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 Tanzania
Trip Report - Colin Casault (Pre-Medical Student) - Aug, 2007:
Tanzanian Pre-medical School Experience
Sumbawanga, Tanzania
My experience in Sumbawanga was definitely eye opening. While I was there, I was exposed to almost all aspects of African medicine and African health issues. Upon arriving in Sumbawanga, I was greeted by nearly every person I met. The Tanzanian people, especially those that I met, are very friendly to foreigners and I would later learn that the medical staff were no different. When I arrived at the hospital, I realized how tiny it really was. There were only about 10 wards, a laboratory, operating theatre, dentist office and an HIV/AIDS clinic. The wards are large, open one room buildings with about 20 – 30 patients each. Each of the ten wards has a purpose male surgical, female surgical, obs/gyn, maternity, quarantine, male septic and so on. Over my time there, I would spend time in each of the wards to learn about African disease and assist however I could. I was constantly challenged by Dr. Hans Ulaya who, on my first day, entrusted me to assist him in an appendectomy. The operating theatre is far from what you would see in a modern hospital. Take everything you know about medicine and throw it back about 50 years and then you’ll have the proper concept of how we were working. There was two machines in the room that actually worked. The first was a vacuum to suction blood, pus and mucus during surgery and the second was a monitor which could read BP, HR, and O2 sat. Nevertheless, sterile technique is stringently adhered to. All of the supplies, including scalpel blades, needles, suturing needles are kept in the best condition. Over my time there, I would spend time in the operating theatre, assisting in surgeries, the laboratory, learning to identify diseases like malaria, TB, HIV, etc, and each of the medical wards to get experience with the most common diseases and procedures.
Accomodations:
I stayed that the Forestway country club during my stay in Sumbawanga. It is a small 6 bedroom inn run by a man named Amir Mitha. It had an attached kitchen, which provided me with my breakfast and dinner each day. The cost was approximately 20,000TZS a night, which also got you breakfast every morning as well. My room was spacious and clean. I had access to satellite television but only three of the twenty two channels were in english. There is also a small pub, called the katavi pub, attached to the hotel for evening entertainment. The hotel is located within 30 minutes walking distance of the hotel. I would only advise walking once you are certain you know the way. Any taxi driver in town will know this hotel, so all you have to say is the name and they will take you there for about 3000TZS(2USD).
Sumbawanga:
It is a relatively small town on the western edges of Tanzania. It is a two day bus ride from Dar Es Salaam which is the only port which you can fly into. You can buy bus tickets to Sumbawanga, which have an evening lay over in Mbeya. While in the town, there are a number of different restaurants and hotels to choose from. There is a disco as well, for those who may be courageous enough enjoy the night life. An internet café is available for about 50 cents American for 30 minutes of time. It is located within 3 minutes walking distance of the hospital. While you do have access to the internet, not all websites are able to be viewed. Sites like Hotmail are difficult to access and may require extra time to view. Most of the people speak a tiny bit of english but are lost when it comes to an active conversation. I would advise all candidates traveling to the region to take an english-swahili dictionary with them to ensure they can interact effectively if they are staying for longer than one month. Also, lonely planet can provide you with a number of hotel listings in each city(Dar Es Salaam, Mbeya and Sumbawanga) to ensure that you are always in good hands.
Tourist Options:
1. Katavi National Park: Within a days drive, you can visit Katavi national park and have the real safari experience. You can view all kinds of indigenous African wild-life here for about 600 – 1000USD depending on how much time you intend on spending there.
2. Local Waterfalls: Within 30 minutes of Sumbawanga, there are a number of waterfalls that you can visit and swim in. Still, you should be cognizant of worms since they are from fresh water springs.
3. Kapili: While I did not visit the Kapili region myself, I did hear that they have five star resorts there so this may also be a consideration if you are looking to stay and have a tourist experience.
Thanks for everything,
Colin Casault
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