Diary - Thursday, February 5, 2004 

It is a bit later in the afternoon here now, Alva and Jabeen have just come back from the clinic, Pat is engrossed in a book out on the front porch but will be heading out soon to teach her English class and it is time once again to touch base with you and to fill you in on all the latest news from Jambiani.

First of all, on the weather front, we have really broken with tradition and over the last three or four days, we have had some spectacular thunderstorms with heavy rain and wind. This is not usual for this time of year however most people are not complaining, especially the farmers, as it has been very dry. We did experience some power outages, I think the longest was almost 24 hours, however, we are none the worse for wear and if anything it helps us to appreciate how fortunate we are just to have power, unlike the vast majority of the villagers here who use oil lamps and wood to light their homes and cook their food. We are grateful. :)

A few people in the village lost the roofs from their homes with the very strong winds however we didn't have any substantial troubles at all. I'm still amazed at how well the makuti tiles on our buildings stand up to the elements here. Just looking at them you would think they would blow away in a whisper, but they are incredibly resistant. We did have a couple of very small leaks but they were easily fixed and with any luck they will not need to be changed for at least another 5 years or so. One of the downsides of the strong winds and consequently large waves has been that a lot of the seaweed farms have had their crops stripped and the beach over the last few days has been littered with this weed. Fortunately the women have been able to salvage a lot of it but much is immature and not necessarily suitable for drying and selling. It's a big job, but as usual, the locals are taking it in their stride and they still have a smile for everyone despite the significant inconvenience and monetary losses associated with this recent intense weather.

On the upside of things, I talked with the Minister of Health yesterday, Dr Myinye Haji Makame, and we now have the official go ahead to begin the necessary steps to establish a medical treatment facility at the clinic. This will of course, for the most part, be co-coordinated by Dr. Pat Preece in the UK however I'm certain we will be acting as intermediaries here and we will be liasoning with the appropriate authorities locally to ensure that all is done according to the protocols established by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar. This is all very promising and I think a tremendous step in a positive direction, not only for the future of HABS on Zanzibar but for all those patients who will benefit by increased availability of quality and obviously affordable health care.

We have had a number of inquiries from medical practitioners and other medical personnel who are interested in volunteering so now we are in a much better position to provide them with information and a possible opportunity to volunteer here in the not too distant future. Good stuff!!!

I have to say, it is always nice to welcome friends to Zanzibar and we would like to extend an invitation to any of you who read these updates to come down for a first hand experience of what life is like here on the Spice Island. There are a number of small hotels and guesthouses here in Jambiani and the rates are comparatively quite reasonable. So if the spirit moves you and you would like to have a Zanzibari experience, please get in touch and we will do our best to help you create that.

As I have mentioned in previous versions of this update, we do at times have problems with our communication systems here and we have either lost or not received e-mails and at times even our e-mails do not arrive at their intended destinations. So if you do not hear from us within a week or so, please try again to make contact, as it is possible we might not have received your inquiry. We generally are able to check our mail once per week and we will usually reply to e-mails on that same day if the system is running smoothly.

Jabeen and Alva seem to be still enjoying themselves, but I'll let them add their own thoughts here when they have a moment. For certain they are doing some wonderful work in the clinic and we are getting some great clinical results with some very difficult problems. Just yesterday, we had a 13 year old girl come in who had fallen three years previously and who was quite obviously in considerable discomfort, having difficulty walking and sitting. She had stopped attending school because of the trouble she had sitting for long periods of time. She did have x-rays with her, which revealed that she had some congenital malformation of both of her femoroacetabular joints (hip joints, for those of you who are anatomically challenged :)) and this certainly helped to explain why she was having some of the movement difficulties she was exhibiting. Anyhow, after a combination of Chiropractic and Breema treatment, this young girl was remarkably improved and able to move with much less discomfort. After three years of pain, the look of relief and appreciation in her eyes once again reaffirmed for me why we are here. This is truly heart-warming stuff and something that needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

Anyhow, It's time to sign off for now and Alva and Jabeen would like to add some final thoughts. As always, we hope you are all well and emerging from the winter months unscathed. We are all doing well here and the energy continues to be positive and uplifting. Much love to you all and until the next time, Kweherini na tumaini mnajua binadamu wote ni ndugu na niwamoja.

Ali Baba and Mama Patima