Diary - Saturday, April 15, 2006 

Sadly my time here in Jambiani is coming to an end and the experience I have had has far exceeded my expectations. Pat and Alastair have created a safe, positive and fun environment for volunteers to come into. I feel completely at home with them and look forward to returning again in a few years.

The clinic experience is definitely one I will never forget. Chai, the clinic translator, literally brings you inside the lives of the people who live here in a way that no tourist could experience and as such, I have been able to learn a lot from my patients about the deeper aspects of life here in Jambiani. Unless you speak Kiswahili, and I'm guessing the majority of Westerners don't, as a visitor you can only really observe this culture. Having been with Pat, Alastair and Chai has allowed me to become immersed in it.

Pat and Alastair have welcomed me into their home. I have my own room in the house and they made it very clear from day one, to "make yourself at home". There is 24 hour internet access if needed so that is a real luxury. We share the cooking and generally eat together in the evenings. I really feel like I have become part of the family. Because they are such an integral part of the community now, they know everyone, so as a result, I have met many people in the village. They are also very patient with my slow grasp of the Swahili language and will repeat over and over again words that just seem to have trouble sticking. They never seem to get frustrated with this and in fact they encourage me to learn more.

I feel I have made some strong bonds here with the people, the land and the community, bonds that will last a lifetime I'm sure. I am so happy to have had this opportunity at the Jambiani Wellness Center and look forward to my return one day.

Asante sana,
Dr Kristine Self

Well, it's been just over two weeks now since Kristine left us and on behalf of Pat and myself, the Hands Across Borders Society and all of the many patients that she was able to assist, we would like to thank you so much for your easy going nature, your positive attitude and your most compassionate input into the project and into the community. We enjoyed your company very much and look forward to welcoming you (and Mike) to Jambiani again one day.
Our next volunteers Stephanie and Christopher Curran come to us from Victoria, BC, Canada. Stephanie is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine with special interests in Obstetrics and Christopher is a massage therapist so once again, we have an outstanding line up here at the Center and I can only imagine the benefits that their presence will bring to this area of Zanzibar. We look forward to their arrival soon.

Pat has been busy as usual with all that she has on her plate and lately, she has been coordinating all that needs to be done to clear our vehicle from the main port in Stonetown. This has meant several trips to town over the past couple of weeks but we now think we could have the vehicle on site by next Tuesday. Once again, this will be a huge addition to our work here, giving us greater flexibility and mobility and a more secure, reliable and safer means of transport. There must be a God!!!

I've asked Pat to relay to you some of the details of the Restaurant/Bar/Training facility that we hope to start building in the immediate future. It really is her "baby" and certainly is her area of expertise so she is, I feel, the appropriate person to describe just what this facility will offer and what we hope it will accomplish. So here's Pat.(-:

Friday, April 21, 2006

The next stage...

We are really excited to prepare for the next project in Jambiani. Through the tremendous dedication and hard work by Ocke Schuttevaer, and the generosity of many of you who are reading this newsletter, we will now be able to start the building of a small tourism training facility and a restaurant.

Employment in the village is very scarce with the average income for a family of four pegged at about $100 US a year. We are working with the Zanzibar Government Commission for Tourism and the Maruhubi Tourism Training Institute to train some of the local villagers to be able to be certified for work in the tourism industry on Zanzibar.

We hope to start building as soon as our builder gets back from holidays—a good time, as the "masika" rains will have almost ended. We will be offering a two year program where all students will be trained in all aspects of the hotel industry. We will be offering courses such as Food Safe, First Aid, HIV/AIDS, Computer and Keyboarding, English, Leadership, Business Accounting as well as all the hotel training courses. The intention is to have well-rounded and well-trained staff. The local hotels have offered to take the students for their Work Experience, so hopefully from this experience, some of them will receive employment in Jambiani at the end of their course.

A spin-off from the school will be that we will be opening a small restaurant/juice bar where we will be serving cakes and other baked goods as well as serving gourmet coffees, teas and organic juices. The hope is that this will generate some income to help us sustain the work that we have already started. Alastair is excited! There is nothing like this being offered by any of the hotels or restaurants at this time. We often get tourists coming to house to ask if they can get something to eat. We say sure but not here! That will change in the future. It will be a great space where people can relax, read a book and enjoy something to eat and drink as they take in the beautiful view of the beach and enjoy the ocean breezes.

If there are any of you reading this newsletter that are experienced teachers especially in tourism and would be interested in coming out as volunteers in 2007 please drop me a line. We hope to be ready to open in September 2007.

Thanks for that brief summary Patima. She's right, I am excited but not just for the lure of cookies and coffee. This will be a major addition to the site here and also an incredible addition to Jambiani. Out of this will come opportunities for many individuals to create a better life not only for themselves but for their families. It's a classic win-win situation, one that we are very proud to be a part of. As always, we'll keep you posted as the project evolves.

We finally took delivery of our vehicle yesterday!! As I said earlier, it took Pat 5 weeks of intensive work and perseverance to get all the necessary paperwork completed so we could bring this vehicle in duty free. One character trait you must develop here is patience as often what would be a simple thing to do in our country of origin is a complex ordeal in Africa. Hats off to Pat who waded into this process and managed to "keep it together" despite numerous opportunities to succumb to terminal frustration. Got to love that woman!!

We would like to once again thank the Rotary Club of De Bilt-Bilthoven, The Netherlands and the Sister rotary Clubs of Germany, Great Britain and Belgium and Cordaid for their continuing support and contributions which have made this all possible. Asante sana na tunashukuru sana!!

I have to say on the clinical side, I have personally had one of the most challenging few weeks since we started this project. Not so much because of the severity of some of the presenting complaints but because of the number of them. In one week alone I have seen an individual with a fracture and dislocation of the elbow, one with fractures to three metatarsals (bones in the feet), one with a fractured upper arm bone, a child in acute respiratory distress, a woman with a fractured rib, an elderly woman with a probable lumbar disc herniation, a young man confined to a wheel chair after falling 8 years ago and of course all sorts of bruises, strains and cuts now that the soccer season is back into full swing. This all seemed to start after Dr Self left. It must be Karma. (-: Of course this would be normal if it was the emergency ward of a hospital. We are learning lots!!

I'll leave you with this picture of a "Masika" sunrise. It was spectacular and I can only say we are so grateful for the natural beauty that surrounds us amidst the challenges that come our way each day. It creates balance for us when things seem like they are getting a bit out of hand.

Much love to you all and remember, we are all-ways connected. (-: