Tanzania - Final Week

Hamjambo,

This may be my last blog from here as internet is so bad and we're so busy.

We've had a packed last week. Five of us hiked to a waterfall in the foothills of Kilimanjaro at the weekend and it was fantastic. The rainforest scenery was breathtaking and it really felt like we got off the beaten track.

We also visited a tiny coffee farm, picked coffee beans and helped our teenage guide to make it into coffee - all done by hand. The farm was literally a hut where he lives with all his extended family. The amount of work to manually farm coffee is incredible - I'll certainly appreciate my next cup!

Yesterday we visited the UN Rwanda War Crimes tribunal in Arusha (about an hour away). It was very interesting although we didn't get to go into court due to witness protection. I was amazed that this tribunal has been going on for ten years and they have still only convicted a few of those responsible for the massacres. It's a lengthy and dangerous process - a witness was killed only last week. They are doing a good job in difficult circumstances and hopefully justice will be done eventually...

We've also been visiting orphanages. I was quite impressed with the one I saw - the nuns work hard and they have pretty good facilities. The children are very undemanding but seem pretty content.

We visited the local hospital on Tuesday. It was a very eye-opening experience. Patients are often three to a bed and anaesthesia is minimal. Burns are a particularly common complaint, as is malaria, and we also saw a woman with leprosy. Facilities are basic to say the least and the smells were very different from hospitals in the West! Operations are often just done under local anaesthetic in the ward with all the other patients watching. We saw the HIV clinic which was the most modern part of the hospital. Almost all the patients are women as most men are still in denial - women are blamed for the infection simply because men refuse to get tested.

So now we are making the most of our last placement days. I've become really attached to my kids and I'll be sad to leave them. I'll also miss the beautiful scenery and the friendly community. On the other hand, I'm glad to be escaping the dust, horrendous roads and malaria! My friend Sheri has gone down with it (despite paying for the expensive tablets like me). Apparently we are not invincible after all which is a little worrying as I'm covered in bites.

Anyway, I'll post some pics when I get home on Sunday. Thanks for reading - it makes my epic trips into town for slow internet worthwhile!

Tutaonana xxxx