Diary - Sunday, April 6, 2003 

It's a very windy but sunny afternoon here in Jambiani and my trusty laptop has just informed me that those of you in North America have just "Sprung" ahead as daylight savings time once again kicks in for another season. Of course here on Zanzibar, the day and night periods are about 12 hours each so we don't get those long summer days like we do up in Canada. Most people in Jambiani don't have electricity so the day's activities here are very much in sync with the rising and setting of the sun. This is actually not too bad and in fact seems much more natural than our somewhat contrived North American schedules.

So hopefully this latest update finds everyone healthy and happy and, as my pal Joe would say, with the good energy. :>)

With a little less than four weeks left in our stay now, we are starting to co-ordinate all the last minute details that need to be done to ensure a smooth transition for the arrival of our next volunteers. This is turning out to be no small task but we have such a good "crew" now working with us, we are confidant that everything will unfold according to plan. As usual, everyone in the community is very excited about the new "Daktari's" arrival, and are looking forward to welcoming them to Jambiani.

The Wellness Center is becoming increasingly popular, and we have now treated patients from as far away as Burundi and Nairobi. Since we opened the Center in January, we have touched close to 1000 patients so by the time we leave at the end of this month, our grand total will be almost 3000 patients since we first started to adjust the folks here in 1999. These numbers are very rewarding and there is no doubt that we are making a significant impact in the lives of many people not only here on Zanzibar but on the mainland as well. I'd like to say again, that there is a huge need for orthopedic surgeons, pediatricians and obstetrician/gynecologists here so if there is anyone out there who knows of someone or who may be interested themselves, please get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you.

Reflecting on our last four and one half months here I can say that this trip has certainly been much more intense and busier than any of our previous visits and both Pat and I agree that we are feeling like we are ready for a holiday this time around. However, we have accomplished a lot and this more than compensates for our accumulating fatigue. We will have quite a bit of time to rest between now and our next shift, which will probably be some time near the end of September or early October. The main thing is that we have completed the accommodation, the clinic is up and running and we have successfully hosted our first volunteers and we have others scheduled to arrive this year and next. This has been our goal from the start so we are kicking up our heels a bit, altruistic about our accomplishments to date. Of course we have to once again thank so many people who have helped us to get to this point, not only with monetary donations but also with donations of the heart, contributions that have helped us to keep our spirits elevated at times when the going was tough. We are grateful, as are the people here who have had an opportunity to regain some of their vitality and dignity. We all thank you from our hearts.

We will be posting one more update before we leave on the 4th of May and then after that we will be relaying the latest news from Jambiani via our newest volunteers. Until then, we continue to send our best wishes your way wherever you may be. Thanks for all your support and encouragement.

Fond regards and much love to you,

Ali Baba and Mama Pat