Diary - Wednesday, Mar 28, 2007 

Dr. Kimberly Spares and Dr. Brian Tresidder’s diary entry of their time in Jambiani.

We arrived in Jambiani at the end of February and have been here for over three weeks now. We have been in contact with the Hands Across Borders Society for over two years and were very fortunate to be able to come here and volunteer as chiropractors. It is hard to believe our time here is coming to an end. Working in the clinic has been a rewarding and challenging experience.

We have seen a lot of different cases; unique to what we normally see in chiropractic practice. We have seen patients with fractures, including pelvis, forearms and wrists. One patient rode from another village to get a fractured wrist looked at. It took him an hour to ride here then he rode back. Another patient had a fall off a dala dala (local bus) and fractured his pelvis. A few of the more interesting and special cases have consisted of children with undiagnosed neurological disorders, infections that have been untreated, strokes, trauma after a fall from a coconut tree (10 meters), bilateral club feet (never braced or surgery), 75+ year old ladies working sea weed farms, motor vehicle accident victim (several fractures), severe lacerations from machetes and stingray injuries.

Life outside the clinic has been just as interesting. We loved to watch the children make toys out of the garbage left by tourists. A couple of kids made dump trucks out of plastic water bottles with lids for wheels, quite inventive. You can't help but realize how fortunate we were growing up in a developed country but it is also amazing to see these beautiful children running and playing with plastic drink bottles, bags tied into a ball with coconut twine and loving every minute of it... not even a thought of what the newest toy or video game might be.

We have been taking Swahili lessons with a local teacher, Haji, and it has helped us communicate with patients and locals. Tuna weza kusema Kiswahili kidogo. However, we will be forever grateful to our interpreter, Chai, who was our voice when we were trying to explain chiropractic.

Mama Pat and Alibaba are the dedicated hands behind all the hard work making this opportunity possible. They have made us feel welcome from the minute we stepped off the plane. As well as giving free health care, they are currently building a school to teach locals the skills of tourism and food safety. They are very hard working people to say the least. We have been with Mama Pat as she travels around Stone Town, it is amazing to see her boundless energy. Alibaba is the only chiropractor in Zanzibar and has an amazing reputation and a vast knowledge, which was very helpful to us.

As our time here winds down we were getting used to adjusting in bare feet and shorts while hearing the ocean. We are sad to say goodbye but the experience has been unforgettable and we will have memories that will last us a lifetime. Thanks for everything and we know we will stay in touch. Asante Sana!

Tutaonana baadaye
Kim and Brian

 Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Well hello once again from the “Jam”. First of all Pat and I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of HABS to thank Brian (Pandu) and Kim (Aisha) for taking time out of their very busy schedules to spend some moments here with us. To say the least, we have been very impressed with these two fine souls and with their selfless dedication to making a difference in this small village. Kim and Brian were an incredible team in the Centre and their combined energies contributed to a potent healing environment, one in which literally hundreds of individuals received quality Chiropractic care. They also really got involved with the community and made a genuine effort to meet the people outside of the office and to learn the language so as to facilitate a deeper connection with all those individuals they came into contact with during their stay. Of course we are happy to report that Brian has made a complete and full recovery from his bout with TR, something I’m sure his family and relatives will be relieved to know. :-)

We are going to miss them and we hope they can return again one day. Asante sana. Tunashukuru kwa kazi yako na msaada wako na urafiki!! Keribuni tena!!!!!

Life here continues to be stimulating and challenging for Pat and I and never a day goes by where we don’t have something of interest come our way. Tomorrow we are looking forward to a visit from several members of the Rotary Club de Bilt Hoven. You may recall that some of the funding in support of the school project has come from this organization and we hope they will be really impressed with what their help has been able to accomplish here in Jambiani.

The building is continuing at a pretty frantic pace now with plasterers, electricians, plumbers and carpenters all sharing the same space. Pat and I expect to make a trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates next week to purchase many of the necessary items involved with the final finishing work. Things like toilets and sinks, light switches and fixtures, tiles, dishes and paint. We have had some experience with this before and with most things being much cheaper there, it will save us money in the end to make this journey. Of course, we get to see our good friends Jan and Hannelore Demmink again which will be an added bonus. Some of you may recall that Jan and Hannelore more or less took us under their wing several years ago when we first decided to begin this work. With their help, we were able to complete a successful shopping trip to Dubai when we were first outfitting our present house and clinic. They are two of the best people you would ever want to meet.

So for now, that’s about all the new news to report. Our lives are pretty predictable at the moment and with every new day behind us, we are that much closer to completing the construction of he school and to beginning a new chapter of the work of HABS on Zanzibar.

We hope you are all well and enjoying yourselves. It’s all good!!

Much love,
A and P