#the way i run my farm like an organized well-oiled machine is not relaxing

[egberts]

"stardew valley is a relaxing game" genuinely we are not having the same experience

[amcasey177]

Week 6: Life at Karatu Lutheran Hospital and FAME Medical, Kayaking to Kenya & Chasing Waterfalls

Sorry for not heeding your advice, TLC

An Oasis at Lake Chala

Karatu I’ve been working at Karatu Lutheran Hospital (KLH) for two weeks now and have also spent sometime working at FAME Medical. As I previously mentioned, my hospital partner Sarah and I live in a guest house KLH grounds. We are a 15 minute rickshaw ride from Karatu town, which is the central town for the many farms surrounding it. Karatu is nestled among some of the world’s geological wonders including the active volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai, and the Ngorongoro Crater. It does not look like The Lion King, as my friend Camille was so hoping; it’s characterized by rolling hills, lush farm land and volcanic red dirt (which now characterizes all of my shoes). The town has an African charm to it that is lacking in the bustling City of Arusha. However, this charm comes with a price: availability. It is very hard to find hot food that isn’t meat and rice, any grocery item remotely resembling what I am used to, or, most importantly, any electrical component that I need to do my job. Such things are a two and a half hour drive away in Arusha. I would love to say that it’s no big deal, I’ve learned to adapt; but sometimes you just need a friggin’ 240 ohm resistor and a cheeseburger.

That lush farm land I was talking about.

My New Digs We’re living in a large house that uh, has character. Dirty is a state of mind, not a state of being, right? Right. Luckily we have running water (an incredibly large percentage of Tanzanians don’t), though sometimes it is black, in which case can rely bottled water (don’t worry Mom!). I have to wash all my clothing by hand, and by the third hour of doing so every Monday night, I have written sonnets about how much I miss washing machines. We’re cooking for ourselves, which is definitely a challenge when you don’t have a fridge, food that you’re accustomed to, or a spatula (I could probably just buy the spatula, but I’d rather wallow in self-pity). Nonetheless I’ve learned that you can accomplish a lot with just a gas tank and matches. For instance, yesterday I made my own tomato sauce and today I popped popcorn the old fashion way, just some oil and a flame, no jiffypop or popsecret necessary. We have lots of friendly neighbors, including three kids between the ages of 6 and 11 that I play cards and sardines with every other night. They call me “Madam Ash” and have quickly and surely stolen my heart. Overall its a challenging way of life, and not always in the romantic kind of way, but I’m lucky to realize just how much I have to be grateful for.

The bi-monthly Iraqw Market is one of the biggest around, attracting buyers and sellers from all over Tanzania. Also that red dirt I was talking about.

Karatu Lutheran Hospital KLH is a charming, government funded, rural hospital. It boasts a very skilled staff who do great work with the limited resources that they have. There isn't much equipment at KLH; the little that they do have is heavily relied upon and well maintained by the biomedical engineering technician on staff, Augustino Pagano. So far, Sarah and I have done mostly small fixes with equipment like surgical beds and blood pressure cuffs, but everything that we do fix is greatly needed and greatly appreciated.KLH Grounds

Karatu Lutheran Grounds

Augustino to the Rescue! KLH, Sarah and I are very lucky to have Augustino. He knows a lot of what he does from working on the job and he's remarkably good at what he does. He has welcomed us into his workshop with open arms, and has offered us a lot of help in navigating the hospital. I can tell when I walk around with him how much people admire him, the man who can fix almost anything! I am very happy to help him in anyway that I can; anything that's good for him is good for the hospital.

The Crew - One from China, One from Tanzania, One from New Jersey

Augustino on the Job

Nyama Choma  - Tanzanian Barbeque. That was a filling lunch.

FAME Medical We also spend one or two days a week at FAME Medical (Foundation for African Medicine and Education). It is an organization founded by Americans Susan Gustafson and Frank Artress, a mental health specialist and a doctor. In 2002 while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, Dr. Frank experienced a life-threating pulmonary edema. He would have died on the mountain were it not for the hard work and compassion of his local guides, who carried him up and over the mountain to safety. The incident inspired Frank and Susan to move to Tanzania and create FAME Medical, with its Hospital in Karatu, mobile health clinics that circulate the area and general public health outreach. Its a really great story, and you can learn more about their work in the link below.

FAME Medical Link

I think that FAME has done a good job of maintaining the standards of a Western hospital - in terms of equipment, patient care and facilities - while respecting and empowering the locals. Aside from Frank, Susan and a handful of Westerners, the doctors, nurses and other staff are Tanzanian, the signs are all in Swahili, the hospital is laid out on an outdoor campus like most others in Tanzania. It’s paid for by a mixture of foreign donations and the patients themselves. FAME doesn’t have a biomedical engineering technician like Augustino on staff, so once one of the nurses found out what work we were there to do, he rolled out two suction pumps, two light fixtures, three oxygen concentrators and an endoscopy light generator on the spot! It was pretty exciting.

An ICU at FAME

One of three oxygen concentrator that we worked on today. Once it was fixed, it was immediately used on a patient in need. That was pretty cool!

Moshi, Lake Chala and Marangu Waterfalls

Lake Chala. Kenya is the yellow land in the distance!

Last weekend about half of the larger group went to Moshi, the city at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We ate like kings at an Indian restaurant on Friday night. On Saturday my friends Kevin, Marianne and I made the trek to Lake Chala, which resides on the border of Tanzania and Kenya. Its a crater lake with walls a quarter km high, because, Tanzania. We first took an hour dala-dala ride (a car pool van fit for 18 people that usually houses 27) to a small town, then an hour long rickshaw ride up an insanely bumpy hill to get to the lake. Some people in the town had never even been to the lake, including our rickshaw driver, so there were times where I seriously doubted that we would make it. When we finally did, and found ourselves at an oasis-lodge on the top of the crater wall overlooking the lake, I thought I was in a mirage. Luckily it was not, and we enjoyed a day of kayaking, swimming, hiking, relaxing, eating well and watching the sunset over Mt. Kilimanjaro. At night we wised up and ordered a taxi home from the Lake to Moshi, which went much more smoothly than our journey there!

Dinner in Moshi with the Gang

Lake Chala Shenanigans

Sunset over Mt. Kilimanjaro

On Sunday we meet up with most others still in Moshi to hike to a waterfall nestled at the base of Kilimanjaro, also fed from the ice water of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was cold, but not as cold as Galway Bay, so you know I went for a swim. I know I've been a lot of beautiful places in Tanzania, but this place was like, reallllll beautiful. The picture says it better than I can!

Thats all for now! Baadaye!