Zimbabwe, Part IV

Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Well…. Another day with no internet connection. I’m hoping to be able to log on at the office tomorrow to send the notes from the last few days so they can be posted from home. Just finished killing all the bugs in the hotel room and brushing the dirt off the sheets, and reconciling myself to the fact the room is about 100 degrees in room temperature. The A/C has issues, and while there is a wonderful breeze outside, I can’t open the windows, or I’ll have many more small crawling friends sharing my room, some of which bite and can leave diseases I’d rather not be a part of. So now that I’m done complaining, it’s time to sit down, type this note to you, and then get some work done. I’m told by our host that this was once a very nice hotel, but even he is surprised by the changes in just a few months.

We visited the field again today, and met with a team at a hospital, a nursing school, and several home based Caregivers. Again, we were welcomed warmly by all, and were shown around their facilities. Their facilities were very clean, but again lacked many basic supplies. The team there is doing great work with what they have, but are impacted greatly by the lack of basic medicines. It is very draining to have people travel 10 or more kilometers to be seen by a doctor, only to be sent home with no medicines as the hospital has limited to no items. During our meeting with the Caregivers, I was again amazed by their dedication and the level of support they provide the community. Key health workers in the community help train them, and they provide essential care to those that are ill, generally those with HIV or AIDS. Here they run the home based care program a bit differently. They work in community teams, treating all patients within a given area. Each team may have up to 30 patients. Travel is hard as they must travel sometimes as much as 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) by foot to care for a patient or to check in at the rural health clinic or district hospital to get supplies.

Today was our last day in the field. Tomorrow we have more meetings in the office, then back to Harare for a final day and a half of meetings. More to follow about general comments about the visit. Hope everyone is doing well!