My trip to Arusha, Tanzania
Denise Crozier (Medicine)

Just before commencing my final year in medicine, I had the opportunity to spend 6 weeks in Tanzania at the Mt Meru Regional Hospital in Arusha with Work the World.

I arrived at the Work the World house on Saturday, having spent a few days in Zanzibar and a bus drive across to Arusha from Dar Es Salaam (10 hours but would really recommend it to see more of the country!).  I was then given an induction and briefing of how things work around the house.

Each of the rooms in the house was named after a safari park – I was in Serengeti. My room slept up to four people in two bunk beds, with lots of wardrobe space, mosquito nets and your own security deposit box. Safety was not an issue in the house as there was 24 hour security at the gate.    We shared a bathroom (with hot water!) with the room next door, Ngorongoro, however all the other rooms had their own ensuite bathroom.  There was a huge living space with lots of books that had been left behind if you fancied chilling out on the balcony.  The kitchen was always fully stocked with food including fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and Nutella!  During the week, the superb cook Witness delivered incredible pancakes, fresh fruit and juice for breakfast and in the evenings produced culinary masterpieces including African dishes and European food – her mashed potato was amazing!  All different tastes were catered for as most nights there was a selection of meat or fish and vegetable dishes, salad and chips, pasta or chapatti. You simply helped yourself to whatever and how much you liked – most times there being seconds! Once a week was the much anticipated BBQ night. You really ate until you burst that night!  Lunch time and weekends you helped yourself to whatever you wanted, if you weren’t at the hospital or in town anyway.

On the Monday, I was taken with the other new arrivals on orientation of the Arusha area, giving information on using Daladalas, changing money, ATMs, reliable places to eat but most importantly where to buy those vital souvenirs – my first of many encounters with the Maasai market.

The Tuesday morning was my induction to the hospital.  After meeting with the director of the hospital and having a brief tour, I started straight into working in the Paediatric department.  Things were very different there in comparison to what we are used to in the UK.  I attached myself to two of the doctors and went about with them doing ward rounds and clinics.  Most of the staff spoke good English, but it is good to have the Swahili lessons in the house (provided free by Work the World) twice a week so that you can learn the basics to communicate with the patients.  “Nipi tano” (“Give me five”) was always well received in the paediatric ward!

After four weeks in “P-Block”, many ward rounds, clinics and paediatric HIV CTC clinics (which I strongly recommend to attend to appreciate the impact of HIV on Tanzanian children) later, I decided to spend my final two weeks broadening my experiences of the healthcare system in Tanzania and spent one week in the labour ward of the obstetric department and the final week in surgery.  The labour ward was an experience I will never forget…..it is very different to how the NHS manage antenatal and perinatal care!  However, it was really rewarding to hear a baby cry after I had performed a little resuscitation at birth if they needed it.  Caring for them in the neonatal intensive care and giving them a little cuddle every so often made my day.

Every day, I finished work at the hospital by 2pm at the latest so the afternoon was yours to do whatever you wanted.  Most afternoons, I met with others from the house for lunch and a bit of gossip as to how their day had been.  Other days, the afternoon was for shopping…..the Maasai market is amazing.  I had to buy a second suitcase to carry home all that I had bought!  Take advantage of the excellent luggage allowances that airlines have… I flew Kenya airways, which was 46Kg!  All I can say is bargain your wee heart out….it usually pays off and Sunday afternoon is a great day as it is usually a bit quieter and they are only to glad of a sale so you can get some real good bargains!

I really enjoyed my time in Tanzania.  I can say that it was a life changing experience and one that I will never forget.