News – April 2013

Well, it looks like we have been caught up in some sort of time warp or has Terminal Relaxation infiltrated those neuronal pools that are associated with action and replaced them with procrastination? Whatever the answer is, it has been quite a long time since our last update and so where do we begin.

We are continuing to see a steady flow of patients at the Wellness Center and with the added support of several volunteer practitioners who have or who are presently onsite doing their healing dance in the format that they are most comfortable with we are helping many people to get back on track with their health.

After saying farewell to Lauren Steinfort in December we were joined by Dr Stuart Bennett, a well travelled somewhat mellow Chiropractor from the UK who spent the most part of January with us. It was really easy having Stuart around and his work in the clinic was very much appreciated by all who had the opportunity to be treated by him. We wish him well in his more “permanent” position in the UK and hope to see him back again one day.

In March, Cortney Rouse, a massage therapist from Portland Oregon arrived. Courtney put in some very busy days at the center and was always willing to contribute in whatever way she could. Thank you once again Cortney for your decision to help with the project. We wish you happy trails and continued success in your life journey wherever that may take you.

Coming hot on the heels of Cortney, Natasha Caroli, another massage therapist but from Ottawa, Canada, arrived safe and sound and has just completed her first two weeks in the clinic. Natasha is bubbling with energy and her over-the-top proactivity has been really appreciated. Natasha will be with us until the end of April at which point she will climb Mount Kilimanjaro before making her way back home to friends and family. During her stay here Natasha is also providing training to some of our local aspiring massage therapists, so thank you so much Natasha for your unique contributions. Karibu tena, wakati wowote. J

A bit later, Natasha adds a few comments from her experience here:

Next month we are expecting Dr Emma Lockwood to join us for a four week placement. Emma lives in the US and has recently graduated from Chiropractic College. Emma is in line to gain some invaluable clinical experience here and I’m certain this will serve her well in her future work no doubt putting a huge perspective on her potential scope of practice. Welcome soon Emma!!!

I know Pat will be adding some information regarding all of the activities at the JTTI and needless to say things have been “humming” with new enrollments and graduation for the Year 2”s just over a couple of months away.

We have been enjoying a wonderful “Masika” season this year, the time when we get our badly needed big rains. It started early and we have had numerous days in succession where we have had steady rainfall. The gardens are thriving and also the mainland dams and reservoirs have been filled as well boosting hydroelectric output and making all of the farmers happy.

While we are on the topic of electricity, we are elated to know that Zanzibar has finally switched over to the new power cable that was installed last year from the mainland. As some of you might recall, we have been relying on a completely unreliable old cable that has been plagued by problems for years. This cable could only carry about 40MW of power and so consequently we had at least four weekly one and one half hour power cuts in the evenings. With the new cable online we now have 100MW capacity and they have subsequently stopped the load shedding which is the first time for us in 13 years!! This is a huge step up for Zanzibar and we are grateful for this new addition to the infrastructure of this wonderful Island we call home.

Also, the building of our new training/accommodation facility is moving along at a much better pace now and although the worksite is a pretty big eyesore, we can now see some light at the end of the tunnel and we are really looking forward to having this final project completed, something we hope will shift us into a completely self sustainable position and the fulfillment of a goal that we set for ourselves over a decade ago.

Overall, the energy here remains solid and positive. We are moving ahead in the correct direction and although we still have to deal with occasional glitches in the flow, they are not significant enough to stem the momentum that is being generated now over the last several years of this project.

We trust that all of you who take the time to read these updates are well and happy and that your own lives are filling you with the wonder and joy of it all.

It truly is an amazing trip and as the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead once said, “We might as well enjoy the ride.”

Take care of each other and we’ll be back, hopefully sooner rather than later.

All good from Pat and I and the HABS team in the “Jam”