Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Safe and Sound in Dodoma

Hey all,

I've been on the move some in the past couple days - but thankfully, everything has gone smoothly, and I am into my last portion of the trip. In less than two weeks, I will be on my journey home. And that is both exciting, and very sad as well. Part of me is definitely wanting to come back home - but another part of me just wants to stay here forever.

Anyways, my last couple days at the orphanage were great, as you probably expected. The kids were cute as always. We had a big party on Friday night, as me and two other volunteers were leaving on Saturday morning. There was probably about 25 people there - and we ate supper, drank soda, and just had fun together. I was scheduled to be picked up the next morning at 8, and in very untypical African fashion, the taxi arrived to take me to town at 7:30. So, I had to gulp down a cup of tea and a couple biscuits, and say very rushed goodbyes to the rest of the volunteers, and all the staff. Even though it was rushed though, I think it may have been better this way, as it didn't give me a chance to get too emotional and worked up about leaving.
On Saturday, I flew from Kilimanjaro back to Dar - where I spent two nights. Monday morning, I was up bright and early along with the other international volunteer, Heather (from Australia), as we caught the bus from Dar to Dodoma at 6. Thankfully, we had a Tanzanian native, Geofrey with us, so that we weren't entirely clueless. The bus ride was painful, but not terrible. Mostly I was just sore after having sat three of us crammed in, barely able to move, for about 7 hours. Thankfully we made it without any breakdowns though. We were met in Dodoma by Frank, the director of ONA Network. The rest of the day was spent seeing the hospital (where the cataract surgeries are all taking place), meeting people, and eating. We were able to relax at night at the volunteer house, which is where we will staying during our entire time here in Dodoma.

This project will be a good experience for sure. It is a little out of my league - as it is a cataract project, and performing cataract surgeries will never be within my realm of practice. But just to see how things work and run here is so helpful, and gives me a glimpse into what I may expect in the future. I'll probably get to observe some of the surgeries being performed as well, which will be a good experience. The procedure is slightly different than the one performed at home - but it gets the job done. Today, I went out to the villages with Geofrey to pick up the patients (who have already been selected), and transport them back to the hospital for their surgery tomorrow. I can't speak much to these people - but their faces tell a million stories. They are just so beautiful. When I greeted a couple of the ladies with "Shikamoo" (a respectful greeting used to greet those older than you), they grabbed my hand, and started kissing it. So sweet. Anyways, I'm just so glad that even though we can't give these people the best care in the world, that we can give them some care. With the stage of most of their cataracts, their vision is reduced to next to nothing. Essentially, anything that we can give them is a huge improvement. I'm just so thankful that we can help improve their vision - so that can go back to living 'normal' lives. Our vision is something that is often taken for granted - until it is lost. And I am glad for the opportunity I have been given to help these people, and to help so many more people in the future. Anyways, tomorrow I will be going out to do some screening - which essentially means taking visual acuity. It should be a good experience - I'm sure I'll see lots of interesting stuff.

Okay, time is almost up on my computer, and I'll be heading back to the hospital right away, before heading back to the house for the evening. I just wanted to let you all know that I am here safely, and that things are going well. Everything has just gone so smoothly throughout this entire trip - and for that I am so, so thankful. Hope your enjoying your summers back home! Soon I'll be enjoying them with you!

Love,
Jilly

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