No complaining. Ever. Again.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Day Eleven

Daktari Boniface and me in his new pharmacy

Yesterday we closed the clinic and hung a sign on the door to that effect so that people wouldn't arrive expecting to be seen, only to be disappointed today. Still, we were up early so that we would have time to clean up and sort through all the meds and supplies we'll be leaving behind. Dr. Boniface wanted things done a certain way so that's what we did. By the end of the morning we had cleaned out his storage room, set up an exam room, and created a well-stocked and neatly organized pharmacy for him.

The construction team was also successful in completing their goal of building and raising all of the trusses for the roof on the new school building...a monumental accomplishment considering there were no power lifts or cranes involved!

When our work was done, I took a tour of the village. On the way, I passed another group that was working to set up an irrigation project:

...which meant digging a very long ditch this way:

I also passed a woman who was milling maize using a contraption powered by a very loud, very toxic diesel engine:

Of course, I had to get into the act!

Then, it was on into the actual village, where the shopping district looked like this:

You can buy anything here, from flashlights to fabric to soda and candy.

and the road out of town seemed to go on forever:

After my little stroll around the village, I returned to the church where lunch was served...and then we said a tearful good-bye to our friends and staff from the clinic. Both the medical and construction teams felt that there was so much more we could do if only we had more time. Some of us were already planning our next trip to back to Lobosoit!

The afternoon was spent packing up...and enjoying our last few visits to the "cho" and showers. Diane and I decided we needed to track down the zebras nearby so (fearlessly) we took a little trek off the beaten path where we found them hidden among the trees.

After our last supper in camp, we were greeted and thanked again by the village leaders and members of their health committee, including Dr. (Daktari) Boniface. I spoke on behalf of the medical team to thank them for the work they do and for allowing us to be a part of the effort.

Our last night in camp was cold but quiet. I could only think of the children and how cold they must be with only cotton "blankets" for warmth...and of the older folks sleeping on skins on the hard ground with their aching hips and shoulders. While we had enjoyed a full meal of home-baked rolls, pasta, salad and, fruit, they had gone to bed with just milk and "ugali", the equivalent of stiff porridge.

Remind me never to complain again. Ever. About anything.

*

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance,

chaos to order,

confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast,

a house into a home,

a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of our past,

brings peace for today,

and creates a vision for tomorrow."

--Melodie Beattie--

*

Tomorrow, we break camp and head out to Tarangire National Park on safari.

Be still,

Jan