You... Big Problem

The last few weeks have been so exhausting… the thought of reliving the events in this blog makes me want to take a nap. But I will do my best to share what I’ve been up to.

One of our visitors names in Julie to try to keep things clear, I will refer to the visitor as Julie. When I say Julia, I’m talking about our full time missionary.

In mid September we have to PA (Physician Assistant) students coming to do their medical rotation with us. Julie and Julia have been overseeing this as they are both PA’s themselves. While Julie is here, she and Julia will be spending much of their time looking into the medical community to see if there are possibilities for the PA students to shadow different aspects of health care in Pemba.

Julia’s drivers license was stolen while she was in Brazil and so she is trying not to drive. She was able to finally find a photocopy and requested a new DL, but by the time it got to her mom’s house she didn’t have the time to mail it to Julie. So it will come Wednesday with our second set of visitors. Until then, I’m the official driver.

On Monday we went to IRIS Ministries. IRIS is the big orphanage in town and they also have a medical clinic. We met with a South African (or maybe Australian) doctor and she explained that they see 20 patients each day and also do outreaches to remote communities on Mondays and Thursdays.

It was interesting but I guess it’s kinda what I would expect from a Clinic.  There was a cluster of people just outside the door sitting on a porch. Some with very obvious ailments, such as a misshapen leg and others who you not sure what is wrong. They had two national staff that helped with the bandaging; I think they both want to study medicine to be nurses. The inside was a nice organized space, they were bandaging someone so I didn’t look to closely. But from the other room, I could see drawers of medical supplies… everything put neatly in it’s place.

The afternoon we spent driving all over the villages looking for Maternity Clinics. Maria our house mom was giving directions, but here directions were all based on the way she walks. On a few occasions I wound all over a village to find it and then on the way out we were only two minutes from the road.

The Maternity Clinics were very interesting. They are located in the villages and that is where most locals go for their prenatal care as well as delivery. The first one we went to was constructed of cement blocks, the exterior was nicely painted… the bottom half of the building was peach and the top half white.

A nurse and a helper run this clinic. The nurse was very talkative as Julia explained about the PA students coming and how they want to offer a class for expecting mothers. We were given a tour. We walked in through the double doors and immediately took a right. We were in a hallway that was about 20 feet in length. The hallway had about 4 rooms off of it. The rooms did not have doors, rather the opening was the size of the room and then there was a simple metal framed three-partition screen for privacy. The rooms were very small and each had a very simple metal cot covered by some sort of vinyl or plastic (whatever it was it looked easy to wipe off). One room had a young woman laying on the bed. She was sort of rocking herself side to side, but she was facing the wall and so I couldn’t tell what was wrong.

At the end of the hall there was a room. It had eight simple metal framed beds each with it’s own mosquito net and there was one tv in the middle of the room. I felt horrible as soon as I walked in because the first thought in my mind was that it looked like how the movies portray old Phyc wards in scary movies. I’m not really sure why I thought that other than that it was so simple, plain and white… with the exception of the bug nets.

In this room there were three woman and their new born babies. All the babies were wrapped in colorful capalanas (common fabric, usually with beautiful designs). One woman was at the bed right by the door and she positioned her baby so we could see. The baby had been born yesterday!

We went back out the same way we came in and she pointed to a room that was an office and another room that was for prenatal exams and such. The nurse told us that the rooms off the hallway were for delivery. It was kind of surprising though because the young lady I saw didn’t appear to have a big baby bump. But it didn’t feel right to ask.

This woman was very excited about our classes for new mothers saying that they try to teach them the importance of things like Iron and even good hygiene. I can’t remember the statistics right now but I know that many babies die before they reach the age of two in Mozambique.

We ask about medication during labor and the nurse tells us that it is only provided if the mother can pay for it. I’m not sure of the cost, but I would guess that many women go without. I also highly doubt they are administering epidurals in these Clinics, but I didn’t think to ask what the medication was.

We wound our way to another clinic. This one I had to squeeze our truck between a fence and a jagged rock. My depth perception for the left side of the car is so off, being that we drive on the right. And the mirror is messed up on the left, so I’ve never really figured out my bearings. So I skimmed the fence and Julia had to get out and help me. We arrive at the Clinic and while the first one made me think of a Phyc ward, this one… was scary. The outside had once been painted blue and white but the years have gathered layer after layer of dirt… or maybe it was chipped paint. This clinic also had a massive tree growing about three feet from it’s door. So rather than walking up steps, we had to maneuver our way up tree roots.

The inside was just as dark as the outside. But it was pretty much the same thing as the first Clinic, minus the white walls. We only walked in and walked out. When we got back into the car, we went out a different way and easily found the road. Well we found it but we couldn’t get to it. The main streets are lined with these big cement water ways for when it rains. Some of them you can drive over and some of them the angle is to sharp to drive over, so there are footbridges. Well this one just has a footbridge and when I look left and look right, all I see are footbridges. There are some kids around us and I can tell they are thinking what is this girl doing.

Maria tells me to go left and so I wind my way around electricity pole and people, all while I have fences and homes a few feet to my left and the cement drop off to my right. I think eventually we will hit the road and there won’t be a water drain, but I’m not really sure. So we drive for a few minutes and sure enough we are able to get back on the road.

We are now driving along the Indian ocean (that’s so fun to say!) I notice the road splits and so I go to the left, but Maria motions for me to go to the right. So I break a little and then realize no I’m going the right way, it’s then that I look up I see the police about 50 feet up ahead. So I get nervous and try to start driving.

Our truck is diesel and it’s stick. So it’s powerful and I have to shift with my left hand. A few times each day I lose 3^rd gear. I’m not sure where it goes, I think that is what I’m shifting to but I either end up in 1^st or 5^th … both gears give the truck a good shake and it sounds like I am revving the engine. I try to play it cool and shift into 3^rd gear, but I miss. And I draw a lot of attention from the police.

In Mozambique the police stand on both sides of the street and just motion you to pull over if they want you to. Sometimes they have a reason, but often it’s just to check to make sure you have all the required papers. My heart sinks a little and my stomach is instantly full of butterflies as the police officer mentions for me to pull over.

Julia says that she isn’t going to speak Portuguese unless she needs to and just to do my best. I put down my window and he just starts talking. I give the most innocent smile I have and say in Portuguese, “I only speak a little Portuguese.” I offer him my International Drivers License and he says something I don’t understand. Julia says quietly give him the car documentation. So I pull down the sun visor and hand him whatever papers are there and he takes what he needs.

He walks around the car looking at our registration and who knows what else. He comes back and says…  “You, Big problem.” And more Portuguese, Julia again in a little voice says give him your passport. I had that to him and his mood just changes. He becomes happy and starts making jokes… even Maria in the passenger seat is laughing. He hands me all my papers back and tells me to have a good afternoon.

As we pull away, Julia asks Maria to repeat what the police officer said. Laughing she talks to Julia in Portuguese and then Julia tells me that he said that he wanted to marry me!

We go to one more Maternity Clinic. This one is by far the easiest to get to, which I’m happy because I’m not sure how much more driving my stress level can take today! This Clinic looks fairly new, it’s all white inside and out. When it comes down to it all three clinics were pretty much the same, the difference was just how clean the space felt. There is one thing at this Clinic that strikes me as odd. When we are in the delivery room, which is much bigger than at the first clinic and it’s full of equipment. I look near the door and I see two pairs of white rain boots. My gut reaction is that it’s because of the blood during delivery and it freaks me out… a bit later, either my common sense or desire for justification jumps in and I decide the boots must be for clean up. But it’s an image that will stay in my mind for a long time.

Driving is exhausting but it’s so interesting to see some of these places that I’ve never seen before. It’s also fun to meet people, like the first nurse, and see their passion for what they are doing as well as their desire to help people.

I later found out that Maria, had six children and two of her daughters died in child birth in the clinic we visited. One of the babies was still born and the other died a few weeks after.

Days like these are so full of emotions, and this was just one day. While it’s hard seeing some things, I can’t say enough how happy I am to be in Mozambique!