[Mb-civic] From Bobbie's Friend's Daughter in Africa - Asante Sana, Tanzania

[Mark J.Petracca]

This is a rather moving account of life in Africa from a 23-year old 
daughter of my wife's best friend. MP

Subject: Asante Sana

well, it is my second consecutive Thanksgiving in Tanzania today. There 
is a big thanksgiving dinner that some of the american volunteers here 
are putting on with over 40 people coming! But, much more than last 
year I am feeling the distance, and really missing home and wanting to 
be with my family. But, for some damn reason, the universe keeps 
putting me here for this holiday. Oviously, i need help really 
understanding all that i have to be thankful for.
 
Turns out, ironically, that I actually have malaria. About two days ago 
I started feeling really nauseous and achey. Then, at night in bed I 
rollercoastered through night sweats and chills. Yesterday I had a 
meeting to discuss the various theft probelms we are having at the 
Tumaini Center with bikes and spare parts, and right in the middle of 
trying to decide what kind of policy we should implement, I had to say 
"Sorry, I am listening...I just...need...to put my head down for a 
bit".  And it was all down hill from there. you can't believe the 
nasuea and dizziness!
 
I thought maybe I had an amoebo because (i promise - i wont go into 
all the details of this reationalization ;)  mostly, i just havent been 
here for too long and it just seemed strange that i would get malaria 
so quickly, so Gemma, the woman who runs the school out here where I 
stay, took me around 9pm last night to a small dispensary that she knew 
was going to be open. It was REALLY small, and just on the border of 
the slum area here in Arusha. Sitting, waiting for the doctor, there 
were about 5 other people in there - a mother and four children - also 
waiting to see the doctor - most of which also had malaria, one had a 
stomach amoeba. The differences between us - I was white. They were 
black. When the doctor told me the charges - (this is after a big 
fiasco of trying to figure out what medication  'CEMENTA' was with the 
pharmacist??...turns out this was how he spelled my name!! definitely 
a first)
 
Anyway, total for the consultation, the blood test and the medication 
that would make me feel better in two days (supposedly) was 1,800 
shillings!! (about $1.50) And I laughed in disbelief, considering a 
month ago I got a urine test in Chicago and was charged $141!  Most of 
the other people in the clinic though begged for a reduction. What is 
even more distressing is that the majority of the people here cannot 
afford any of it - the consultaion, the blood test, and especially the 
medicine. Nor can they afford the bed nets just to keep the mosquitos 
off of them at night. and when the rains come at this time of year, the 
mosquitos are thick.
 
 I had heard lots about malaria before this trip, but it seems much 
more in my face now - quite literally i suppose!. When i first got 
here, two of the students in the bicycle program had malaria - and they 
refused to go home! they would rather be at class, despite the 
dizziness and nausea. That is probably because most them are coming 
from homes where one or both of their parents have died (hiv or malaria 
most likely - probably a combination of the two), they are taking care 
of younger siblings or living with extended family members and are 
often abused. Most have also been out of school for at least 2 years 
because they couldn't afford the secondary school fees - they are so 
eager to learn and so badly wanting to be in school, they don't want to 
miss a single second! Because the are on full-spnnsorship at our 
program, they are worried that it might 'go away'. they even are 
excited about their math classes! it is amazing - the gratitude and 
eagerness to be able to be in school... and here I am, with a pretty 
low-count malaria - needing to put my head down in the middle of a 
meeting!
 
So - today I am thankful to have been born in a country that has been 
able afford to keep a disease like malaria nonexistent - a disease that 
kills over 3 million kids per year, and many mothers and fathers. I am 
thankful  that no one in my family or any of my close friends have ever 
had malaria - and that i never had to worry about anyone I loved 
getting it and maybe dying of it.  And thankful I have had the chance 
to go to amazing schools, and had the security of knowing no matter 
what i would always be able to stay at school. And I am thankful for 
the opportunity to be here now, and to be able to see and to to try to 
understand how these things are affecting people who weren't as lucky 
to have been born in country like mine.
 
 Sorry about the soap-boxy long email. lets blame it on the 'sulphadar' 
medicine i just pounded. i think it is doing weird things to my brain. 
i had the most lucid dreams last night about pyrex cookware and jenny 
dubarow, a girl i went to grade school with. very odd.
 
anyway, i am missing you all! and thinking about you a lot today. 
 
All my love,
 
Sam
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