First fabulous African storm last night: hours of amazing
thunder, lightning and rain on the tin roof – everything green and fresh this
morning, and thankfully less water through the roof than we’d feared.
As I write Alastair is on his way to Shunga hospital –they
have just called him for an emergency difficult Caesarean – it’s over an hour’s drive and the
road will be awful after the rain. He’s gone with the fast driver from the Diocese.
I’m aware Alastair hasn’t done a section
for 10 years but am sure it’s like riding a bike – I’m praying all the time for
him, and the for patient. Medicine in Africa is literally life-saving stuff.
Thought you might like a bit about our new friends and colleagues.
Daudi Ndahana is the principal of the college who I’m working closely with. He’s
39 and very bright and energetic – almost more new ideas each day than me! His
wife Olivia has a small business selling kitenges (African lengths of material)
and does dress making. They’ve 4 children (and a cow!) – the eldest is Prisca
who hopes to start nurse training this year, and the youngest is Frank who’s 4
and plays peek a boo round the net curtain whenever I see him!
Alastair will work closely with John Manyuzi, who is the
director of the health department. He’s also young and very smart and hard
working. Haven’t met his family yet, but his wife is Josephine and they’ve 3
young children. John is overall in charge of all the health projects of the
diocese and the 2 church run hospitals.
We live next door to the Bishop, Sadock Makaya, and his wife
Editha who are lovely to have as neighbours. Editha wants to learn English as much as we
want to learn Swahili – so we have rather strange conversations! There’s lots of popping in and out of each
other’s houses which I love – much better than UK where everyone is so private.
Difficult to have a shower or a lie down during the day though as you never
know who might be around.
Dinas is working in the house for us. She’s great and speaks
English fluently (this makes me lazy about my Swahili but does make day to day things
easier). She cleans, cooks, washes and irons etc and will do some of the market
shopping as she tells me they rip me off and sell the bad eggs!
Sill not enough internet speed to get any photos up.
Hopefully we look much the same but we don’t have a mirror in the house at all –
perhaps that’s a good thing! (feet are a different colour though from red mud and brown bath water)
No comments:
Post a Comment