Mufindi March 2010One year has passed since I wrote my previous report. I had planned to write my report lastautumn but I travelled three times from Tanzania to Finland. First I had my annual leave inJuly-August and I took Vicky and Geoff Fox to Finland. We visited The Kuhmo ChamberMusic Festival and enjoyed ten concerts in two and a half days. In October I travelled back toFinland to see my father who got ill and finally I attended my father´s funeral in January. Myfather was 97 years old when he passed away. My mother is still alive and turned 90 inFebruary.In September 2009 we were lucky to getAnnie Gibbs, a physiotherapist specialized inchildren, to work with us for one month.Hezron who has cerebral palsy lives in theorphanage. Annie worked with him andtaught a house mother, Yasinta, to continuewith his daily exercise. Annie brought awheelchair to Hezron from the UK. It wasquite touching that Hezron, who is a HIV-positive orphan, a handicapped child and thepoorest of the poor in African society gotsuch personal daily care from an experiencedprofessional like Annie. Annie helped manyhandicapped people in the villages as well and we provided walking frames and special shoesfor people.1I have continued my monthly clinic days atMdabulo, Ibwanzi and Luhunga clinics. InIyegeya I see sick people in the simplechurch and usually more than a hundredpeople come to ask for help there. InIkaning´ombe I see patients in the villageoffice. I pay home visits together with JennyPeck and Susan Vinton. On my way toMufindi I buy drugs at Makambakopharmacy, which is a bulk store where I canbuy all drugs at a cheap price. For instance,a tin of 1000 paracetamol tablets for feverand pain only costs about $6.I Mufindi I have quite a substantial minipharmacy in the room where I sleep and off I go with many different bags, onecontaining all drugs needed to treat diarrhea,one having skin ointments, one antibioticsfor children and another antibiotics foradults etc. I had to expand my drug store toinclude drugs for mental disorders, pepticulcer, strong pain of cancer patients, drugs

to treat the heart insufficiency of elderlypeople and so on. I am privileged to havegood colleagues both in Tanzania andFinland who I can consult whenever I feelthe need to do so. What a blessing it is tohave mobile phones working even inremote areas where I can consult my fellowdermatologists and psychiatrists in Finlandor a surgeon working in Iringa.In Finland there are many active womenknitting nice blankets and clothes for babiesand I get a large number of parcels everyyear. I had great fun one day when I collected different items from different parcels makingthe colours of all articles match each other. From now on babies born in Mdabulo, Ibwanziand Luhunga clinic will get a set including a warm blanket, sweater, cap and socks. This timeI took these baby clothing sets to almost fiftybabies who will be born now that it starts tobe cold.In Mufindi we can get high altitudeexcercise when visiting people in theirhomes. We have always village leaders orsecondary school students escorting us andthey know the way across maize fields intothe houses where we should go. We carryalong drugs, dressing material to treatwounds and sometimes blankets and clothesfor people who need help. We are alwayswarmly welcomed to go into the simple houses butwe sometimes have to come out with tears in oureyes due to smoke because the fireplace is usuallyin the middle of the house.In most cases the children can stay at home withtheir parents or grandparents but the families mayneed some help to get school uniforms, beddings orfood. In this picture six year old Margaret is peelingpotatoes with a big knife. She was staying with herold grandmother, who took care of sixgrandchildren and who did not have enough food ormoney to feed the children properly. Margaret had aswollen face and legs, the condition calledkwashiorkor caused by lack of food containingnutritious protein. The girl was taken into theorphanage and she has recovered from malnutritioneven though she is going to need an operationbecause she has some other health problems.2