What We Do
Bukumbi Diary - June 2008
2 June 2008
In October last year we introduced you to Mr Tito Joseph, the gentleman who was living in one of the bathroom / toilet rooms at Bukumbi who we subsequently moved to Sijaona. Sadly Tito died on Monday at Bukumbi; he had been unwell for a few weeks suffering from what was thought to be TB. He had been well cared for by the clinical officer but his body couldn’t cope with the disease. He had many friends at Bukumbi and his words of thanks will always stay with us. When we moved him from the toilet to a room with a bed and a new mattress he said that ‘Bridge2Aid were who he’s been waiting for, they were the people sent by God to rescue him…’. Sometimes our simple actions and not a lot of money (£28) can make such a huge difference to someone. This statement from Tito reinforces and encourages us in our role at Bukumbi and how we have to be an advocate for some of these people, helping them to make simple decisions and live in conditions that are clean and healthy. Tito spent his last days and died in a room that was clean, and on a bed with a mattress and sheets rather than lying on the floor on an old piece of foam next to a toilet. May he rest in peace. (JT)
10 June 2008
This week saw a new challenge for me at Bukumbi, for reasons of which I have no understanding a 7 year old boy suffering from what appears to be a brain injury had been placed at Bukumbi until he is accepted into a centre in Dodoma specialising for children with mental health problems. This one I really wasn’t prepared for. The young boy whose name is unknown was placed at Bukumbi by social welfare as they really didn’t know what else to do with him. He was found on the streets with no known family. He is now living in Sijaona with the men and they are doing their best to look after him but are also wanting him to move on as soon as possible. His brain injury has affected him in such a way that he has no control of his bowels and bladder, he is very hyperactive running around all the time and he is having occasional seizures and has very limited speech with no comprehendible sentences.
I discussed the situation with Mr Bundala (centre manager) saying that I felt it was an unsuitable place for the boy to be and that surely one of the orphanages in town could look after him? Well after several more telephone conversations it was suggested that I took him to Bugando Hospital for a psychiatric assessment and to see if they would admit him. So under the instruction of the welfare office I went to Bugando Hospital with the nurse assistant and we went to the psychiatric unit, which is an adult unit and NO place for a child. Thankfully the doctor in charge said he couldn’t admit him as he was a child and that we needed to go back to social welfare! So we walked up 6 flights of stairs which he was only just able to do and saw the hospital welfare officer - who said there was nothing they could do and that the boy was the responsibility of the Regional Welfare Officer (who was the one who sent him to Bugando in the first place!)
By now I was beginning to get so cross with a truly ineffective system, the young boy was very affectionate if not hard work, and by the end of a morning together he was responding to me and following simple instructions. Our morning at Bugando consisted of strange stares and comments: ‘What is that mzungu woman doing with a crazy boy?’
To cut what you can imagine was a long story short – in the end I ended up taking the boy back to the Regional Welfare Office buying him some lunch and leaving him in the care of the welfare officer – which was hard to do because I had no idea what was going to happen to the poor child next.
I worried overnight for the welfare of the boy – it has been known for street kids to spend the night in prison when no one knows what to do with them and I was praying this wasn’t going to happen to this kid.
The next day I took our DVP volunteers to Bukumbi and guess what – the boy was back living in Sijaona with the men of the building becoming increasing cross with him for things he was unable to control.
I spent a long time talking with the manager about who was actually looking after the boy and that if someone could 1:1 him then he would probably respond. This didn’t go down very well but eventually he agreed that one of his staff, the gardening lady (who only gardens when it rains and its dry now!) would ‘supervise’ him.
It was left that the welfare office were speaking with some of the local orphanages to see if anyone would care for him.
Days like this make this a hard place to be – in a huge city no one had the knowledge or resources to care for a sick little boy, we all know that wouldn’t be the same in the UK but is sadly a reality for so many cities like Mwanza.
24 June 2008
I made my last visit to Bukumbi today with Margaret & John, before I head back to UK for some work and a holiday. It was great to see Lwango really progressing. Everything is complete now except for the electrics which will be done this week. When we told the community they could move back in on Sunday they were delighted even though its not been cleaned and painted yet!!
We have also started planning the work for Jumbe which will start in September in preparation for the Practice Plan Team visit in late November.
Another development today was that we can go ahead and fix the bathrooms and toilets in Lwango and Jumbe as at present they don’t function at all. We will fix them up to the current water system and then swap them over once we put the new system in.
Its all go!!!