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Diary - Monday, March 28, 2005
Well, good morning to you all and it is our sincere wish that you are all well and enjoying yourselves completely wherever you may be. It is a beautiful start to the day here in Jambiani and although we officially started the rainy season on March 21st we have as yet to experience the torrential downpours that let us know definitively that the "Masika" has indeed begun. Before I begin with this latest report, I would like to include
here a couple of contributions from two of our previous volunteers,
Lynn Ketcheson and Connie Nimmon and one from our present volunteer,
Dr Zabin Suleman. We really appreciate the input from our visitors
as I'm certain it allows other potential volunteers to get a
feel for the experience here and also it is very good for our
ego's as so far, all of the reports have been supportive and
positive. What else can people say when they are threatened with "no
fresh mangos for a week"? :-)
I also got the opportunity to teach massage and more specific acupressure points for some of the illnesses and job related pains. In the past many of these women I was teaching had learned some massage skills, which enabled them to support their families. I was very pleased to be able to add to these skills. Each day after 'playing' in the clinic I was able to be completely surprised by the exquisite gourmet dishes prepared by Alistair and Pat. Each meal was a delicious experience all in itself. My husband Cliff who is a chef finds it difficult to keep up with this standard of cooking I experienced in Zanzibar.
I so enjoyed working with the people of Zanzibar and giving the best that I could with my skills and my heart, but I'm not sure who received the most. I truly believe I experienced such a gift of healing for myself, physically, emotionally, and spiritually and I feel very blessed. Thank you Alistair and Pat for welcoming me to be in your home and heart and work with the people of Zanzibar in the Jambiani Wellness Clinic. I am now coming out of my 'terminal relaxation' mode as Alistair would say to return to my clients at my practice at 'Attune Restorative Therapies' in Victoria. I extend my best wishes to the volunteers who follow. Namaste Lynn Ketcheson (Dr. Amina) Hello all readers! My name is Connie Nimmon and I have returned to Victoria, B.C. from being on Zanzibar where I volunteered my skills as an acupuncturist at the Wellness Center. What an experience that was. My first day in clinic was both slightly confusing and humorous as I had no idea what to expect and as I soon discovered, neither did the patients. The first person to see me was an elderly woman with complaints of severe pain in her joints. She hobbled into my treatment room and I helped her up onto the table as she was having much difficulty with any movement. When we finally got her ready for treatment, I grabbed the acupuncture needles to show her what I was about to do. The look of horror on her face at the sight of them took me by surprise but not as much as her quick ability to bounce off the table, put on her dress and run out of the room in less than one minute. That was easy I thought, "She's cured"! Fortunately, the patients after her were quite accepting of acupuncture and found that the treatments helped significantly with their different complaints. For myself, the experience I had providing treatments was fulfilling and interesting as I had a variety of cases that I had not come across in Canada. When I was not working, I had a lot of time to venture out into the community and meet the locals. This contributed to my trip immensely as I felt very accepted and cared for by the people of Jambiani. Often I would walk the beach and have small children run up to me, grab my hand and walk together back to the house. If I was jogging, they would match me stride for stride (I admit I'm slow but it was very hot so I have a good excuse). For those of you who might find this affection too much at times don't worry, all it takes is a gentle 'thank-you but I would like to be alone now' and you will be left alone with the respect and the space to do as you please. What definitely makes the experience of Jambiani so incredible is the graciousness and open hearts of the people. Pat and Alastair are very compassionate and beautiful souls who not only work hard to improve the lives of the villagers of Jambiani but also provide a space in which the volunteers who come feel they can relax and be themselves. Their humour and big hearts are always entertaining and a joy to be around. They are two people dedicated to making this world a better place. I appreciate their care and admire them for their dedication and courage. Peace be to all of you who are reading this and may your journey in life be inspired by love. Connie
I first started talking to Alastair about coming to Jambiani about 2 years ago. A year ago we set the date for my arrival. Now, the month that I've been here has just flown by. I wanted to come to Jambiani because the clinic sounded like it would be a fantastic experience and I was also born in Arusha, which is on the mainland. I haven't been back to this part of the world since I left over 25 years ago and a part of me was feeling disconnected because of that. Listening to the children in Pat's classes singing Tanzania's national anthem made me go a bit misty (Tanzania, Tanzania, nakupenda kwa moyo wote!!). So much time has passed since I've been in this country... so many things have happened in Tanzania since I've left. Although I am here as a volunteer chiropractor and have contributed my time and skill and services to this community, I'm not the only one making contributions. The people of Jambiani have also shared a lot with me. They've reminded me that taking time to be with family and the community is really important. It is heart warming to see children, parents, grandparents and other family living close by, sharing meals and laughing together. I've had an opportunity to see some very interesting clinical cases that I wouldn't typically see in Calgary such as treating someone who previously had a stroke and also a child with genetic neurological deficiencies as well, I'm getting comfortable adjusting children. The village is small enough so I feel safe and can meet people easily. The food is organic, the water is clean, the beaches white and the air fresh (except when there's a local burn of plastics!). For decades Jambiani has had a reputation among locals as a place to heal. I was told by a former Zanzibari that asthmatics often came here to heal. To top it all off Ali Baba and Mama Pat are both fantastic cooks. One thing I won't miss is the amplified call to worship at 5 AM! Overall, this is a great place for a wellness clinic and a wonderful opportunity for a visiting practitioner to come to gain a new perspective on life. Dr Zabin Suleman Calgary, Alberta Canada
Well, after the flurry of activity surrounding the distribution of goods from the container, things around here have been a little less hectic and we have had an opportunity to catch our breath so to speak. However we expect this state won't last too long as we are gearing up to initiate new projects, hopefully in the near future. One of our ongoing concerns is the generation of income to keep the ball rolling here in Jambiani. Invariably every year we must take time out of our schedules to focus on fundraising for without it, we would need to drastically alter our level of commitment and service to this community. Although this aspect of the project can be a lot of fun, it is also a lot of work and even though we have a group of friends and family in Victoria who are always there to help out we constantly have the impression that we are on this "begging" circuit with no foreseeable end in sight. It was suggested to us by a good friend in Dubai that we needed to try to create a situation that might possibly generate income on an ongoing basis. With that suggestion in mind, we are quite seriously looking at the feasibility of building a small facility to process fruit into jam, juice and perhaps dried fruit. There is an abundance of fruit grown on Zanzibar, but very little infrastructure to process the excess that is produced each year. The Jambiani Jam and Juice Cooperative could be viable. It would create jobs for some of the members of our village as well as it could be a potential source of income some of which could be returned to the project directly. If successful we might be able to reduce or stop our continuing need to organize fund raising events in Victoria. This would of course free up more time for us to focus on what is happening here. The only reason we are considering this possibility is because our dear friend Ocke Shuttevaer has, along with friends in Germany and Holland, received some interest from their local Rotary Clubs to possibly supply the necessary funds to go ahead with this. We are very excited about this possibility and although nothing is definite at this point, we are encouraged by what we have heard from Ocke in his latest communications to us. Naturally, this will be a huge undertaking and will require a huge input of time and energy at this end. For the most part, I can say that this is Pats' baby and would be part of a larger picture to provide education and training for those in Jambiani who might not otherwise have an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills to enable them to create a better life for themselves and their families. We will keep you posted as this new undertaking evolves and matures. Finally, I'd like to share with you just a few pictures from the Centre. Sometimes, we take for granted the work we do here but I can assure you that it has profound implications for those that come for care and for us as practitioners too. As mentioned above, we get an opportunity to help people with a much broader range of complaints and conditions than we would ordinarily experience in the west. From a Chiropractic perspective this has been an invaluable experience as it has significantly reinforced for me the tremendous positive influence that Chiropractic adjustments can have in helping the body to achieve a state of equilibrium and balance. For those doctors who think Chiropractic care is only good for musculoskeletal problems, I would suggest you spend a month or so here in the "Jam". I guarantee you will change your attitude.
I could go on and on here with stories like this and it is truly wonderful that we have this opportunity in our lives at this time to be of service to our fellow human beings. I think that about raps it up for this update. We are continuing to create our vision for a better world and as this creative focus intensifies and gains clarity we are seeing the results of that in all that is unfolding here, right before our very eyes. Oh yes, one last thing. We have just recently received confirmation that as of October, 2004 we have been given charitable status by the CRA and are therefore now able to issue receipts for income tax purposes. Do you think Bill Gates needs a tax break? :-) We love you and all good to you wherever you may be today. Alastair and Pat  |
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