Home Safely

9 Feb 2010

Trip home was long and tedious, but smooth. Had to check out the Dubai hotel by 2 pm, so got to the airport at 2:30, only to discover that the United desk didn’t open until 8:30 pm! Long wait with very few services, but eventually got checked in and walked the miles to the gate. I am always surprised at how few wheelchairs / carts I see helping people get through these massive airports. Flight was good – nice dinner then closed my eyes on and off for over 8 hours of the 15 hour flight. As we flew over Canada and U.S. a crescent moon was just outside my window guiding us in. Arrived early, before 6 a.m. I was disappointed to see that the train didn’t run to our location, so we were back in the mobile lounges that have to wait for a full load before taking off. Customs is spruced up, but they didn’t have many U.S. forms, so we all helped each other fill out Chinese, Arabic, etc. forms using a U.S. one as a guide. Bags arrived safely and my airport shuttle was waiting for me outside. So, all in all, a very good trip.

Driving home was interesting due to all the snow. Most of the main roads were pretty clear, but it was obvious on Gunston road, that many trees had been down across the road. At home, power was still not restored and it is was the 40’s in the house. Stayed up most of the day trying to work, but was only able to do conference calls and some email on the blackberry. Got out briefly to stock up again, get gas for our neighbors’ generators, and get Chinese take-out. Power came on briefly when we were out so the house was a little warmer, then again in the evening. We took several walks to talk to the power crew working in our neighborhood – were very happy to see them still trying to get us up and running again.

10 Feb 2010

This morning power was out again, but a worker came to the door to ask us to turn off the breaker and they would come back, one by one, to try to put us back up. So, we are now up! I hope for good, although the snow is still falling and the wind is blowing……but it is very good to be home.

It was a great trip – feel like we really made progress in planning for the St. James Hospital in Dar es Salaam! I now look forward to working with the Architects to get some sketches to guide the construction. Thanks to all who made this trip possible.

Peace to all

Sharon

Sharon is home

Taking a nap (or two or three).
She’ll provide updates when their power returns and her mind rejoins her body on Eastern Standard Time.
We thank God for her safe return!

Travel Home

Just a short note – all is well in Dubai – slept well, was able to talk to Cindy at home for 2 cents / min rather than $1 a minute. Leaving for airport and am hopeful that in 12 hours I will be on the plane for my 15-hour ride home.

Peace to all.

Sharon
(posted at 4:14am ET)

Leaving Dar (Feb 7, 2010)

The late breaking news last night was that United had cancelled the flight from Dubai to Dulles, due to snow, but I decided to keep my schedule to fly out of Dar to Dubai today, trying to ensure that I get home as soon as Dulles opens.

Ate our standard breakfast and checked out (sort of – no one was there to pay, so left shillings with Henry to pay tonight). See pictures of my room below:

We went to church this morning at the Muhimbili Chapel at the major referral hospital in Dar es Salaam. We got there quite early and there were two services in back-to-back chapels, the Catholics on the left and the Lutherans on the right – Yohana was assisting a female Lutheran Minister on the right. Both services had lots of joyful singing accompanied by instruments, drums and standing room only. When they exited the church, they did so singing, then all stood outside for the final prayers. Quite impressive!

On the right side, the Anglican Mass was sandwiched in between two Lutheran services and Fr. Yohana was involved in all three. They depend on the Lutherans for support, so when they asked him to fill on today, he was quick to oblige. He said that his parish is very small, 50 at most every Sunday, but the pews did fill and the voices were strong. The service was similar to our Rite II, but less formal. The service is in English every other Sunday and we lucked out that it was this Sunday, although much of the English was difficult to understand.

Note the flourescent cross and light bulbs for candles – very effective!

At the end of the service, the Secretary invited any newcomers to introduce themselves to the congregation, so Henry, Priscilla, and I (among others) did so, using their format of starting the sentence with Praise to the Lord (Amen). Yohana went on to say how much he appreciated the work of the Zieglers in Buguruni and that he appreciated my work as well. He spoke about how he bought the batiks for us and that we were going to hold an auction to buy him a car. He asked his congregation to pray for a car, so that he wouldn’t have to race into church, at the last moment! He also spent quite a bit of time talking about how much was collected this Sunday and how much more was needed, felt so guilty that I put in some extra….

So, back to the Health Centre – we had a couple of downpours during the morning and some roads were almost impassable – really thought we were going to get our feet wet or worse a couple of times. We met with the Construction Contractor who had prepared the site plan, but it was not correct, they measured the fence, but missed the big picture, so Henry walked through the mud to show them the problems and they will give us a better plan. I passed on that today, as I was going to have to live in those clothes for the next 48 hours.

Ananea (our driver) and Henry took me to the airport and got me settled in the line (did I mention how much Ananea loved my IPod – he thought I had great music!) Henry thanked me for moving them so much further ahead on the project. My hopes are that this trip paved the way to a new hospital that will benefit the poor in Buguruni. God knows how much they need it.

The flight to Dubai was uneventful, with the exception of the guy in front of me who insisted on keeping his seat reclined and kept closing my window! So, am now in Dubai, in a hotel next to the airport, with free internet, (except still can’t get on my work email or corporate site, thank goodness for the global blackberry), Skype, air conditioning, maybe 70 degrees outside, and 6 hour laundry, so I don’t have to put on the sweaty clothes again! 24 hours until the next flight home, God willing – sure ready to be there.

Peace to all.

Sharon

*to see the photos, please go to Sharon’s blog http://01f29ce.netsolhost.com/blog1/?p=317

Last Full Day in Dar (Feb 6, 2010)

Another good day, after an exciting night (not as exciting as you in DC area are experiencing…) of pounding rain on a tin roof and winds and thunder. Wasn’t sure if this place was solid, but it was, no leaks, lost power only briefly this morning.

Drove to the Health Centre after our breakfast of hard-boiled egg, toast and banana (I eat a diet bar before and skip the toast and banana). On arrival, we joined all the staff and a few patients in Morning Prayer said by one of the staff in Swahili, and then everyone shook hands – great way to start the day! We then worked a couple of hours finalizing a briefing that we would give to the Archbishop and a parallel one without estimated costs to give to the staff and construction contractor. We drove for an hour to get to St. Alban’s Cathedral, and arrived just as the Archbishop was greeting the parishioners after the service. We got a couple of pictures before he changed, then met with him in his office.

Great meeting! All three of us teared up as he told of his vision for the hospital, one that he wanted to build in memory of his son, James, who, due to birth injuries, was born blind and with cerebral palsy, but who was always smiling. The Bishop called him his angel, and he wanted the hospital to provide better health care for all of Buguruni (one of the poorest districts in Dar), especially so that maternal-child health was improved. He asked that we name the hospital St. James Hospital! So, needless to say, the rest of the briefing was really immaterial, although he did seem pleased with our phasing plan and concepts of operation. Later, we developed the first draft of a logo for the hospital.

We were supposed to have met with Yohana this afternoon and he was going to accompany us shopping, but we were very late returning to the clinic, so on our return we found that Yohana had dropped off presents for me to take back (one for me, one for Berry’s and one for the auction). Also discovered that he hates to shop and that a relative got the presents on Sabina’s orders! We will see him tomorrow at his church.

Was able to meet with the Chief Physician at the Health Centre, who had asked to see me, It was quite humbling sitting in the waiting courtyard in the heat and the flies (did I mention it was hot and there is very little AC – only the lab is conditioned), with all the other patients. We were all patient, as we knew that quality care was worth waiting for. People come from miles around to go to this Health Centre (a clinic with beds), where they trust the doctors and nurses, and where they have supplies and even oxygen which has been missing from the referral hospital for quite some time! The sign above the door (shown below) reads:
“The Buguruni Anglican Health Center
Bless and Dedication
To the Glory of God
The Right Reverend Valentino L. Mokiwa, D.D.
Anglican Church of Tanzania
Diocese of Dar es Salaam
15 October 2006”

Notice the puddles on the road to the Health Centre, not nearly as bad as most of Buguruni after last night’s rain. We forded quite a few lakes in our many hours of travel today. Thank goodness we did our site tramping yesterday in the dust, rather than the mud!

This evening, we took off and went shopping in a nice open market! Found some wonderful items to use at the auction and a couple of gifts. It was hard to choose. Then the Zieglers took me out to dinner in a lovely part of town. We drove through tree-lined wide paved streets and grand homes with gates and fences. We stopped at a nice shopping center that even had western toilets, paper and soap (our first stop). We did a little more shopping, then ate dinner overlooking the water. There was a nice breeze, so we weren’t even bothered much with mosquitoes. Had 2 glasses of wine, spicy prawns (had to peel, but were delicious) and chocolate ice cream cone for dessert. What a difference.

I have to hand it to the Zieglers, while all the other NGOs are living in this part of town, they spent 3 years living right in Buguruni. As we drove back to our Guest house, we could tell we had left the foreigner part of town when the men with deformed limbs from polio re-appeared next to the cars, in the dark. The scariest part was one was crawling across the road in the dark. So much poverty in the world, really brings home how many blessing we have, mostly by the luck of the draw… or maybe I should say by the Grace of God.

Peace to all.

Sharon

*For photos please view Sharon’s blog http://01f29ce.netsolhost.com/blog1/?p=308

Another Day Working in Dar

Good day for working the hospital project today, not so good on the internal rumblings, as the Archbishop called a meeting with the Health Center leadership today, without inviting my hosts… we meet with him tomorrow. Met his wife, Grace, today – lovely lady who teaches at the University (I think Women’s studies, but not sure).

Today was my day for sneakers, as we measured the site through tall grass and trash, not to be identified here…. Determined that we could leave the mature trees, mango and flame, and develop a courtyard in the middle of the campus. At least that is what my initial measurements and program show. Hope it is true! Also, decided as a team to try to include the first 2 buildings in Phase I, rather than buying a brick machine, which will give them upgraded diagnostics, surgery, and surgical ward! Changed from 2 to 3 phases due to limitations in funding. Also met with the construction contractor who built the Health Center’s last building (good work and on time), Mr. Shyo. He agreed to do a professional site plan for half of his original estimate, good for me as I offered to pay for that.

Yohana came over to visit, we talked about the hospital and he reviewed the plans and seemed excited about it. He even helped me obtain a couple of missed measurements on the site, although, not sure he had bargained for tramping through that particular field… We also met with the Director of MEA, Gao, who is the expert at buying vehicles for the Diocese. We worked through the multiple options, discussing pros and cons. Yohana is going to do some research on availability of cars locally, and in Zanzibar and Botswana, where he has family. The other option is to buy through a Japanese auto company. Costs seem quite high either way.

So, just back from dinner – not sure I have adequately described our dinners – so far we have had chicken twice and tonight we had fish. All flavored very nicely and no worries about eating the food. All are accompanied with spaghetti noodles, rice, usually beans, and sometimes spinach, followed by a small greenish banana. It is an interesting system – if we request food (which we discovered was needed last night), they put it out on tables in the kitchen, family style with each room separately labeled and covered with napkins. When we are ready, we find our numbered food and eat it. Portions are small, but adequate. Then we eat outside under a canopy with a view of flowing bushes and the water, and lots of mosquitoes!

Have learned that I must liberally use the repellent I bought in France last year BEFORE dinner! Speaking of mosquitoes, mastered the use of the bed net last night. I was all tucked in and cozy without buzzing all night. Also learned that if I leave the AC on high, I sleep a whole lot better.

All for now, will be thinking about those of you in the DC area tonight, as you get snowed in – sure wish I were there with you, as I love storms! Weather here is predictably hot and hotter with lots of humidity.

Peace to all.

Sharon

*photos and illustrations can be seen on Sharon’s blog: http://01f29ce.netsolhost.com/blog1/?p=303

Working in Dar es Salaam

Whew, think I may be hitting the wall this afternoon, a combination of heat and fatigue. Will keep this short today.

We had breakfast and were on the road by 0645, for an appointment at 0900! It took us until 0850 to get there, bouncing around back roads where only large SUVs should go, but our little Mitsubishi did pretty well. We met with the Director of Policy and Planning for the Minister of Health, and the Chief Architect. The Director was very gracious and happy to hear about our plans to partner with the Ministry to expand the health care options in this poorly-served ward (Bugurini). She had coffee and tea served to us and we were able to take a couple of pictures! In the picture are in the back Henry Ziegler, the Anglican Missionary, and Ernest Bendera, the current Administrator of the Health Clinic. Sitting are Mr. Makasumbure, the Architect and Director Kiluli.

We returned to the Clinic around 1030, and worked on the program some more, pulling in the spaces in the current buildings so that we could produce a complete master plan for the hospital, something the Director was very interested to understand. The $ that have been requested from UTO will only buy a brick-making machine and one building, but the total hospital will have an additional 6 buildings and some of the current functions will move into new spaces leaving more exam / treatment space for the outpatient functions.

We met with the Medical Officers and the Nurses also today, to explain Dr. Ziegler’s vision, and plans for the buildings. We asked for their input, and have received some already.

Also met with Fr. Yohana today, he came to the clinic to collect his gifts from all of you and walked me back to the college where he is working. He was very happy with the computer and the collars, and almost opened Sabina’s presents too! We may try to get together again tomorrow, but he is very busy. The clinic staff was also very pleased with all the dressings, paper, and printer cartridges we had brought. The Zieglers and I even walked down to another medical supply store and bought some stethoscopes, a sphygmomanometer, digital thermometers, and antiseptic, splitting the bill. This picture is of a “hotel” on our route with a thriving hourly trade.

By this time, I was so hot and sweaty, all I could think of was air conditioning and a western toilet! So we got back to the guest house around 4:30 – the room is cooling down and I am back in the game. Discovered why there is no wine at this place – it is a Pentecostal Guest House – DUH!

This morning at breakfast, I discovered we had a water view from the dining area!

Back from dinner after a bit of a mixup. Apparently, we are supposed to let the management know if we are eating dinner here, which we didn’t because we left early, but they did agree to cook something for us anyway, just later than we had hoped – chicken, fries, rice, beans, tomatoes, bananas – very similar to last night, but better tonight because we were all very hungry!

I see from the news updates from WTOP that Northern Virginia is in for another bad storm, worse than all previous ones this year. I am just sick I am going to miss it, but glad it won’t prevent me from landing on Monday.

All is well here – lots getting done. And the great news is that Henry loaned me his Zain-to-go, which gets me on the internet to upload this!

Peace to all.

Sharon

*for photos please view Sharon’s blog:

http://01f29ce.netsolhost.com/blog1/?p=299

Today’s Blog from Sharon

Quite a busy day today! Got up early, after not much sleep, had coffee and diet bar in the room – always am amazed at the terrific carafes to heat hot water in the middle east, not sure we don’t see more of them in the US!

Took the hotel shuttle to the airport and checked in easily and early. Had a nice breakfast at the airport while waiting for the plane. Plane was crowded with very little room to wiggle, so the 5+ hours were long, but uneventful.

Arrived in Dar, figured out customs and visa (much easier than some places) and picked up my checked bag. Henry and Priscilla were waiting right outside. They bought me a sim card and we were on our way!

The city is crowded and poor, but there are lots of trees and flowers and it is reasonably clean. We drive on the left, which I hadn’t realized, with driver on the right (note to self about Yohana’s car!). Am meeting on Friday with someone knowledgeable about buying cars….

We took a first tour of the health clinic and MEA compound, met lots of people, and learned a couple of words in Swahili. Now – can start putting the plans together. We ate dinner at the guest house (outside) – chicken, beans, rice, and noodles, then worked on the space program until the mosquitoes got too bad. I have large bottles of water, but may not get any wine this trip. There is internet in the office, but I got there after they had closed, so tonight this will be short on blackberry. Room is clean, actually has queen bed and bunk beds, table and chairs and wardrobe. Have my own toilet too. All is well. Temperature is warm, but with a nice breeze, AC works in the room.

Tomorrow we meet at 0600 to go to see the Master Planner for the Minister of Health, so off to bed with netting.

Peace to all – can tell already that we are going to be able to accomplish a lot here.
Sharon

Back on the Road Again… from Sharon Steele

This mission came up quickly – long story…..

Our church, Grace Episcopal in Alexandria, sent a mission team to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, last summer, after we had the privilege of having a Tanzanian Priest, Fr. Yohana, attend our church while he attended Seminary in Alexandria. They came back with stories of many needs, but primarily a car for Fr. Yohana and a hospital (expanding the current clinic with beds). I had already started working with Henry and Priscilla Ziegler, Anglican missionaries, who set up this clinic, and who now visited at least quarterly. We had worked together to determine a space program (list of rooms by building) and an equipment list. They had provided me with drawings of the two sites that were available, with some dimensions, but until I could walk the ground, talk to the staff, see their existing operations, and work through concepts of operations, I didn’t think we could finalize the plans. Two Architects (Bill Gallagher and Lan Le) agreed to sketch the buildings once we could finalize the program. So, a few weeks ago, I was talking with the Zieglers and found out they were going to be in Dar from 30 Jan – 10 Feb! They have applied for funding through UTO (United Thank Offering), an Anglican outreach program. We decided it would be beneficial for the grant funding to have program and sketches, so here I am, on the road….

I made my reservations, trusting that God would provide the means to do this. Grace Church agreed to partilly fund my trip, and have submitted a request to the Diocese for additional funds. Noblis, my employer, agreed to fund two of the days I would miss. Sunday, Grace sent me off with a beautiful blessing and a candle to take the light to Tanzania, leaving a light burning in the Sanctuary until I return. Parishioners provided many gifts for the clinic and for Fr. Yohana, including a brand new laptop! Unfortunately, our dear friend Bobbie died last week, so Cindy and I made a flying trip to North Carolina on Sunday after church for the funeral on Monday, then drove back making it just in time to throw everything in the suitcases and get me to the plane on Monday night. Theresa Lewallen, one of the first missioners, came to the house with computer and other goodies, and even helped pack!

For my ticket, I had decided to blow all my United miles on a business class roundtrip ticket to Dubai, then paid for economy from there to Dar es Salaam. But once I got on the plane, trusting that all critical items were packed, I had a light dinner and slept almost the entire flight (13 hour flight)! Woke occasionally to notice that it was daytime, but by the time I really woke, it was night again. It was worth spending those miles…

I had a 12+ hour layover in Dubai, so had rented a hotel. Had packed ALL essential items in my carry-on bags – so they were heavy (last trip to Africa my bags were lost for a week….), and to get to another terminal and finally to a cab, was a several mile walk, or at least it felt that way. Temp was warm compared to what we had been experiencing in Virgina, so was dripping wet by the time I secured the help of a porter outside of customs. My hotel had advertised that it was AT the airport, but needed a taxi as no one know about the shuttle that the hotel had advertised. The hotel was close as the bird flies, but it took a long time to get there by taxi. They found my reservation and the hotel is very clean and new – room is small, but very functional, reminds me of German hotel rooms. And, best yet, they were still serving dinner and wine. So here I am in the bar, writing the blog. There is a special blog on our Grace Episcopal web site, but didn’t manage to get all the instructions for that one before leaving, so will hope they can link to this one.

That is all for tonight – will catch the next plane tomorrow morning – not sure of the internet access that I will have in Dar, will do my best to keep this up.

Peace to all and my thanks go to all who made this trip possible. I just hope it will make a difference…..

Sharon Steele

(as ganked from her blog by Alison Campbell)