Weeks 2 and 3

So we have just finished our 3rd week and cant believe how fast its going!!!! We have both celebrated our birthdays since we last posted-they will be ones to remember! We have been busy visiting Kilimajaro and the waterfalls that surround it, but the highlight of the past two weeks would have to have been celebrating with the Welsh rugby captains after they finished their climb of Kili. Look out for our appearance in the ITV documentary!! :)

During our 2nd week we got a better feel for the hospital, gaining greater independence on the wards and a bigger case load-mostly working with people with TB and HIV. The lack of effective infection control measures made working with these patient groups a challenge although we werent willing to take any chances as the nurses were! We were shocked to see one of our HIV patients being suctioned with a urinary catheter - whether this was down to a lack of equipment or knowledge we weren't sure but it certainly didnt have the same effect! You can imagine- suction catheters are now also top of our list of supplies to buy for the hospital over the weekend! Because of the VERY laid back attitude of some of the nursing/medical staff, this patient may never have been suctioned if we hadnt spent 20 minutes searching the hospital for the one suction machine they had and whose covering of dust suggested it hadnt been used in quite a while.

We couldnt fathom how HIV positive patients were left mixed among patients of all medical conditions on the wards - posing risks for both themselves and those in the beds close beside them.

A somber start to our 3rd week - three of our patients had died over the weekend. What troubled us more was the attitude to these deaths and the fact that we couldnt get a specific cause of death from the nursing staff, we were merely told they had died from either TB or HIV. This was obviously a lot for us to take in, leaving the hospital that afternoon we could have done with a week off!! Our week picked up when we got back on track with a new load of neuro rehabilitation patients to keep us busy.

Our weekly Swahilli lessons are proving very helpful in the hospital - well for Alison anyway. Bla seems to be making up her own language confusing the patients even more "Hello, goodbye goodbye" "No please" "FIVE FIVE FIVE (instead of again!) and the likes..you'd want to see the patients faces!

Over the past few weeks we have compiled a list of the most urgent supplies that are needed in the hospital. So far, our shoppping list consists of Paraffin gauze (for burns), Plaster of Paris (for the many patients who cannot afford to buy it for themselves), Tape, Suction catheters, Walking sticks/crutches, Slide sheets (The manual handling is prehistoric!), infection control supplies etc..

So finally, a massive massive thank you to all those who have been so generous already. Your donations will make a huge difference to our patients and the hospital staff. We are also still appealing to those who havent yet donated- they are still so many things that are desperately needed in the hospital that your donations can go towards.

Thanks again,
Ali and Bla x x