Diary - Wednesday, May 17, 2006 

It's a beautiful Wednesday afternoon here in Jambiani. The Masika rains, which have dominated our weather pattern for the last few weeks are now backing off and we are heading into what is arguably one of the very best seasons on Zanzibar. The so called "cold" period is characterized by warm days, up to 30 Celsius and cool evenings which drop down to 23 to 24 Celsius and clear blue skies. Meteorologically speaking, it's about as good as it gets.

We've had a pretty action packed two weeks since Chris and Stephanie arrived and it's really been great having these two onboard with us. They have been doing some wonderful "tag team" treatments in the center and I will add below, the first of two commentaries that they hope to contribute to these updates before they leave us at the end of the month. Chris and Steph have wasted absolutely no time before jumping into the swing of things and they have already completed a dive course, gone on Zohoro's shamba tour, toured the Kumbu caves, walked for miles and Chris went for a pretty major bike ride with one of Tanzania's top cyclists who happens to come from Jambiani and is a good friend of ours. It's been fun for Pat and I to see them having so much fun and being so adventurous so early in their trip. Good on you guys!!!

We are very close now to starting the construction of the Juice Bar/Restaurant and with the rains almost finished we hope to be underway in the next two weeks or so. As always, things unfold here in a much slower fashion than in the West and we have come to just accept this characteristic of life here otherwise one could go a tad mad trying to make things happen at a pace other than the "local" one.

Our new vehicle has already been put to good use on several occasions. Just last week, we had a person arrive at our doorstep on Saturday morning who had cut the top of his foot with a panga. The coffee had just been poured and the fruit salad was waiting but this poor guy needed immediate attention. The cut was deep and he had severed a primary vessel so he was losing a lot of blood. We managed to stop the bleeding and got him into the vehicle to take him to the local Jambiani hospital however when we got there, the clinic was closed and there was no one available who could effectively treat this type of wound. Next stop Paje, the nearest village to our North but once again the local hospital was closed so we proceeded to the next village called Bweju where we found the local dentist/doctor who had local anaesthetic and the skills necessary to suture what turned out to be a very nasty injury. We finally made it back to Jambiani around 2pm after a five hour adventure. Such is life at times in this part of the world and we just have to be grateful that we are fortunate enough in our lives to be in a position to offer assistance to people like "Ali" when they are in tough situations like this.

I would like to take some time here to extend our thanks to several individuals and organizations who have either continued to support the HABS Jambiani project or who have recently contributed in some way to the ongoing work here.

First up is St. Michaels University School in Victoria who set aside one day, a day they refer to as a "Service" day, to raise funds for HABS. They managed to put together over $922 gathered from student and teacher donations for the right to wear their "grubs" instead of the usual school uniform. Thank you so much for selecting us as being worthy recipients of your donation. We are grateful.

You may remember Barb Hunter. Barb volunteered with us last September and after she returned she co-ordinated a fund raiser in her massage therapy practice in Fernie, BC. Her efforts raised over $500 for the HABS Jambiani project!! Thank you Barb!! You are such a bright light in this world.

Then there is Mark and Fawn. What can I say about these two remarkable human beings? Knowing them, they would prefer I didn't say anything as they are entirely humble in their efforts to contribute to helping in this world. Both Mark and Fawn have been HABS supporters for a long time and they have helped us on numerous occasions in the past either by helping organize fund raising events or by actually raising money themselves. Their latest "Caper" was to turn a birthday celebration for Fawn into an opportunity to also raise funds and awareness for HABS. In one evening, they were able to collect over $500!! Thank you two so much. We really are looking forward to the day when we can welcome you to Zanzibar so that you can see first hand what your efforts help to support and sustain.

Just recently we received a $200 donation from a Mr Blaise Salmon on behalf of Results Canada. Please check out www.resultscanada.ca for more information on this seemingly amazing organization. Thank you Blaise for your contribution. We are truly humbled because we don't even know who you are. Wow!!!!

When I think back to our roots here in the "Jam", when we decided to sell all of our worldly possessions to come here to initiate this project and not knowing if others would share our enthusiasm or not, I'm amazed at how things have unfolded and how new growth continues to occur. Of course, Pat and I started this fire but it has now become a serious blaze thanks to the participation of increasing numbers of interested individuals and organizations. What a wonderful confirmation for us to know that we are not alone and that the continued support and encouragement that we are receiving keeps our enthusiasm and energy going even when things get intense around here.

Once again, we would like to thank Mr. Ocke Schuttevaer who with the help of Wilde Ganzen of the Netherlands (www.wildeganzen.nl ) was able to raise over 70,000 Euro to contribute towards the Jambiani Project!! This is truly an amazing accomplishment and it has literally propelled us into the next level of service and the fulfilment of our mandate to also provide education services to those people in need in the developing world. The majority of these funds have been earmarked to construct the Juice Bar/Restaurant and certainly without this input, none of this would have been possible at this time. So once again, thank you so much Ocke and all the fine people at Wilde Ganzen.

As mentioned before, we have also received support from the Rotary Club De Bilt-Hoven and her sister Rotary Clubs in Belgium, Germany and the UK and the Cordaid Foundation (www.cordaid.com/index.asp). We are currently deciding how best to utilize these funds but as I said before, we have already been able to purchase a vehicle and construct a garage as a result of their support.

It's over 10 years old but we feel we found a gem in amongst the 200,000 vehicles we had to choose from. (-: Thank you so much everybody!!!I ...think now is a good time to hear from Christopher Curran, RMT about he and Stephanie's experiences to date on Zanzibar.

Since arriving in Jambiani (or the "Jam" as Alastair likes to call it), time has passed very quickly for Stephanie and I. We are already two weeks into our month long stay at the Jambiani Wellness Centre and know that the next two weeks shall pass just as quickly. Working in the clinic has been rewarding for us in so many respects. The often frantic pace of treating back in Victoria is thankfully not reproduced here. Island life is slower so who are we to push the envelope? It's been wonderful to have as much time as is necessary with each patient rather than worrying about falling behind schedule. For most patients here, waiting is "hakuna matata" (no problem). This freedom allows for an easier connection with each patient and takes much of the stress out of treatment. Our translator, Chai, has been wonderful in conveying information between our patients and ourselves. It's been particularly nice to both see and experience the rapport that Pat and Alastair have created with the local people. We've seen first-hand the way they both have tirelessly and selflessly given their time, energy and money to the cause of helping this community. During the short time we have been here, we've been inspired to help in the sponsorship of Juma, a local elite level cyclist with incredible potential and a burning passion for the sport. A month in Jambiani is a short time, but we already feel that it will be long enough to forever burn a cherished memory into our heart and minds. We look forward to the next two weeks in the Jam, and want to thank Pat and Alastair for the manner in which they have made us feel so welcome and taken care of.
Kwaheri!
Christopher (RMT) and Stephanie Curran (DTCM).

Finally, pictured to the right is a little boy from our village named Mussa with his mother Safia. Mussa came to us initially with a very bad chest infection that was successfully treated by Pat however, his small size and general weakness alarmed us. Further investigations revealed that this boy has a heart defect. Once again, Pat has seized the moment and has worked incessantly to ensure that this child is taken care of. Today, through the generosity of several individuals, Mussa, his mother and a medical escort will travel by airplane to Dar es Salaam to get an echocardiogram in order to establish a clearer diagnostic picture. Once a firm diagnosis is in place the next step will be to attempt to make the necessary arrangements to get Mussa the treatment he needs to recover. In all likelihood, this will probably involve an overseas trip to India for surgery. When we encounter situations like this, which thankfully isn't too frequently, we realize just how fortunate people living in developed countries are. If Mussa is to survive, we will have to canvass the Ministry of Health, possibly the Lions Club of Dar es Salaam and other individuals to appeal for help to gather the funds needed and to make all of the necessary arrangements to save this child. After our heart wrenching experience with our friend Mustafa, we are even more determined to ensure that there is a happy outcome to this story. We'll definitely keep you posted.

Well I think that's about it for now. Chris and Stephanie have assured me that they will do one more write up that we can include in our next update. Oh yes, by the way, our next volunteer, Mr Te loo, comes to us from Holland. He is a Physiotherapist with special training in manual therapy so as always, we are looking forward to his arrival on Zanzibar in just a bit over one week.

We do hope all of you who continue to follow the project here are well and that life is treating you gently.

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

Just out of interest sake I thought I would include an aerial photograph of a more recent crop circle or should I say circles. The little speck in the middle is actually a person!! It's a mystery and if nothing else, surely this phenomenon must make us think outside of the box just a tad. (-: