Bukumbi Diary - June 2007
1st June 2007
It was great driving into Bukumbi Tuesday morning and seeing the roof half off on the Wafhadili Block. The women were sitting outside smiling and as I drove up I could hear the work taking place as several fundi’s were banging wood and nails together to repair the rafters. On the ground lay the old mabati (Corrugated roofing) and a quarter of the new roof was shining away in the sun. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain for the next few days! They hope to have it all done in 4 days which will be great, and then they can start on the inside and pull the ceiling boards down and replace them for new ones. They are in a terrible state and having new ones in place makes such a difference. The electrics will be done at the same time.
Sijaona block has had
the electrics completed and looks really smart, the men are so pleased. Paulo is struggling to keep the bathroom clean as there is no water at the moment due to some blocked pipes which are taking some time to be repaired, he is having to persuade some of the young guys to walk down to the hand pump to get several buckets so he can clean the bathrooms and toilets, he is a very proud man and feels bad that they are not as clean as they should be. Hopefully it won’t be too long before the water problem is resolved.
The new clinical officer is doing a great job and had a queue of people outside his office today. We chatted for sometime about some of the current health problems. Nina the nurse had a huge smile across her face when she saw me; she is so pleased to have the clinical officer there as it takes a lot of the pressure away from her.
One lady we saw has some serious problems with the skin on her face, she is an albino lady called Vumi and her skin is in a very bad state. Dr Julius thinks that it is probably cancerous so is referring her to the hospital in town who will then refer her onto specialist in Dar es Salaam for assessment and any possible treatment. It must be so hard for the albino community here being only 2 degrees away from the equator, the sun shows no mercy. Although they cover up with head scarves and hats they are still such a vulnerable community. We will closely monitor what progress she makes.
Our visit at the end of the week saw the community busier than we have for 
a long time – we arrived early at 9am and expected to be able to have a quick visit as it is usually quiet at that time of day, but as we arrived the centre was a hive of activity. The fundi’s had finished replacing the mabati on the women’s block, some of them were beginning to paint the new ceiling boards to go up, as others were pulling the old ceiling boards down. The inside of the building was in such a mess as we walked through it was hard to believe that yesterday people were living in there, it was so dirty and dusty with cockroaches everywhere, one crawled across Andie’s foot which caused some laughter from the fundi’s! As boards were being pulled down one end the ladies beds and possession were being moved out the other end as they are now living in temporary accommodation in the ‘community building’. None of them mind being there for a few weeks as they know at the end of it their homes will be a much brighter, safer and dry place to live.
As we walked around the centre several women were drying and sifting rice, hoping that the rains we had yesterday (that should have stopped by now) don’t return
, another group of women were sitting around the water point filling buckets and chatting away to each other, then further down a group of men were holding a meeting – they were holding their ‘loan meeting’ which helps to support peoples needs within the community, it works on an interest repayment basis, so if you borrow 10,000 shillings you pay back 12,000 shillings and the profits go back into the community. When I asked how they spent the profits the answer saddened me and made me reflect on how easy it is for us to spend our money so easily without a lot of thought – a lady died here a few weeks ago and the community needed to buy a sheet to wrap her body in, this is what they used their profits for. (JT)
8th June 2007
The progress on stage one of the work continues on the Wafhadili accommodation block, with the roof complete the ceiling boards are beginning to go up and the electrician is there this week repairing some very old and gnawed electricity cables. Each time we visit we see more progress and its great knowing its heading in the right direction and that soon the women are going to be living in much brighter cleaner and healthier rooms.
Stage one will be finished within the next few weeks and by then the building will have the roof, ceiling boards, electricity and the windows all complete. Each room and all the beds will then receive a good clean before the women move back in. Then stage 2 which will be another deep clean, painting, building cupboards, replacing all the doors, and building 2 new ramps will commence at the end of August. Our aim is that by the end of September the block will be completed.
When we arr
ived this week it was great to see Dr Julius (see photo) walking around checking on the health of people within the community instead of waiting for them to come to him. We chatted with the District TB & Leprosy Co-ordinator (DTLC) together with Dr Julius and we plan to do an assessment next week of the whole community to establish how many people have sores and ulcers that need daily soaking so that we can set up a soaking and cleansing programme with the aim of preventing any further disabilities from leprosy. It was so encouraging to see Dr Julius and Opi the DTLC working together and making a plan for the future, this being that every day those who are able will come to the health centre and have a session soaking their feet /wounds followed by the wounds being redressed. Those who are unable to come to the centre will receive a visit from the nurse. At present there are not enough bowls for everyone to have their own and of course this is essential so we are currently sourcing enough bowls for everyone.
When we visited on Tuesday Sr Anna was there with the weekly food supply, we contribute to this each week with beans and dagaa (small fish similar to whitebait) . John arranges the food each week and takes it out to BCC and helps Sr Anna with the distribution.
The Albino lady Vumi has been to the government hospital in Mwanza and was seen by the dermatologist. She was prescribed some cream (unfortunately one which we can’t get in town) and has an appointment to go back this week for a biopsy. Although she is scared and unsure of what the future holds, she is relived that at last something is happening. (JT)
15th June 2007
The work on Wafadhili dormitory has now reached the end of the first phase having completed the new corrugated iron roof, ceiling boards, electrics, windows and mosquito mesh and external render. The walls and beds have been thoroughly cleaned for the women to move back in over the summer months, when we get back in September we hope to have sufficient funds to complete the women’s block with painting, cupboards and a ramp as well as mattresses, sheets and mosquito nets. When we apologised for the delay the women said not to worry, they were just happy that at last they were going to be living in nice surroundings.
Our recent group of visitors on the Dental Volunteer Programme went to Bukumbi to greet the 
community and see the work that we are busy with there. For some of them that had visited previously they were moved to see not only the progress of the building renovations but also the sense of momentum and purpose that is growing within the community. People were busy threshing rice and sorting beans that they had harvested from their own shambas (allotments), while others were making rush floor mats to try to sell. We also took a gift of bananas and oranges which the team helped to distribute amongst the community. Some older community members were very funny, stuffing oranges and bananas down their blouses and shirts in order that they might get an extra portion!
A few times lately on quieter days at Bukumbi I have taken Neema (my daughter) with me, she loves running around playing with the children there, chasing the ducks and greeting people while I get on with checking that the work is going along ok and problem shooting various issues as they arise. We spent some time visiting a couple of elderly men who have not been well for some time, it was encouraging to hear the report from the newly appointed Clinical Officer who has a really compassionate heart for the community and checks on those who are sick daily.
We had some sad news this week that the District Leprosy and TB Co-ordinator was killed over the weekend in a road accident. He had been riding his motorbike slowly and an articulated lorry hadn’t seen him while turning a corner, knocked him off the bike then ran right over him killing him outright. He was a lovely man and the community are in shock at him not being here anymore. (AW)
29th June 2007
Now that Wafadhili dormitory is scrubbed clean and Sister Anna has ki
tted out each bed with a new mattress, sheets, pillow, knitted blanket and mosquito net the ladies have moved back in. On the day they went back into their rooms the air was ringing with cheers and singing as each one found their bed again and saw new crisp brightly coloured sheets and blankets. One old lady seemed disorientated as she asked several times ‘Is this my mattress?’, ‘Is this my blanket?’, ‘Are these really my sheets?’. She couldn’t believe that those things could really be hers. Another lady sat giggling as her legs dangled off the edge of the bed and she bounced on the mattress! To see the delight of elderly people who have had their worthlessness reinforced consistently over the years is a priceless moment, one which makes the many challenges of living in Tanzania pale into insignificance.
The present locum dentist, Dr Sally, spent a busy afternoon at Bukumbi when she held a tooth camp for the community. Having briefed Dr Julius (the Rural Clinical Officer at Bukumbi), that she was coming he had patients lined up ready and waiting. In two and a half hours she saw 13 patients, one tooth was so loose she just pulled it out with her fingers! Afterwards we played for a while with some children, one of whom was a little boy with crossed eyes and an awkward walk, he was very cheeky and asked for a small bottle of water which we gave him, he then proceeded to show off with it in front of his friends.
The lack of water supply to BCC has been a problem for a long time and finally we had a meeting with all the relevant parties to try to come to a solution. It took one and a half hours to reach a conclusion, with some clever mind games along the way! After much discussion it was agreed that
next week Mr Jun, a missionary engineer with many years experience, will start work to locate the blockage in the current supply pipes and following that he will arrange for repairs to take place to the water storage tank (pictured). Once the water supply is restored the toilets will be able to be used again, a major problem for the community at the moment. Eventually we hope to work with Mr Jun to put in a system for collecting rain water, or ‘water harvesting’ as the Regional Welfare Officer described it! This would involve underground water storage tanks fed from roof guttering, which would then be pumped into an over ground water storage tank, providing over 180,000litres of clean drinking water, more than enough for the site.
Many of the people at BCC are affected with Leprosy and have a spec
ific skincare regime that they are supposed to follow daily which involved soaking their affected limbs and trimming the hard dead skin off with razor blades. However, for many years they have not had bowls for the soaking so their skin has not been cared for properly. John Simba found a local ‘fundi’, workman who made 20 strong metal bowls, the right size to soak large feet properly! We had them painted with aluminium paint and handed them over to Dr Julius who will hold some health education sessions with the individuals concerned before handing over the bowls. He will then supervise the regular soaking to ensure the process is being carried out properly.
After last week’s sad news about the death of Dr Opie, the District Leprosy and TB Co-ordinator, more sadness was to follow. Near to BCC there is a home for people with mental health problems, locally known as ‘the mental camp’ (not a term that would be entertained in the UK!) A lovely 
young man called Shija (pictured with Jo) lived there and regularly came up to BCC, often when we visited he came to greet us, hold our hand and smile at us. Although we could never understand what he said, he was a gentle and warm young man. He had a rough life though with people stealing things from him and taking advantage of his vulnerability. He had an epileptic fit last week and died suddenly. Also a young mute girl called Mwalu, one of the daughters of an old lady at Bukumbi Care Centre, died in Bugando Medical Centre, the hospital in Mwanza, the reason for her death will probably not be established. Often when people from Bukumbi die either at the Centre or elsewhere there is very little dignity in the burial proceedings, the council (who are responsible for the burials of the ‘destitute’) prefer to get the matter over and done with as quickly as possible. Often this means they are buried in shallow graves and without ceremony or dignity, even having limbs chopped off so the bodies fit into the graves. Aside from the lack of respect, with the heat and so many savaging animals around, you can imagine this is not a good situation. John Simba made sure that he visited the mortuary to make sure she was being treated with respect and then liaised with the government to ensure that her burial happened with dignity. He also contacted the family back at BCC to see if they wanted to attend the ceremony, not something the government had even considered. (AW)