Tancan 2013 Medical Mission

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Saturday, August 17^th, 2013



Breakfast with the elderly, its painting time and Songea market shopping…..







Today we got some much needed rest and social bonding time. We headed off to the St. Norbert’s Church next to the clinic where we were greeted by the elderly of the Songea community. They were wearing the baseball caps and Canadian pins they received from the clinic the day before. We served the elderly breakfast where they wanted 3 to 4 teaspoons of sugar in their tea. That’s a lot of sugar!!!! They are just as sugar crazy as the children. Their sweet-tooth may partly be because they have a lot of sugarcane. They can never have too many sweets. That may partly be a reason why their teeth are so bad (the sugar rotting their teeth and the lack of tooth brushing). In Tanzania, if a cavity is found in an individual’s tooth it is more likely to be pulled out than filled in. You only receive two sets of teeth in your lifetime, so trying to keep your teeth as healthy and clean as possible is very important. We tried to teach the Tanzanian people about dental care but some addictions can never change.







After serving the elderly breakfast, we each got the opportunity to sit down and speak with the elderly of the community over breakfast. Fran, Renata and I, sat outside because the dining room was filled. One of the elderly joined our table. We tried to practice the limited Swahili that we knew. From what I could understand, she was very grateful for the help we were giving and welcomed us to Songea.







We learned about the hardships that the elderly faced, about their chronic aches and pains and how grateful they are for the magic pill (Aspirin, Tylenol, Advil) that took away their pain. They told us stories, about the difficulty of buying food to feed the many members of their families. They are grateful to Chalice for helping provide education, food, and medicine for their families. They thanked us by lying on the ground, wiggling their tongues, and making the sound with their mouths. It was definitely a great experience speaking with the elderly and learning about their culture and stories.







After breakfast, the Canadian team headed off to the clinic where we were asked to paint a mural on the wall of the maternity building. When we got to the clinic we were unknowingly recruited to paint an additional four rooms. We were hard at work painting the mural at the front entrance, a children’s room, the HIV testing room, the pharmacy, and the supply room.







I volunteered as one of the Creative cats of the group, even though I do not have much artistic and drawing experience. I drew two hot air balloons, the wording on the hall mural, and the sunflowers in the supply room. Colleen was in charge of the children’s room, where they painted many African animals heading towards Noah’s arc. Renata was in charge of drawing the HIV testing room where she used her artistic talent to draw the HIV methods of transmission (through sperm, placenta, injection).







We definitely did not think that we would finish the work in the amount of time that we had but with great teamwork and dedication we finished the majority of the murals. Tomorrow, we will just have to finish some minor touchups (lettering, highlighting).







After a creative day of painting, the group headed of the Songea market, with brothers from the seminary as our guides. We were supposed to stop over at the hospital for a guided tour but unfortunately there was no time in the schedule. It would have been nice to see their diagnostic imaging department. Oh there is always next year ;-)







Our guide Xavier took us to the local market where the locals buy fresh produce and spices. There was also a lot of clothing shops selling used clothing from oversees. I ended up buying this scarf for 8500 Tanzanian Schillings and a bag (mfuko) for 15 000 Tanzanian Schillings.







During our shopping, Renata, Monica, Colleen and I had a sudden need to use the bathroom. It was quite the adventure finding a washroom. Brother Xavier took us to the cathedral, but the washroom was locked. We they ventured out and found a sketchy bathroom at the back of the cathedral. It was basically a hole in the ground with two floor boards on either side of the hole. The room was so dark that you needed to leave the bathroom door open to see. Luckily, I only needed to do number 1. I am not sure what people have to do if they need to do number 2.







After our much needed washroom break brother Xavier took us to a section of the market where Maasai were selling jewellery. Renata bought a Maasai bracelet and a set of earrings to go along with the scarf she bought.







At 6:00 p.m. the entire chalice team met back at the cathedral. We said goodbye and thanked brother Xavier and the rest of the brothers for helping us navigate the market. Then we headed back to the Inn for dinner, prayer and much needed sleep.

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