Diary - Sunday, March 19, 2006 

Well, it's happened. Only 8 days into my trip and I have been afflicted with the deadly disease they have here in Jambiani. It's chronic and there is no cure (I hope!). It's called TR, or Terminal Relaxation. Symptoms include a glazed look that comes across your eyes as you stare off into the ocean of seven different colours of blue. It's when you can sit and relax and not think about anything. There are no worries, no fears and no stresses. Being a very active, always on the go sort of person, I never thought I would enjoy just sitting doing nothing - but it's wonderful!

This place is magical. The weather, the ocean, the time to contemplate - these things are obvious. What has struck me most though, are the people. Everyone has been so warm, friendly, gentle and genuine. The importance of relationships between friends and family is very strong here. It's understandable that it rubs off on those of us who have chosen to spend time here in their community.

It's funny to me, how the Africans look to the western world for knowledge and advice. In my opinion it is us who can learn from them. They are much more relaxed, taking things slowly one thing at a time. They don't try to rush around trying to get 50 things done in a day. They value their fellow community members very deeply. They take time to talk to everyone, get to know their people and truly are genuinely interested.

This has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. It is the perfect mixture of work, culture and vacation time. To be able to combine healing people through the effectiveness of Chiropractic, along with my translator Chai, I have been able to immerse myself into this culture in a way that, without knowing the language, I could not have done otherwise. I talk to people everyday, educate them about ways that they can improve their health and in return, I learn even more about the people and their customs.

Personally, I can't imagine why somebody who had the opportunity wouldn't jump at the chance to come here. The hours at the clinic are manageable and there is lots of free time to explore, relax or do whatever you wish. Since Pat and Alastair have been here for so long, they are also able to arrange other trips and excursion should you so desire. One day, Pat took me all around Stonetown shopping so there were no hassles and they know where to go for the best products and prices.

I hope more and more people become aware of what HABS and The Jambiani Wellness Centre are doing on Zanzibar and come to experience it first hand. It is a wonderful feeling to help people in another country who need it desperately.

Dr. Kristine Self
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Thank you for that Kristine and with luck, we'll hopefully hear from you once more before you leave us for your return to Canada. To the right is a picture of Dr. Self working with a man who had experienced a stroke several weeks before presenting at the center. It's so ironic that in the West, there has been such a determined effort to influence people to avoid getting Chiropractic neck or Cervical adjustments as the propaganda implies that these procedures may cause strokes, and yet here on Zanzibar, we are so privileged to have numerous opportunities to adjust individuals who have had strokes! Our clinical experience to date working with these patients is that Chiropractic is frequently very helpful in relieving some of the pain and movement restrictions associated with this type of injury. On one occasion, a woman who had had a very severe tremor in one of her legs after having a stroke 6 months prior to her visit with us was relieved of this disturbing symptom after one cervical adjustment. Can you imagine how she felt? How we felt? It was very moving. As a result of our observations here in Jambiani I believe that in fact, Chiropractic adjustments could be of great benefit to these patients and it is very unfortunate that because of the totally uncalled for adverse publicity that the Chiropractic profession has endured, many individuals will suffer needlessly.

We are gearing up here now to begin the construction of the Juice Bar/Restaurant and if all goes according to plan, we should be starting the foundations before the end of this month! This is a big project and it heralds the beginning of an entirely new phase of our program here, one that will fulfill our mandate as an NGO to provide educational services to the people of Jambiani. It's all good and we will keep you posted as the construction unfolds.

We are just entering the wet season here again and most people are pretty happy with the increase in rainfall. The gardens are growing and the farmers crops will flourish, providing much needed food for the families of Jambiani. Unlike many parts of Africa, we are fortunate here on Zanzibar to have reliable sources of food and water. the photo to the right shows the latest addition to our "family". Kili (Kilimanjaro) was just three weeks old when we retrieved him from Stonetown where he was in a constant state of terror, living in the "Shamba" where cats are objects of target practice for stone throwing children. He's doing very well now and regularly tries to rule the household. We think he'll make a great night watchman. :-)

For those of you thinking about volunteering with us, this is a pretty typical sunrise as seen from our front porch. It's a nice way to start your day especially with a nice tea or coffee and perhaps a swim to go with it. :-)

All is excellent here. We are fully charged and powering along nicely. We do hope that all of you, who take the time to read these notes, are in excellent condition and that life is turning out purr-fect in each and every moment.

Much love from all of us here in the "Jam".