Thursday, October 18, 2007

Today is our last full day in Zimba. Tomorrow we leave around 6 AM to begin the journey home. We plan to leave a couple hours early so we can visit Victoria Falls for about an hour before going to the airport. The Falls are only about 15-20 minutes away from the airport and our flight doesn’t leave until 1:20 PM. Then we start the long flights home.

During chapel service this morning, Mr. Khondowe let other staff know it would be our last day today. He commented on how much he appreciated the assistance the team has been providing, the training and mentoring, and the work on projects. He expressed being surprised and pleased that the team works so hard and is willing to get their hands dirty and do heavy labor. Apparently some other teams he has seen are more comfortable telling other people what to do rather than pitching in and doing the work with the locals.

As we were about to close the chapel service and arrange to allow the hospital staff to shake all our hands and say goodbye, the service was interrupted by a serious medical emergency. The doctors and the nurses raced into action. That crisis was followed almost immediately by another as three burn victims arrived needing immediate attention. All of that occurred before the surgeries that were planned and scheduled for the day. Emotionally, this will be a tough day for the medical portion of the team.

Larry “the taller” and Andy went to the school as planned. They met with the deputy head mistress, interviewed her, toured and recorded several classes and interviewed about 6 teachers. They have nearly 1,000 students attending each day and only 24 teachers. Most classes have 50-70 students and just one teacher – no teacher aids. For the most part, there is only the chalk board to work with. In the upper grades, they study English, math, science, civics, home economics, and a couple of other subjects. They have enough textbooks for 3-5 students to share one book. The challenges to covering the material, making it real, making it relevant, keeping the classroom focused and under control are considerable.

In the afternoon, Larry "the taller" met with Daniel the lab tech to examine results of the second set of water test samples. They had drawn additional samples from two other locations around the hospital. The results for both came back negative, confirming the previous tests this visit. That meant we still could not confirm the efficacy of the filter system we brought with us, but it did mean that their water was safe to use -- at least for the time being. Rainy season which will start in a couple of weeks will likely change that.

Later in the afternoon, Larry "the taller" and Andy met with Mr. Khondowe, Dr. Joan, and missionary Janet to review the hospital's list of priorities, the water and sewer plans Glen H. had developed, the results of our testing this trip, and what the team had been able to accomplish. The meeting was very productive. Mr. Khondowe indicated the hospital executive committee was satisfied with the draft plans Glen had developed and wanted to proceed. We noted a few corrections to be made on the layout of existing and planned buildings and agreed on an alternate location for the drain field because of the lay of the land, but the basic plan seemed sensible to the hospital. We also discussed timing, staging, and availability of materials and expertise. Mr. Khondowe seemed very appreciative of the First Wes efforts.

Dianna continued to work with the burn patients in the afternoon while Dr. Kari and the surgical team dealt with another complicated surgery. The surgery went well but things were worse than expected and the patient and her family had to make tough choices. Although the final decisions probably were life saving for the patient, they had consequences that made Dr. Kari feel bad for the patient -- more 'stuff' that made it a tough day for the medical team.

In the evening, a number of people came by to pray for us before we left or to visit briefly one last time. The mission house was full of people and conversation. And when the guests left, we all scurried about trying to get pack for our early morning departure, trying to tie up loose ends, and set aside things we wanted to leave for particular individuals -- a flash drive, gloves, etc.