When I heard the news from an email that I havebeen selected to be the Hospital Accountant of a tanzanian based Hospital near Mozambique. It was good news though shoking at the same time.
I had read little about St. benedict's sisters and the Hospital in the far south of the biggest East African country TZ.
I am here having been catered for both VSo Jitolee based in Nairobi through the preparing for hange (PFC) , Wider Role of a volunteer handled well by the facilitators headed by Mr. Ndolo. and aging consultant of strategic planning and management. VSo tanzania has done well in paying for Airtickets all over the place, meals and dinner-outs while on the one week In-country training which was well handled by the different project managers including among others Chris (HIV & Aids), douglas (Secure livelihoods), and others. this ICT was being organised by Allan from Britain and a volunteer from Zanzibar assisted by a volunteer from Dar. VSO TZ went on paying for swahili language training in morogoro, where we had fun and knowledge in swahili. this is where I saw people go out and try to speak swahili in the market place, in the hospital, in the schools, in IT centers and children for those who were supporsed to be working with children. We had the opportunity to climb the morogoro mountains with the group, headed by mwalimu benjamin who was the training manager of the facilitators from "Kiswahi na Utamaduni language centre", we went to Mikumi safari where we saw all kinds of Animals ranging from giraffs to elephants, zebras and bears, hipos and many more.
I have had very home reaching company from a hungarian lady called Rita and other friends like John from UK , Liz from Australia (chizi-meaning crazy), mary-anne from the philipines, Lisenka from Holand and many more.
Madam Vera the office manager and the staff at the VSO TZ office make life working for the communities easy here in tanzania.
Funny: We were given all gears ranging from water filters, mosquito nets, Dictionaries of swahili, female and male condoms and many more things by the galant VSO office in TZ.
Reaching my placement,
It was not easy leaving friends and separating from all the company but we had to part ways because it was time to serve the community now that we have swahili, kowledge of the dos and donts, cultural norms and other things. People cried but the bond had to broken by time to start work. people that I will not mention names had to heeeeeeee......
Anyhow Tuesday 22nd came amd we left Dar for Mtwara. these airtickets were paid for by VSO TZ. On reaching the Airport , we were welcomed by a happy staff from the Hospital who had waited for us since 3:00pm and it was 6:00pm, this was due to the changes in flights. A landrover driven by a speed driver who drove for only 2and ahalf hours and there we were welcomed to a dinner by the VSO volunteers in the same hospital. these included the Hospital Administrator Piet, Diane who will be working at the UZIMA Aids project with rashmi-the new indian vol with whome we came, Dr. Fransaijn a dutch vol, Pits Wife, and we had real english food.
Not forgeting, We were many but only 4 volunteers went to mtwara region including; Me as St. benedicts Hospital Accountant, Rashmi for the UZIMA project, Andy as Lab technologist, and Johanne from holland as lad tecnologist of a different hospital called Ligula in mtwara town.
After dinner:
We were allocated our houses, ha ha ha these are houses not rooms and chubicles, I will talk about mine: I was given a new house with ; Kitchen, fridge, cooker, capboards, cutterly, sourcepans, ha ha ha , telling you. Sitting room, dinning table with chairs, tailed , clean and ventilated well to make sure I rest when I leave office.
Bedroom with everything, rest rooms that are clean and really rest rooms not bother rooms.
Welcomed and driven in the evening by the Admin himself around Ndanda, showing us the hills and the water systems of Ndanda, forests and other attractions in the place, estates and eating places, this was in the company of Dr. fransaijn and Daine.
SO went wedsady. thursday we were walked around the hospital departments which took us half the day because of the size of the hospital, by the Admin and Sis. felister who is one of the Admin staff here. I was given and office and a nice flat screen computer monitor waiting for me to command it to do work, Internet connection is available for the Accountant to use though he has t make sure he accounts for every time taken, not just using, because its a satelight connection which is expensive.
I will tell more and show you pics of what is and was in ndanda markets, the daladala experiance, how we cook, and survive in ndanda.
watch this space.............
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