As the team
try to settle back into normal life - I would like to share the results
from the mission.
In total
they saw 78 patients during this mission. Of these 17 were brought in from the
Geita region where AngloGold Ashanti operate a gold mine - this is part of
their support for the local community, they also provide transport
and food for the patients and provide the team with transport during the mission
as part of their support of Rafiki.
The other 61
patients come from the community around Mwanza, either from word of mouth or
referral from the Secoue Toure hospital where they may be in patients - as was
the case with two of the most horrific cases I saw; Joseph's burned hands and
Aqualina with the infected breasts.
54
operations were carried out from the 78 people screened by the team; many of
those that did not have an operation had keliod scars which would grow back
without ongoing treatment so were not worthwhile. A few babies with cleft lips
were also denied operations as they were too small. Two of them were put on the
list initially in the hope that they would put weight on during the first
week; unfortunately they did not and their mothers were devastated and
crying when they were sent home; which was pretty tough for Shannon who had to
deal with. However, the Rafiki team do a great job at ensuring that they
will be contacted and come back in the next mission - only 6 months to wait.
There were a few cases that were too "big" for the team; in that
intensive care, blood transfusions, ongoing care, etc maybe required; the one
of these that constantly haunts me is Rashid - the cutest little boy with that
terrible tumour we are hoping we maybe able to arrange something special
for him and a few others.
The
operations carried out were:
- 16 burns
- 20 cleft
lips/palates
- 18 others
I would like to pass on
thanks for support to the following organisations who support with medical
items, in addition to the many donors to Rafiki:
-St John of
God Subiaco Social Outreach - they donated all the consumables and
pharmaceuticals
- d.s.
Medicals - they repair the suction machines and dermatome free of charge every
time the team go to Tanzania. They also sharpen all the surgical scissors free
of charge every time.
-St John of
God Murdoch CSSD department - they sterilised all the drape bundles /
packs
Taka, the
mission co-ordinator advised me that the team would struggle greatly without
this assistance.
Finally,
after the mission I joined my family for the most amazing safari which was
part of our "prize" and was only possible due to very generous
donations by Serena Hotels, &Beyond, TTT Worldwide travel agents, the
Seacliff Hotel in Dar Es Salaam, Qatar Airways and of course Lily & Didier.
The trip was outrageously luxurious and the animals we saw were
incredible. I will leave you with some images - Tanzania is certainly an
amazing country to visit, the people are very warm, proud and keen to progress.
If anyone wants to learn more about my trip or Rafiki feel free to email me at
cbellamymobile@gmail.com.
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| View from our tent at Kirawira Luxury Camp |
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| Can I help you? |
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| Saddle-billed storks |
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| Just waiting for the wildebeest to walk underneath |
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| Great migration.... |
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| Banded Mongoose |
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| Me with Charles, my favourite maitre-d at Kirawira, Serena |
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| Elephants visit the pool while we have breakfast at Four Seasons Serengeti |
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| The fabulous - Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, &Beyond |
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| So many cute cubs at Ngorongoro Crater |
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| Only a few months old |
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| Final sunset in Zanzibar |
