Surgery Update

2nd day in Tanzania. Yesterday we screened patients who possibly could benefit from – and for whom we could safely perform – surgery. Today was the first operating day, so it was early to rise. At 6:00AM at the Lodge, you arise to a quiet pleasantness...

Nursing Day 3

Today was an incredibly special day. Yesterday, we met a beautiful (but tiny) 10-year-old girl during a pediatric clinic we held at a government school. She had an obvious deformity to her chest. When we examined her, we discovered that she also had a very serious...

Titanic Tuesday in Tanzania

  178 Medical and pediatric patients at Kisongo Clinic, pediatric clinic at Azimio school, 8 life changing orthopedic and plastic surgery cases at St Elizabeth hospital, lectures at St E,powerful home visits, the birth of many new donkey ‘equitarians’...

Day 2

I just can’t get the smile off my face! I was last in Arusha 40 years ago and recognize nothing of the small town it was then, but no matter… EVERYTHING makes me smile! There is all the traffic on the new 4-lane road with its dala-dala mini-buses and motorcycle...

Uncharted Territories

  I’m titling this post “Uncharted Territories”. For obvious reasons I am calling it this, because today today was full of “the unexpected and unknown” for me. Having never been to Tanzania and never participating on a medical mission, I was not sure what we’d be...

Home Visits: Eyes and Heart Opened

Today was my first day doing home visits. The purpose of home visits is to check in with people who are HIV positive and find out how they are doing in terms of their medicines, general health and discussing what barriers might exist for them to receive the full...

Jean Dea, MD – Pediatrics

First day in Tanzania and I’ve gone from our beautiful coffee plantation grounds thru breathtaking countryside, past poor neighborhoods to St Elisabeth’s hospital. We were to screen patients for pre op for our surgeons. We were greeted by masses of parents with their...