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Wednesdays at Uzima Mission Clinic is baby’s day. It’s the one day of the week mothers from the surrounding villages can come and have their newborns weighed, immunised, and can be counselled for infant cares and dietary recommendation. Considering my heart for African babies, I was more than happy to get involved.

The routine was pretty straightforward. I’d attempt to call out the mother’s name (African names are really hard to pronounce) and after a few blank looks and numerous reattempts to pronounce the name correctly someone would eventually come forward with a baby in hand. From there it’s a simple case of putting the little bubba on the scales, documenting the weight, and plotting the child’s progress on a graph. After that the infant receives their immunisations. It was my first experience in vaccinating infants as young as 3 months. The infant’s reactions varied. Some weren’t fazed whereas others would cry and cry and cry. This process of weighing and vaccinating usually begins at eight in the morning and runs on until late in the day, but I had arranged to meet someone who was going to take me into Dar so I could begin my reconnaissance.

Dr Joel had arranged for a man named Karume to take me to some existing orphanages in and around the Dar es Salaam area and also to the Department of Child Services and Social Welfare in the city centre. Samuel, the young American lad, wanted a break from the clinic and decided to accompany us on the trip.

I have to say today was a great step forward in gaining a better understanding and insight into the processes involved in the establishment of a babies home here in Tanzania. Initially I was a little apprehensive because I know from past experience that trying to make any headway in Africa, particularly involving any form of bureaucracy can take a lot of time. However, today wasn’t the case. Karume really understood my heart and was so helpful to me today. Without him I would still be at square one.

The first stop was quite a large a mission that accommodated infants and children up to the age of seven. Beyond the age of seven they are either fostered out or sent to boarding school. A lady named Anne-Maria was there to meet us and she gave us a comprehensive tour of the mission. By the time we got there the infants were having a siesta, so we tiptoed in and around the little cots that were neatly laid out in the rooms whilst discussing all things to do with orphanages. The whole time I asked many questions, Karume translated Kiswahili where needed, and Sam offered to be my scribe, writing down almost everything that was said. I got a lot of useful information about how babies commonly arrive at such places. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Department of Social Welfare act as a middle-man between the children’s homes and the hospitals, police, and the people of Tanzania. If a baby is abandoned either at hospital or in a public place then the Department of Social Welfare are notified who then get in contact with organisations who are registered to care for such infants and children. Anne-Maria spoke of how some of infants arrived to the mission and most were rather distressing.

I forgot to ask how many infants and children they had at present, but she did say they had about 45 staff, ranging from cooks to carers to admin staff, which gives you some idea of the size of this place. There were a large number of cots, a lot more than that of the baby’s homes I have visited in Kampala and Jinja in Uganda.

I have also noticed that the Tanzanian’s seem to have a better grip on building construction than the Ugandan’s do, particularly the finishings and finer details. I have to say it was probably the nicest facility I have seen to date. The rooms were clean and tidy and the place seemed to breathe life.

After visiting the mission we headed into the city centre to talk to the folk at the Department of Child Services. We spent a good 40 minutes crammed in dalla-dalla’s during the middle of the day. Although it was cramped and insanely hot in these buses, I didn’t care too much because this is the Africa I love. It’s nice change to experience life through a different culture. It sometimes makes me feel that the culture we have in Australia is sterile by comparison.

Anyways, we made it to the DoCS. We took the elevator to the 5^th floor and spoke briefly with a woman who was working for the Department. Unfortunately the person we needed to see regarding the establishment of a children’s home wasn’t available, so we’ll have to go back on Monday when she’s back in the office. The woman gave me a lot of printed documents, which covered every legal issue for both establishing a home here and fostering children out both nationally and internationally. I have already read through the docs pertaining to the national guidelines for the establishment and management of a children’s home and will come loaded with questions when I return to the office on Monday. I’ve already started thinking about the work that needs to be done when I return to Brisbane, and it’s a lot.

On the way out Sam was keen to take the stairs. When we got to the bottom Karume explained to us that taking the stairs a good habit to get into due to the numerous power outages in Dar. Probably a good thing he mentioned that to us after we got out of the elevator and not whilst in it.

As I type this I’m gazing out at the palm trees swaying in the easterly ocean breeze while listening to the sounds of small children running around, laughing and speaking in Kiswahili. It’s about four in the afternoon and I absolutely adore this time of day in Africa. The hues are so much more vivid between the hours of four and six in the evening than at any other time of the day. Even in Australia you don’t get colours that are as saturated are they are here. It’s times like this where I can kick back and just enjoy being back in Africa.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 15th, 2010 at 7:46 pm and is filed under Ponderings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.