The local hospital

Hello! It has been a little while since the last update, hope all is well with you.

This update is about the hospital here in the town which is state run but has support from some overseas agencies. Sometimes we need to visit this hospital in the town here for a reasons; to collect medicines, check on the toilets and pump Medair has built or visit someone we know. This particular time I with the communications officer and she was interviewing some patients and keeping them informed about Medair`s work with the hospital. We had a look around the outside and then went into the maternity ward.

So this is in the main courtyard. The hospital was built during Belgian colonisation before independence in the 1960s, no doubt by the local people. Quite alot of public buildings were built during this period. It has given some infrastructure, although alot of it is crumbling.

Checking on the new well in the courtyard which, in theory, gives a water supply to the hospital. However for some reason it had no water in it; lots of hand on hip action whilst figuring out the problem!

Water for washing hands is collected from rainwater, the water runs down into this drum.

 Some people waiting to see the doctor......

......and the doctor analysing a sample. He was holding up to the the sunlight to help establish the problem.

Sisters! Traditional Congolese hair style which has probably been around for a long, long time (I like to be vague!). Livingstone noted this particular `do` when he explored Congo in the late 1800s. 

Toilets built by Medair with the hospital, the signs on the doors have been painted on by a local artist. We asked for a woman`s sign and a disabled sign....

 I have seen quite a few disabled people here but they are all in home made wheel chairs, I have not seen anyone like this - but perhaps this is the reality in their own home.

 Into the maternity ward...this is the midwife and she was very nice.

The ward for mothers and new-born babies.

 New sister!!

This lady had received a c-section and was recovering - she was preparing to go back home.

The hospital kitchen which is actually patients cooking for other patients. They use the local method which is a low charcoal stove on which they cook rice and pondu - a sort of spinich. It is obviously difficult conditions in which to prepare food for patients but they manage to do it.

Thanks for reading.

A day in the life....

In July we made a large purchase of equipment and fuel from the town and loaded onto a truck to be transported to health clinics which support people displaced by insecurity in the far north east. There are approx 300,000 internally displaced people in the north-east because of the war in the early 2000`s and localised conflicts relating to resources and the LRA group. In reality though, where Pete and I are we do not see any conflict as it quite far away from us and the jungle is so thick it is very hard to move around. Plus, we have UN peacekeepers (from Bangledesh and S America) at the airport and in the town. The town has always been quite stable, even during the war. Pete has made friends with the Bangeldesh soldiers and exchanged his home made mango & ginger chutney for their ice-cream and cake!

We had to made the purchase quickly in the market here as supplies such as fuel were running low (due to a bridge having broken on the main supply route) and this usually means that prices will go up very quickly. In addition, it is likely that the journey will be difficult for the truck with very bumpy roads and lots of mud and potholes to get stuck in.

Here are a few photos from this period:

First task; find suitable truck in town to hire for long voyage. Green or blue?! Yes, I agree, the blue!!! (plus consultation with our qualified mechanic!).

Meeting with suppliers - and their able assistants!             Checking the stock

Employing people to help load the truck

Not sure what is happening here!

Team effort

 Lunch!

 Back at the base....and a snack of cubed pork (and ketchup!).I evidently looked very "branded" that day!! Or like I work in Burger King!

The Medair team

Hello! I hope all is well with you. All is fine here, there was a busy period but this has calmed down this weekend. There are a few aid projects which we give operational support to from the base and like all things they have periods when they are busier than others. As a result though, Pete and I have got to know the staff here really well. Below is a selection of photos of the staff in their different roles.

 Mbaki and Julien: supervisors on a bridge rehabilitation project, which means that they oversea the construction workers and check the work is running on shedule. The construction workers (men and women) are people from the local area and are are all people who are in particular need of work; such as people with large families to support or who live in extreme poverty.

 This is Kasereka and in my team (the logistics team). He is a field driver /mechanic so often drives the vehicles on trips out of the base, usually to transport staff for their work. Here is loading the vehicle with spare parts and drinking water. He also takes a mattress just in case! 

 Manu, a guard at our warehouse, he also works as an aide to the driver on trips.

 Didier, the Head Guard at the base. Pete works with him alot on the infrastructure in the base. He also goes on trips to support project staff and is a good mechanic. He sometimes also represents the other guards if they need more equipment such as waterproofs and warm coats as they do get cold in the night (although to me it is boiling!). Recently Didier, Pete and I went on a trip to the market to purchase the coats for the guards and we also came away with a couple of lovely, colourful shirts for Pete!!

 This is Thomas, he is from France and manages the bridge reconstruction project. The work will mean a better supply route for aid agencies to remote communities, to internally displaced people and health clinics.

 Jon le Bon - he works in the admin & finance office and focuses on HR issues. Here he is presenting the staff elections for a staff representative (see Pete`s last blog entry!)

Some of the logistics team, my desk in in the background. Left to right, Ugwaro, Kaseraka, Didier and Hubert (who Cath has had a nice conversation with on the phone as he now has my old mobile! He said she spoke very good French).

 Another one of Hubert. He has recently been promoted to Assistant Manager and has worked at 3 of the 4 Medair bases. He has alot of knowledge about the organisation and how things work and seems to understand me quite well! On Friday he instructed me to get lots of sleep this weekend. I am very glad he is around! 

 Pete at his desk - with French verbs taped to the wall behind! I have the same, very handy!! (as long as the person talking to you doesn`t mind you swiveling around and studying the wall every now and then!)

 Tony, a mechanic in the garage. He told me the other day that his favourite singer is Shakira so I am thinking how can I get a Shakira tape or CD to him?!

Thomas with Kaserake and Israel; Israel works on the bridge project. Most of the staff are married with families and both Israel and Kaseraka families live in a different town in the region. They have a more annual leave to account for this and fly home to see them for 2 or 3 weeks at a time.

Catherine who works in the admin & finance office. She analysis data from the health project (which provides a response to malaria and gives support to health clinics in terms of delivering medicines).

Pete talking with the driver of our truck making plans.

Our `cover person` Hassan! We always put Medair flags and stickers on the vehicles we use.

Kayumba a local artiste who designs and and paints different signs for us to highlight the work the organisation has carried out. This is one for the entrance to the base.

Finally the view from my window, perhaps I need to cut the plants back, they grow so fast here! The person you can see is Mokendo who is an aide to the driver of our truck. 

Thanks for reading, Lizzie. xx

Rwanda

All set for tourism!!

Lizzie and I just got back from our first R&R and we decided to go to Rwanda and why not? Lizzie’s cousin is currently working out there so it seemed like a great opportunity to visit them and see a new country. Personally I was very excited to get into the Southern Hemisphere for the first time; a whole new half of the planet to visit!! Which after some disappointing research on the exact line, it appears I have been to the S Hemisphere before when I was in Nairobi and did not realise!

We began our journey via 2 small aircraft over two days and flew into Goma on the N Western corner of Rwanda. The views from the plane were amazing on the way into Goma, as you have to fly past an active volcano on the way to landing and you can see the plume and lava trails from past eruptions. And more disturbing is the large amount of aircraft “parked” at the side of the runway. Goma itself is built on volcanic rock and so there is a whole industry built around chipping rocks into smaller ones and as a result the roads look like the surface of the moon. The main street is actually a lava flow with the houses being sunk below the street level; halfway down the road you go down a ramp (the end of the lava) and you are back onto the normal height.

Rwanda by contrast is completely different; as soon as you cross the border you hit tarmac roads and nice grass verges. The “Land of a Thousand Hills” lives up to its reputation and with stunning views of volcanoes and hills we wound our way down towards Kigali to meet up with Lizzie’s cousin.

"Hotel Rwanda"

Some famous Rwandan Dancing

We spent our time in Kigali relaxing and re-charging the batteries thanks to Ben and Laura’s kind hospitality. It is amazing what a hot shower and a washing machine can do.

No holiday is complete without a game of keepy-uppy with a giant beach ball!

Question is, "Who looks better in a rubber ring?" - very manly!

Pub quiz night in Kigali

Lizzie and I decided we wanted to go and see the National Park in the East (Akagera) so we hired a car in Kigali and set out eastwards. It is not too difficult to self drive in Rwanda, the roads are good and there are few turn-offs that you can take. The National Park itself is fairly small as a result of lots of people returning from Uganda after the genocide and being re-homed there.

The Baboon that woke us up at 0500hrs trying to get into our room! We could hear the guard chasing him down the corridor.

There are not as many animals as the big parks in East Africa, but as you are allowed to just turn up in a vehicle and enter the park (for the nominal fee) it is without doubt one of the best 4x4 experiences going. Lizzie and I spent 2 days bombing around the park; and with 2 blown tyres and a close incident with a Water Buffalo herd in the dark, we headed back to the lights of Kigali and the Royal Wedding.

The Topi like to stand on abandoned termite mounds and keep look out.

Zebra keeping an eye out fo each other by looking in opposite directions and resting their heads

Lizzie and I stood by the hippos and crocs, wandering around the lake was probably not the best idea.

Two Fish Eagles

A very tired baboon at the end of the day. I felt the same as we drove past.

Another Baboon

Getting the tyres fixed again, £2 - bargain!

The wedding itself was as expected, but with the added highlight of getting to celebrate at the British High Commissioner’s residence in the evening for Pimms and cocktails.

We then headed out to the West with Lizzie’s cousin et al. All the way to Lake Kivu at Kibuye, this is absolutely stunning here and on par with Lake Como for its beauty. We spent our time swimming in the lake and enjoying a nice cold drink in the bar/ restaurant.

Too much lunch for Lizzie?

Some traditional fishing boats we discovered whilst lost in the bush!

Napoleon's Hat or "Bat" Island

Someone lose at connect four again?

After this we spent a few days heading back up to the border and stayed in Gisenyi for a night before crossing the border for a last evening and meal in Goma. The place we went to was NGO night, so Lizzie and I expecting saw dust on the floor and lots of khaki tipped up a little underdressed as it was quite posh and everyone had their own security detail!! The pizza and bottle of red were lush though.

It is with a small aircraft that we returned back to work. First thing on the agenda was the elections for staff representative, which are still ongoing as democracy here is a process filled with procedures and various challenges – say no more.

The elections were very interesting apparently

Two options here:

1. Ram pen in to back of throat to get out of the rest of the meeting.

2. Alternatively decide on the text Lizzie just sent, "Should we defrost some chicken for dinner?" and grin and bear the rest of the meeting.

Speak soon to all

Pete