The Visits to Idete and Idunda

Birdie has Tourista today, so I am more or less on my own.  She’ll need to work to catch up on the blog entries.

First today, then yesterday. 

Not too much going on now.  I will have lunch with our friend Beate, leaving for her home in Germany after nearly two years here.  She will take a job as therapist and nurse at home.  If Birdie is still under the weather, Kent Olson (no relation) and I will go for dinner.  Because she isn’t feeling well we rescheduled having the group here for dinner.

The group from Incarnation is supposed to go to Ruaha, however, their bus had to be repaired so they will be delayed.  This is Africa (TIA).

The Lake Park people have a well-deserved but short break today after a grueling day yesterday going to Idete and Idunda.  More on that soon.

A young man arrived here about 10:30 AM looking for Dennis about some employment leads.  He has finished school (good grades, I might add) in agricultural studies, so I hope there will be something available.  His English is much, much better than my Swahili, but Dennis will “be da man” for him.

Yesterday.

Planned to leave yesterday morning at 8 AM, sharp. 

August 2012

Left at 9:30 AM, dull.  Oh well.  TIA.  We arrived uneventfully in Idete, if later than anticipated.  The truck was unloaded with the grateful help of Ideteans.  Of course, they still preferred to be paid.  (Dennis took care of that.) 

August 2013

Idete has a very nice, extremely nice Dispensary.  The equipment Lake Park brought tops it off.  Several of the rooms were outfitted with beds and mattresses.  The medicines were put onto the new shelves.

Lake Park Lutheran Church

One thing I recalled from previous visits.  The door to the choo (john) is narrow and short.  Well, Tanzanians are narrow for the most part too.  And short.  I got in, exhaling and sucking the belly in, camera dangling in the way.  Yes, of course I got out!  It just wasn’t easy.  (The camera thing, certainly.)  The dispensary has marvelous new choos, but so far the water isn’t connected.  They are digging a well.  Also, all the doors in the dispensary are narrow.  No problem.  The guys took the headboards and footboards off.  The beds went in fine sideways.  Even the 10-ton delivery bed went through on its side.  Getting a patient out or the ward on any kid of bed, stretcher or gurney will be a trick.  My hope is that future dispensaries will have some double door arrangement, both for getting equipment in and ill or pregnant Tanzanians out.

Now we were in a rush to leave.  But wait!  “You have to have tea!”  Of course we did!  We left Idete at 12:50 for Idunda.

“What is the rush?” you might ask.  The roads are treacherous in the daytime.  We have close to 12 hours of daylight in Tanzania all year round, so it is dark at 7:30.  We arrived at Idunda at 12:50 PM.  We only had soft goods and medications for Idunda but even so we had to carry some stuff on the roof.  The truck could not go beyond Idete.  That should give you a clue about the roads to Idunda, mountainous, narrow, dirt, sometimes muddy with many switchbacks.  “Oh, look across the valley!  That’s where we were (or will be).”  There are sheer drops off the road.  I kept thinking, “Yeah, yeah.  I’ve done this.”  Didn’t like it though.  And humility is a fine attribute to maintain about driving.

This beautiful view tells why driving is tough

Unloading was uneventful.  Except that all the goods needed to be carried a quarter mile to the dispensary, crossing a little brook and up a hill.  They have completed the nurse residence now and it looks very fine.  The Idundans are now collecting rocks to add on to the dispensary building.  This is a community project, so among the many people there were the village chairman, Pastor Letson Chusy and the congregation’s chairman too.  I saw old friends and of course new.  One I will tell about below, named Hekaluni (means Temple in Swahili) Kikoti (means Olson in Swahili; or perhaps Johnson – it’s a common name).

Idunda Dispensary

Completed nurse residence

So, after standing around at the dispensary for a while, granted, a couple wazungu were helping with inventory, we prepared to go.  Yes, naturally we were in a rush.  But wait!  “We have to have tea!”  Of course we do.  This time, it was rice, plantains, chicken, beans, something in a red sauce and, whaddyahknow, tea.  We left at 4:30 PM.

Whenever we visit the villages, there is surely someone who needs to ride somewhere.  Every seat in the three vehicles was occupied with seven passengers each.  A man begged us to take his elderly mother to the hospital at Kitabaga.  Eventually Dr. Saga, not very happy about it, consented.  We drove with the man up to their hut.  We ended up taking not one but three extras.

The drive was dark and scary, but uneventful and we got home about 7:30 PM.

Hekaluni Kikoti

St. James members take note!

Hekaluni Kikoti and kpo

This young man is a success story.  He grew up in Idunda and when he heard we would be there he decided to come back to his hometown.  He introduced to his elderly mom.  He told me that when he was young(er), his mother could not afford school for him.  He got one of the St. James student scholarships.  He went to Lutangilo for his initial secondary schooling, then form 6 and 7 at Pommern, where he graduated and went all through school on the scholarships that St. James gave him.  He got his bachelors in history and Swahili at Ruaha University in Iringa.  He is now a career teacher.

Hurray for our side!  I will try to put a link into the short interview I did with him telling about himself.

Idunda Pastor Letson Chusy, nurse Gertrude, Idunda Town Chairman, Idunda Congregation Chairman