Awakened by the ubiquitous roosters starting at 4 AM the day got off to a rousing start. After a quick, chilly bucket bath I was out and dressed in time to witness a glorious sunrise. The nuns had breakfast waiting for us, the usual eggs bread, margarine and coffee, in a large and comfortable living/sitting room. There was time for questions. What I found out is that this 150 bed hospital is run entirely on charitable donations from Catholic sources and others. It is cleverly managed. There is no hookup to either public water supply or electricity. Power comes from six huge solar panels in a courtyard and is sufficient to provide power for most of the building except for the wee hours of the morning. Each building, and there are about 20, has an intricate system of rain collection gutters which serve to fill about 50 cisterns of 20,000 gallons each. In good years this is more than enough. This year, however, provided less than normal rainfall and they may have to resort to their well. Rainwater has advantages. It is clean on arrival, quite soft and free. The water is drawn off and routed for different purposes. Drinking water requires filtering and boiling which is scrupulously done. The rest is for washing and cleaning purposes.
Six nuns, all nurses, run the place. They are a Dutch order that established a branch here in Tanzania. All are black and each serves a different function in the hospital. They are cheerful, funny and so anxious to please that it is almost embarrassing. They were mortified by their mistake. Not knowing the nature of our relationship we were originally placed us in an outlying building rather than single rooms inside the compound. The food, typical Tanzanian fare of beef, chicken, pork, rice, potatoes and greens has been quite good.
Once in the hospital I found many of the problems I had in past years. Basic equipment and drugs are scarce, particularly adequate IV solutions. Again, it is a question of money. This is not a government hospital so people are expected to pay something. Hospital revenue needs to be balanced against expenditures and treatments are often tailored to what people can afford to pay. The church does not pour a lot of resources into this project. I’ll probably comment on this later as I learn more.
The day was spent touring the hospital, having tea at the appropriate times and afternoon clinic where I got to know Dr. Rob. He is a six foot three Dutchman completing his third year here as a prerequisite for his OBGYN residency back home. He is an affable young man who runs the medical aspect of the hospital. Making rounds and conducting clinic with him produced five surgeries for tomorrow so we are off to a good start. There was a goodbye party tonight for a departing physician so it’s late and I’ve had a little wine. Time to sign off and go to bed.
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