" of Health and Hope

It’s hard to explain what the rest of Dodoma is like without a lot of pictures, but it is a very dry area which leads to a lot of dust.  The area is fairly flat but you will see single hills scattered around the area, like the one shown in this picture.  This gives you a glimpse of the rocky, arid conditions in and around the city.  

Today, I watched as a number of young women with babies came to have well baby checks and also to collect mosquito nets that are being given away.  This picture shows several young girls who were taking their baby sisters and brothers to the clinic for check ups and mosquito nets. 

Young Girls bringing their Siblings for Care

The Colorful Life in Moshi

This past weekend we stayed in the area around Moshi, which is close to Mount Kilimanjaro. This is a beautiful area of Tanzania, especially now at the end of their rainy season. What struck me were the beautiful colors that you find in the area, from the beautiful plants, to the vegetables in the market, to the clothing of a young Mesai girl who was waiting outside the Machame Hospital. In packing for this trip, I brought many things that were wrinkle free and easy care, but unfortunately quite bland compared to the clothing you will find here. This was especially true when compared to the people going to church on Sunday who were dressed in very nice, stylish and colorful clothing.   So, even though life can be hard for the people around Moshi due to economic challenges, lack of consistent electrical services and to very limited services for the people,  the people themselves are not grim. 

Masai Girl Outside Mechame Hospital

Woman Selling Vegetables in the Moshi Market

 Today, we traveled south to Dodoma in a 6 seater Cessna airplane. The airplane is part of a group called Mission Aviation Fellowship, which has 4 (I believe) small planes that it flies into the more difficult to reach areas of Tanzania. We had a very easy 1.5 hour flight over the Tanzanian countryside. It was very apparent that the northern part of the country enjoys much more rain than the southern part, as we saw less greenery as we flew south. In fact, we found that in Dodoma they have not had rain since March and so there are worries that it will be difficult for the families to support their fields and gardens in the coming months. My first impressions of Dodoma Christian Medical Center were very positive, as the buildings are built so they look both strong and beautiful. Tomorrow, I’ll be getting a full introduction to the work at the Center and get a chance to observe more of what they do.

Northern Tanzania

We arrived in Tanzania on Thursday and are now staying with a couple that lives on the north side of Tanzania. They are very active in building commerce and educational opportunities for all Tanzanian and have also been very active in the building of DCMC.

We have now visited 2 hospitals, a business started for hospital infusion systems, a farm and a city market. There are so many different sight and sounds that it’s hard to describe. I also have only a few minutes of Internet time.

One thing that struck me was the hunger for more educational opportunities. We observed young people studying to be pharmacy technicians and another group studying to be nurses, both very needed positions.

Unfortunately I need to get to another place to upload the pictures.

Where is Dodoma, Tanzania?

Before joining this work, I’ll admit that did not know anything about Dodoma although I was somewhat familiar with Tanzania.   Tanzania is on the East coast of Africa and Dodoma is in the center of Tanzania and is the government Capital.

Dodoma, Tanzania

Traveling to Dodoma, Tanzania

Packing Medical Items for DCMC

Yesterday, several of us gathered to pack our bags for the upcoming trip to Tanzania.  Thanks to many of you, we are traveling with many items for the new Birth Center.  Thanks to the generosity of a local couple, we will have a complete set of surgical instruments to take with us for the  C-Section suite at the Birth Center.  We are also carrying many suitcases full of  patient monitors,  sutures, and other medical instruments and supplies including several donated cautery sets.   Although we have provided prenatal care at DCMC,  a Birth Center requires that we have emergency C-Section capabilities thus the need for the equipment.

For two of us on this trip, it will be the first time in Africa so we have each received multiple vaccinations in the past several weeks.  In addition, we are traveling with several kinds of medications including a preventive malaria drug.  We realize how lucky we are to be able to afford these kinds of medications, something that is not affordable for most people in Africa.

I’ve traveled extensively the last 25 years but have not traveled to Africa.   However, I have many friends and relatives who have been to various places in Africa and they have told me of the beauty and joy they have found there.  They have also told me that traveling to Dodoma and visiting the Medical Center will very likely “open my eyes” and even make me cry as I discover the realities of life there.  I don’t know how I will react, given my basic reserved nature as a Norwegian, Lutheran, North Dakota prairie girl; however, I will send you pictures and my thoughts in upcoming posts.  I’ve also talked a few of my fellow travelers into writing some posts so you won’t just hear from me.

Wish us well on our travels!

Noreen