Beautiful Tanzania

After 5 days in the Serengeti and other Tanzanian National Parks, we are awestruck over the beauty of this country.   Last week with the Palliative Care Team, we experienced the beauty and hospitality of the Tanzanian people. This week we drank in the extraordinary sights of nature- plants, animals, birds.  What a riot of colors we saw in the wide variety of birds, the humorous colors and patterns of the zebras, the silly antics of the monkeys and thequick fierceness of the lion on prowl.  Each of us are grateful beyond words for this tremendous experience.

Tomorrow we will say our goodbyes to the team at the Nkoaranga Lutheran Hospital and to this magnificent country.  A little piece of our hearts will stay here with our new friends and their work.  We hope to bring their stories back to you and look forward to sharing what these weeks have meant to us.  As we wash off the dust from the safari trail and begin to pack our bags to leave, we end this last blog with a picture- you know what "they" say...... a picture is worth a thousand words.

Asante sana (Thank you)  for joining us on this journey.

 The day began at Chapel service with the Nkoaranga Hospital staff.  Chaplain Don brought the message and then Dr. Julius reported on a recent pediatric HIV/AIDS conference in Dar es Salaam.

 

 In the photo above Goodluck is shown with Mama Swai and palliative care social worker Devotha.  We stopped to visit Goodluck while he was on a brief recess period from his school.  Can you spot the Gilchrist logo.

 Mama Marta Paulo in the photo above is the grandmother of the two children James and Dorcas shown with her.  The children's parents died of AIDS about a year ago and sadly they too are both HIV positive.  The house behind them remains unfinished since their parent's death.  They now sleep on the ground in a makeshift shelter built of scraps of wood and corrugated steel.

Debbie is shown above with the volunteer Aseri Loth Ayo serving in the Leguruki ward.  This volunteer is currently unpaid and serves with the hope that funding will come for a stipend.  He is one of six who await stipends.

 These are among many children who surrounded our vehicle when we would stop to visit. They are holding comfort dolls knitted by Gilchrist Hospice volunteers.

Debbie and Marilyn say very much thanks for the Dramamine (these roads are crazy!)  This post is our last until later next week.  Asante sana and see you soon,
Marilyn, Debbie, Karen, and Don

Touched by hearts and minds

 Today is Thursday February 9 and our hearts and minds continue to be challenged and enriched by this compassionate ministry of care.  We were blessed first thing as we spent about an hour at the Nkoaranga Lutheran Hospital orphanage with the children and the volunteers and staff caring for them.  Above you can see Esther in a cap donated by the GBMC Oncology Support Group.  She is being held by a volunteer from Australia.

 Vesalli Matuso shown above has asthma and his wife suffers with stomach cancer.  This elderly couple struggle to survive on virtually no income.  When we discussed what kind of medicine might be best for each of them Mama Swai thought for moment and replied simply, "food is best".

After a few more miles through banana forests at the base of Mt. Meru we visited with this man, Latiaeli Usaka, who has head and neck cancer.  He is shown in the photo with volunteer Itiki Saeli.  The tumor has been with him for about 10 years and he has recently been experiencing breathlessness.  While discussing symptom management with Mama Swai and Devotha we realized that the Nkoaranga team did not know that morphine can be administered on an as needed basis.  We explained this and now he will soon receive morphine with instruction to use before bedtime if needed and at other times when he may feel out of breath.

Above is a picture of several members of the team as we visited with Goodluck Guspasa whose parents died of AIDS and related complications.  Note that this is not the same Goodluck visited by our first team.  You can see Mama Swai in the foreground.  She stands next to the volunteer who visits with Goodluck.  Social worker Devotha, GHC nurse Marilyn Graves and Karen Hohne, RN, appear in the photo as well.  We ended our day breaking bread at Devotha's home as she graciously invited the team over for dinner.

The need here is great but compassion and support is at work in this place through the hearts and minds of these staff and volunteers as they serve out of their faith.  I thank God for our new friends with their huge hearts and capable minds both of which they offer in service to those that they care for.

Muungu awabariki (God Bless you all), Chaplain Don

The Jogoo (Rooster) Crows

 Our day began as did Monday and Tuesday with the rooster crowing at 5:30 AM.  Today we had morning prayer at the hospital worship service with the palliative care team at Nkoaranga and then hit the road for a full day of visiting patients with Mama Swai and Devotha.

 This young boy whose name is Thomas is 18 years old and was recently diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.  We traveled to his home which is on the lower part of the mountain Meru.  Hiking to see him was a challenge but we made it only to find he was taken to the government hospital founded by the George W. Bush Foundation where he was being treated for both his diabetes and TB.  Thomas holds a comfort doll donated back by Chaplain Don and Karen's daughter Abby.

Karen is sitting with Naum Alias with an advanced stage of esophageal cancer.  He is one of the patients getting the benefit of morphine which is controlling his pain.  As you can see the newspaper on the wall is what we would define as wallpaper.  At this visit we handed out lollipops, soap and lotion.  Naum was grateful for the lollipops as that is helping with his dry mouth as he is not able to swallow whole foods and can take only liquids. The gifts are received as treasures by the patients and families.  They give you huge smiles and repeat asante, asante. (thank you, thank you)

When we arrived on Sunday night as we broke bread with the palliative care team we recalled tonight Dr. Julius words which were, "Monday will be a greet and meet day and then we put you to work" ... which is exactly what they did.  After Naum we continued on these long dusty African "roads" to see Betti Nico Santoni who has cirrohosis of the liver and ascites. From there we traveled on to see a patient with bladder cancer and his name was Mshamu Mboga who was living with his second wife and three young children.  From that point we moved on to visit a single mother who as the team described is "very poor, poor" and we could clearly see that.  There we not only gave goodies but we made plans to buy corn meal and the team will take it to her later. Our last stop was to visit Mary Petrol who is an 18 year old boarding at a secondary school working to pass to move on to high school.  She is the eldest daughter of our single mother and is being encouraged to study and get an education so that she can help the family survive.  Mary is a gorgeous young lady with a smile that would make a magazine cover in the United States. Mary ended our day on a bright note of hope for the young people of Tanzania.   Debbie

Dolls and Drummers and the Bishop

Our day began with the bright smiles of the students at the chapel service at the Usa River Rehabilitation  compound.  What beautiful music their voices make and we were privileged to greet them.
Then we were off to meet Bishop Paulo of the Meru Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania.  Tea was served and we enjoyed our third type of banana dish-this time banana soup!  Really delicious!
We made 2 home visits- to the homes of Zianabu, a 45 y/o diagnosed with head and neck cancer 6 years ago and has been a palliative care patient for 2 weeks.  Zianabu faces many challenges with the typical symptoms of this type of metastatic cancer.  Her sister and niece accompanied us in the vehicle to her house and we gave the baby one of our GHC dolls.

Our next stop was to visit Veronica a  67 y/o women with metastatic breast cancer.  She was diagnosed 2 years ago and only the biopsy and diagnosis was available to her which is typical as no surgical interventions are usually offered.  She is managing with some homeopathic medications.  The palliative team was able to offer her some nutritional education and support.  Her neighbor children in the village of Jua-Coli (Too Much Sun) also received a GHC doll.

After we arrived back at the Usa River guest house, we heard some interesting drum beats outside our windows.  We found 3 drummer boys having the time of their lives beating a happy tune with sugar cane and empty boxes.

Of course we had to award them with some prizes from the United States s for their entertaining concert and they seemed quite happy with their awards from the funny speaking strangers (us).

All in all, it was a very good day!  Marilyn
PS- FYI We have no phone service and spotty (at best) internet service :)

First Impressions

We are deeply touched by the generosity of spirit that we have experienced from all of those here.  The hospital and palliative care staff continually express their gratitude for the support of Gilchrist Hospice Care.  Nkoaranga Lutheran Hospital administrator Jeremiah expressed his feelings about our partnership early this morning when he said to us,"Your help for us and for these people shows how human beings can care for one another even from long distance away.  You are really really helpful for these people.  It is essential and shows how God can join us together."  The evening of our arrival Dr. Julius Mollel, one of the only hospital physicians, said this, "We know that God made you our partner when our original funding ran out."  We (your mission team from Gilchrist) are seeing first hand just what these staff here are explaining.  This is clearly a partnership born out of and sustained by a love for God's people.  The need here is great and the work and the support of it are essential.  Don

Today we visited Nkoaranga Lutheran Hospital where we were again graciously received by Dr. Julius and the palliative care team. We met with Jeremiah, the hospital administrator, a man with a huge heart for caring for his people.  As we toured the hospital with him he stopped to greet hospital workers and patients by name.  We met with Mama Swai, Devotha and Tumaini to learn of the needs of the Palliative Care Program.  We learned that in addition to providing end of life care for those who are dying and their families, they are responsible for the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Program.  We learned that education is not free in Tanzania and that the poor and very poor cannot afford the school fees.  This team provides education fees, nutrition, and a mattress and blanket for some of the poorest children.  They are only able to provide this for one child in a family regardless of how many children are in the family.  Funds are severely limited and the need is great. It costs about $107.00 U.S to send a child to primary school for a year and $200.00 for a year of secondary education. Such a small amount to us, such an impossible amount for many of the poor families in Tanzania.        Karen

Volunteer Palliative Care Team

From the moment we were met at the airport the warmth, generosity and love surrounded us. To listen to the team speak of their patients and the care they provide with limited resources is remarkable beyond words.  One of the many blessings on Monday was meeting the group of volunteers who as Jeremiah stated so beautifully are the "eyes for the palliative care team."  36 men and women travel monthly (many taking 2 buses to get to the hospital) to give report about the patients they serve in their villages.  Their bright smiles and caring support to those they serve filled the room as each of us introduced ourselves and explained our roles at Gilchrist.  These volunteers are elected by their community as they are seen as the key leaders of the village they live in.  As I was told, "they are the trusted leaders."  When asked why they do this work the answer was universal,  they feel it is an honor and privilege to care for people, and they are working for God.  There compassion clearly comes from the heart.  As we left these beautiful volunteers hugs, kisses and thank you's were exchanged by all.   Debbie

Esther

 In addition to meeting many new friends today,  we were able to peek in on Esther, born 4/04/2010, an orphan the first  GHC team fell in love with on their visit.  We took the picture above of her sleeping.

Clearly our first day has been a day of many moving moments shared with new friends.  As Debbie, Karen, Don and I sat together tonight for dinner, we were each overwhelmed in gratitude for this extraordinary experience. We are challenged by this opportunity and recognize our responsibility to respond  to this partnership as Administrator Jeremiah stated, "Your help for us and for these people shows how human beings can care for one another even from long distance away."  Although you are a "long distance away" from us tonight, our hearts are full with thoughts of you and how we can continue this incredible partnership.  Marilyn

Kiboko Room

Karen and Don Hohne in front of the "Kiboko" room at the Usa River Guest House (Kiboko = rhinoceros)  As you can see, we arrived in fine shape. We were met by the palliative care team from the Nkoaranga Lutheran Hospital- with roses for the ladies and a fabulous meal once we arrived at the Guest House.  We have been traveling for over 24 hours now, all have taken a shower and about to tuck into bed for a busy day tomorrow.
BTW Debbie has the "Swala" Room (gazelle we think) and mine (Marilyn) is the "Tembo" Room (elephant).