Visiting Witness’s home – Boma Ngombe

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

I don’t really have a translation for this one. When we asked, they answered…’it means cows, Boma Cows’. So there you are. Anyway, it is the name of the town we spent 1/1/2012 in and it was wonderful – a once in a lifetime experience!

IMG 3594 150x150 Visiting Witness’s home Boma Ngombe

On the bus to Witness' home

First of all, it was the dawn of a new year so, naturally, we were all hungover. The idea of going for a 1.5hr bus journey was not all that appealing but we managed to get to the station with minimal fuss and maximum re-hydration.

We were headed to Witness’ home village, Boma Ngombe. During the week she is chef and mother of the house and each weekend she makes the journey home to her family and 5yr old son. I couldn’t imagine being separated from my child like that but she swears that she loves her job and wouldn’t give it up for the world. Witness is amazing – she is about 5ft nothing, larger than life and a ‘rafiki best’ (best friend) to everybody!

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Everyday life in Arusha

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

I thought I’d give you a glimpse today into everyday life here. Pretty much everything is done by hand – there are no fancy machines to do the hard work here! I had my first experience of hand washing on the weekend. While I’ve soaked the odd delicate or two, I’ve never had to hand scrub an entire load before. I certainly worked up a sweat. And for someone who is usually quite particular about the way washing is done, this process was actually quite satisfying! I won’t be throwing out the washing machine any time soon though.

P1010012 150x150 Everyday life in Arusha

Washing by hand.... not so much fun!

Back in hospital I saw lots of wound washouts and cutdowns on the ward. Seeing them without anaesthesia is quite confronting but the big guys seem to be quite proud of themselves if they can get through it without crying out. What broke my heart was a little girl who came up to me on the ward to give me a cuddle. She was so sweet and her little face will stay with me for a long time.

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Christmas in Tanzania

Friday, January 27th, 2012

This must be one of the first Christmases where I haven’t woken up super early to see what was under the tree.

IMG 3534 1 150x150 Christmas in Tanzania

party hats!

What we have had today though is lots of laughs, fun, food and generally a lot of lazing about in the heat with drinks in hand. All in all it’s been a fantastic day. We made a big breakfast spread this morning, moved the Christmas tree out into the yard and basically set up camp in the cabana for the rest of the day. The girls then moved to the kitchen to make a cake for Emmanuel’s birthday which is also today. After ruining the package cake mix with a rotten egg we had to start from scratch with no recipe and only basic ingredients. It wasn’t the worst cake in the world but that’s about all the praise I can give it. It did look good though. Pimms and lemonade and a BBQ finished of the afternoon and now it’s beers and scrabble as the afternoon cools off and the sun starts to set on Xmas 2011.

I asked everyone what was the best Xmas gift they had ever received. Funnily enough no one could really come up with one. I think what really makes a great Xmas is the people you spend it with and the experiences you share. While I am certainly sad that I am not with family today this had certainly been a unique Christmas and one I am not likely to forget in a hurry.

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Arriving in Tanzania

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

I have made it to Tanzania safe and sound!

P1000970 150x150 Arriving in Tanzania

Emmanuele and my new home!

I had my first taste of the Arusha town centre yesterday and today was my first day in the hospital.I have so much to say but I’m not sure where to start. I’m still so overwhelmed and struggling to adjust.

By African standards, I will be living in absolute luxury for the next 8 weeks. The house is in a relatively posh area of town with giant houses surrounded by large fences.

The hospital where I will be spending most of my time is a referral hospital for the region but is still quite basic.  The entrance is always quite crowded – it’s a gauntlet of ‘Mambos’, ‘Jambos’ and ‘Taxi?’…. everyone wants to talk to the mzungus! Our Swahili is definitely getting better but I’m sure no-one is fooled. We are still tourists to them.

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Westover family rebuild Paradiso to honour Michael.

Monday, November 14th, 2011

A Canadian newspaper – The St Albert Gazette – has published an article about a family who chose Work the World to help them honour their son.

IMG 2808 150x150 Westover family rebuild Paradiso to honour Michael.

Climbing Kili!

Michael Westover was a medical student who was killed in a vehicle crash last year. To commemorate his life his sister Rachelle, a third year medical student, his fiance Keisha, an operating room nurse, his cousin Aryll, an ER nurse and his sister Chayne, a nursing student, decided to travel to Africa and use their medical skills.

IMG 0967 150x150 Westover family rebuild Paradiso to honour Michael.

Village experience

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The weekly question: What is the structure of a typical day on a placement?

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

A couple of weeks ago we had a blog about a typical day on placement in Mendoza Argentina, it proved to be extremely popular so we decided to ask students in all of our destinations how they were finding there time on away.

We try and give you an idea before you head out to your chosen destination what a typical day might be like even though I think we all know, each day can be completely different.  Below provides you with an insight into the average day of a student on placement with us.

Kate is currently in Sri Lanka and her day’s starts at 7am sharp with a shower and breakfast before heading out to get a tuk tuk to the hospital for an 8am start

Alison July 10 33 150x150 The weekly question: What is the structure of a typical day on a placement?

On ward round in Sri Lanka

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Radiography in Dar es Salaam – Society of Radiographers winner reflects on his trip.

Saturday, September 17th, 2011

Student talk, the site provided by the Society of Radiographers, has run a great interview with David Evans, the winner of the Work the World and SCOR competition last year. David provides an amazing insight into what his placement in Dar es Salaam was like, and the reality of studying radiography in the only specialist cancer hospital in the country. Have a read below, or check out the student talk site.

If you want to enter the competition this year, follow the link …. and good luck!

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The WTW placement process – what actually happens?

Sunday, September 11th, 2011

I decided to book my elective through Work The World because the alternative plans I had made were a bit wobbly and I wanted to be sure that things went smoothly and that I would have the best experience possible – I am so glad I did because that is exactly what happened!

When I first approached Work The World about doing my elective with them, I was greeted warmly by the staff at the Brighton office whenever I phoned, and given lots of advice about how to choose where to go and what placements I could do once I was there. In the end I decided to do 4 weeks in Mwanza, Tanzania, on the shores of Lake Victoria, with 2 weeks of Paediatrics and 2 weeks of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Picture 3 150x150 The WTW placement process what actually happens?

My Trip

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Rob’s Swahili lesson – part six!

Friday, September 9th, 2011

One of the most useful things you can learn before you placement is the Swahili for different areas of the body. Our final lesson for now is on “anatomy”:

Mwili – body

Kichwa – head

Kifua – chest

Tumbo – stomach

Mkono – arm

Mgu -leg

Mfupa – bone

Mgongo – back

Jichi (Macho) – eye (eyes)

Sikio (Masikio) – ear (ears)

Pua – nose

Mdomo – mouth

Ulimi -tongue

Shingo – neck

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Rob’s Swahili lesson – patient interactions!

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

We thought it would be a good idea to work on  “patient interactions”, so here is your next lesson:

Tulia – relax

Kaa chini – sit down

Fanya hivi – do this / follow me

Unaumwa nini? – What is the problem / illness?

Ulianza nini? – When did it start?

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