January 2013 Update
Dear friends: This month’s update is again coming from Tony, Linda’s husband. Linda is still with her mother in Ukiah, California due to an illness in the family.
With this update we are trying a more formal newsletter format. I hope that you like it and that it is a bit easier to read.
I want to tell you that I am getting ready for another trip to Tanzania. I will be leaving from Boston on February 3, with a very short layover in Amsterdam. I will start my Tanzania visit in Moshi, at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (“KCMC”). Around the middle of February I will travel by bus to Mbeya. From there to Tukuyu (in Southern Tanzania, which is a couple of hours south of Mbeya (close to the Malawi and Zambia borders) to visit the Tukuyu School of Nursing, where we sponsor ten students.
The students in Tukuyu are on an off-cycle school year. Their school year starts in April. The five third year students that we sponsor here will graduate in just a few months. It is my intention to interview and select five current first year students for sponsorship starting with their second year of studies.
Towards the end of February I will return from Tukuyu to Moshi. By that time the second year students at KCMC will be doing their month long community field work. Teams of students will be living in various villages in the area for four weeks – practicing what they learned in the classroom. I am looking forward to visiting the students in the villages. Doing this was one of the most interesting experiences of my last visit.
I need to say again, that the cost of my travel, including any entertainment expenses of the students is on my nickel. All donations received are applied to support the students.
I am looking forward to this trip. I find it a very relaxing time and I enjoy visiting with all the people I have met in both locations over the past five years – students, staff, and others. I hope to tell you about my travels in the next few program updates.
Here are a few pictures of my village visits from last year, showing the students and village residents:
Last year I had dinner with the KCMC students and some members of the school staff. The highlight of this event was a gift grab bag. I am planning to do this again this year at both schools. I am looking forward to seeing the smiles. To the left is a picture of one of the students with her selection, a shawl.
Now, I would to share with you a few of the student emails.
In the December update, I shared with you three emails from a second year student in Tukuyu. In this email she tells us about her holiday break from studies and volunteering at a rural clinic near her home for the purpose of gaining additional nursing experience:
Hallow my friend happy new year to all of you.
I hope that you are doing well in your every day activities. Back on my side I’m doing fine specially in my studies.
For the last six weeks I was at home for the holyday. But myself I decided not to rest I was practising at Uwemba Health centre . I learned different things including Reproductive child Health Clinic (RCHC) on providing Health education and counseling to a pregnant mother. Also preparing mother on individual birth plan, Prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS by counseling and testing all pregnant mother in order to prevent there newborn baby. Also Health education concerning sexual transmitted diseases including syphilis.
On 2ndJanuary 2012 I reported at Tukuyu school of Nursing NTC. For the time before closing Our school we do a semester 1 level 5 exams. But for the time when we arrival to our school the results was already.
So I would like to tell you that I have passed semester 1 level 5 exams. The following are the pass marks and total number of subjects which I was done and its percentages.
-Health education = 85% – A
-Community Health Nursing = 73% – B+
-Midwifery = 85%-A
-HIV/AIDS=87%-A
-Child Health Nursing = 75%-A
-Community field practical = 82%-A
Also I would like to tell you that now I am rotating in female ward where I was meet with a patient who have got a stroke pt name was LS who was 61 age with Blood pressure 160/100mmHg
I was enjoyed on caring this case and I was interested with it. During admission the patient was unconscious she was not able to talk and also to eat alone. The following was nursing management which i was done to the patient. Changing position to the patient in order to prevent her to get bed sore
Even her relatives was instructed and educated on the importance of changing position to the patient. Nasal gastric tube was inserted in order to help the patient on feeding food. Also Catheterization was done to the patient in order to help in urination. Also bed bath was provided to the patient even monitoring of vital signs in order to know if there is any abnomality.
Also the prescribed drugs by the doctor was administered to the patient which was Neurobin injection 2mls, Neurossuport 1 tab, tabs diclofenac 50mg three times for five days.
Also passive exercise was done to the patient in order to make her active.
By now the patient progression is good. Because now she is able to eat without nasal gastric tube and also she is able to talk, But the problem is on walking Generally the condition of the patient is improving slowly under medical and nursing management.
Lastly I would like to thanks you for your cooperation and also I will increase my effort on studying hard in order to improve my academic performance. And it is my expectation that after completing this Diploma in Nursing I want to join in University, if god wishes.
Thanks I wish you all the best in your every day activities and may God be with you in this new year 2013.
In the first paragraph of her email the student mentioned the Uwemba Health Centre. Being an inquisitive individual (Linda would call it nosy), I researched the “Uwemba Health Center” on the internet. By way of background, what is now mainland Tanzania was a German colony prior to WW-I. Following WW-I, Tanganyika (as it was then called) was administered by Great Britain under a League of Nations Mandate. The Uwembe Health Center was an outreach program of the Benedictine Missionary Sisters of Germany. The Uwemba Health Center was established in 1931. The first Benedictine nuns arrived in the area in 1901. The history of the Benedictine nuns in the area is interesting to read.
If you have an interest in reading about the history of East Africa, I would recommend: East Africa: An Introductory History. It was of particular interest to me how Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika developed quite differently during the colonial period and how this has influenced each country’s development following independence in the early 60’s.
Now, I would like to share with you an email from a third year student at KCMC.
Hello my friends!
Its my hope that you are all fine.
In the first two weeks of this month of December we were in the clinical areas where by I was in the Labour Ward of Mawenzi Regional hospital. This ward has admission session, antenatal session, delivery room as well as postnatal session. During our rotation we had been allocated in these sessions by alternating one session for one day thus each of us passed two times in each session. I was much interested with cooperation from our teachers, thus we went with them for two days, in the first day of their coming we conduct delivery and also they demonstrate to us how to assess the placenta and on their second visit we did assessment of the woman at postnatal ward. Also in this ward we had a woman with intra uterine fetal death, our teachers told us to take a case study of her and present in the classroom during the study day, we recorded this case but we did not get time to present in this week thus we will present next week. This visit of our teachers at the clinical areas is good and gives us motivation for attending the clinical areas.
In the third and fourth week of this month we were still in the clinical areas and I was in Paediatric Three Ward. This ward admits sick newborns and neonates ( babies from 0 – 28 days of age). The common conditions in this ward are prematurities, big babies, jaundice, sepsis, HIV exposed babies, birth asphyxia and congenital malformations. I gained more experience on feeding especially by using Nasal gastric tube, bathing, medication, cannulation, and caring of jandiced babies who are under phototherapy. For the mothers with HIV exposed babies, I provide emmotional support and counselling on feeding options of their babies, thus they can use either exclusive breast feeding or formular milk. I was so much interested with the staff cooperation and their good attitude. I fulfilled most of my objectives in this ward. We have now completed our rotation in this ward, next week we shall be at KCMC Labour ward. I wish you all the best in your daily activities! Love you all!
All the nursing students learn to be midwives and on passing their national examinations they are both registered nurses and registered midwives.
The following email is from a second year student at KCMC. She expresses her appreciation for the financial support that you have provided.
Hellow friends
It is my hope that your doing fine with your physical activities back to my side i’m doing fine especialy in my studies.
First of all i thank you for your support in my studies especially school fees a did not expect but because of your mercy to agree to support me, not only that but also to the side of pocket money which received from Edith. I dont have anything to pay you, but may God bless beyond your expectation.
I promise you that i will study hard and i will try my best level to perform well in all my studies.
In second year we have 5 subject which are midwifery, community health, (HIV)-HUMAN IMMUNE VIRUS, CHILD HEATH, AND HEATH EDUCATION AND COUNSELLING. BUT WITHIN THOSE SUBJECTS UP TO NOW we have study only three subjects which are Midwifery, HIV human immune virus , Community health. The two subjects which are not yet studed are Child heath, Health education and counselling . we dont have teachers up to now. After holiday, the first semester of second academic year was started on 15 of October, we started with block study for two weeks, after that we went to the Clinical area for two weeks we were dealing with peadiatric ward which have a common diseases liike anemia, malaria, pneumonia, acute watery diarrhea, Rheumatic heart diseases, meningitis, urinary tract infection, septicaemia, and Pulmonary tuberculosis, peadiatric acquired immune diffenciency syndrome(PAIDS)
My interest in the ward was on malnutrition status, because i saw the malnourished child and how is cared.
Then block study again for three weeks, i lean a lot of things but i was interested with mid wifery because i am aware with types of pelvis and how it can be easily or difficult during deriverence.
Then after three weeks we go to another ward which is surgical ward .It is nice ward and i was very interested in this ward because i was learned a lot of things but i was interested with wound dressing and principle of wound dressing .such as wash hand before and after procedure,inform the patient about the procedure,the procedure should be done after cleaneless,dont talk during wound dressing, non touchable and sterile procedure,thanks the patient,two nurse are needed,
By now we are in casulity for two weeks.GOD BLESS YOU.
Students frequently mention HIV counseling in their emails. This is an important part of their training. HIV is quite prevalent in the country, though its incidence varies widely. Zanzibar, which tends to be traditional Moslem, has an HIV incidence of around 1% while Iringa, the region that one student is from, has a 16% incidence rate according to a recent study.
I am looking forward to my trip back to Tanzania. I have made my long list of items to take with me. Our next newsletter will be coming to you from Tanzania. In my next letter I plan to tell you a little about the educational system in Tanzania.
We welcome your comments and questions below!
Sincerely,
Tony for Linda