Week 9- just two of us here in the field

 This week is the last one for some of us, and now, I am (Julia) the one in charge of tell you about new things!

Last week Luis, Jaime, Angela, Miranda and Parra finished their work in Msitu wa tembo. After many weeks of hard work, they went to Pangani, a coast village in northeast Tanzania for a well-deserved holiday. Asante team!

Hanna and I took turns working in the dispensary. We continued collecting data and learning more about their work there. The doctor, the nurses and the laboratory workers are a big help and they solve all our doubts.

I started the week working on this week´s seminar about hygiene. This subject may be simpler than the ones taught by my partners but it is important that the mamas understand that hygiene can be critical in their health. For this seminar some problems came about. This month is critical for the work in shambas (fields) so only 2 mamas were free for the seminar and just on Friday. Also that Saturday the big group of mamas had arranged a free day from the meeting to work in the shambas so they will perform the seminar another week. One more time our work teaches us to accept the problems and keep searching for new solutions.

Meanwhile Hanna took over the monitoring of the child with cerebral palsy and his reception in the Gabriella rehabilitation center that should happen on Monday the 25th. She visited the center and the director was so helpful and involved. We found out that they also help young people and that was good news for us since we know about some cases at Msitu wa tembo that would fit in this center. We will continue with the investigation!

In addition in our free times we visited other projects such as the English classes for the mamas and the Maasai jewelry group which TATU coordinates with the Maasai women in the community. And on the weekend we visited some incredible places that this country showed us such as Lake Chala and Majimoto oasis.

Sometimes this country surprises us with such a different way to have things happen, another part of the culture that we have to get used to and fit in to in order to end our projects on a good note. As Angela told us last week, sometimes it is difficult and usually we should change and readjust times, plans and thoughts, but pole pole (slowly) we are accomplishing our projects that will help this community. And you know what they say; the hardest work brings the greatest success!