Two days in Pommern, Tanzania
by Scott Boehm and Andrea Sagen

Here are two first-person accounts of two days in Pommern, Tanzania. Andrea and Scott, the authors, were on the same Global Volunteers team. They each covered one day in the team's daily journal. Even though it seems like every day is the same as it has been since the beginning of time in outback Tanzania, in reality people are being born and dying and struggling and laughing every minute and it's never the same.

By Scott Boehm

“We should have brought a flashlight,” I remarked as Jennifer and I stumbled in the darkness. In the sudden excitement we had forgotten the importance of a powerful torch to guide our Mzungu eyes during these African nights. Barely moments ago Dinas had interrupted our meeting to announce the coming of a newborn at the infirmary. The mother was close to giving birth after four hours of labor. Quite unexpectedly, three of us were chosen to take part in this momentous event. Even more surprising was the sight of my hand being raised when Mary asked who was interested in observing the delivery. I’m not sure who had a stranger look on their face, me or the other volunteers.

Regardless, I now found myself walking with great anticipation towards the infirmary. “What the hell are you doing?” kept running through my head. I had visions of passing out halfway through the delivery. I never even saw “The Miracle of Life” in high school and it is common knowledge among my family and friends that fainting in a medical setting is the norm for me. However, I didn’t even come close to fainting when I received the six shots necessary for this trip. Perhaps I was over my fear. We would know soon enough.

Jennifer and I entered the quiet delivery room with a bit of hesitation. Dinas, an assistant and Andrea were inside with the mother who was laying unclothed on a naked table in the far corner of the room. I partially hid myself behind a thin curtain as I listened to Jennifer ask if it was okay for me to watch. Dinas said it was fine. I’m not sure if she really consulted with the mother of not, but in my case I didn’t think she cared about much except for the obvious pain written all over her face.

We sat down in chairs which were brought in specifically for our use and placed directly across from the mother. She vaguely glanced at us as we sat down. We switched off staring at her and each other with dumbfounded eyes.

“Pole, pole,” Dinas uttered calmly to the mother as she threw up into a small bucket held by the other nurse.

I watched Jennifer’s face cringe as the quiet room echoed noises of expulsion and pain.

Dinas continued to talk with us. She asked us what we did in the United States and what we were studying, and kept what seemed to be absurd small talk going as the mother positioned herself to deliver. Andrea and Jennifer stood up as Dinas felt the mother’s stomach to determine where the head was and how soon it would be until delivery. Suddenly I heard a moan and Andrea’s words, “Is that the head?”

I quickly stood up for a better view. As I arose, I watched the baby pop out and into Dinas’ hands. Covered in blood and brown-caked fluid, the baby was a tiny but well-endowed boy. He had arrived a month early. The tension lessened as we heard him cry and watched him breathe. The blood from his mouth was drained and he was wrapped in a cloth to be weighed after the umbilical cord was cut. Dinas weighed him and Andrea and I tried to figure out the conversion for the records. We used my pen to write 2.2 kg.

Much to our amazement, the mother seemed disinterested in her newborn son...#7. She barely looked at him for a moment and gave him a name with what appeared to be little if any thought.

The afterbirth was surprisingly simple and clean. The table became saturated with blood, but not an incredible amount by any means. Dinas summoned us forward to look at the placenta. After showing us the various parts she sickened us by saying that it is very good to eat. We laughed half-heartedly when she told us that she was only joking. She then dropped the remains in a wastepaper basket.

The mother’s sister came into the room to assist her. She brought a kitanga to wrap around the mother’s waist (to act as a pad to absorb the remaining blood.) It looked like a diaper. Then she wrapped the mother in another kitanga. We watched in total awe as the mother lifted her legs, threw them to the floor, and walked slowly from the table and out the door.

Only in Pommern!

By Andrea Sagen

Finally, the long-awaited first day of our assignments! Our group was split up based on our abilities or interests and in some cases circumstance played the greatest part.

The construction crew consisted of Andrew, Mark, Jennifer, Sarah, Steve and by default (their teacher was absent) Anita and Rene. By all reports everyone worked very hard and discovered muscles they never knew they had.

The secondary school English department was graced by the presence of Scott, Judy and Rachael. (Judy may have found a new calling.) My assignment was different. I was going to work with the medical staff at the village dispensary which serves as the only medical facility within this rural area.

The morning’s work started with Swahili prayers and songs led by various staff members to ask God’s help as we administer care to those in need. After some quick introductions we started rounds to check on the seven patients: a woman who was in labor at seven months gestation, a baby with severe dehydration, a baby with pneumonia, a woman with an infected wound on her leg (that Godlove had just stitched up the previous afternoon), a woman with pneumonia and a man with malaria.

I am struck by the metal cots and stark surroundings which were a far cry from the plush, private hospital rooms we have in the U.S. Although, what can you expect for 300 shillings a day? (about 50 cents in the U.S.) In our own system that wouldn’t even buy the paper cup used to dispense the aspirin.

It is very painful to see people suffering from things that are so easily treated in the U.S. The Pepto-Bismol and Tylenol that we find so readily available at our neighborhood Walgreen’s are as valuable as gold here. Drugs that U.S. doctors hand out by the hundreds are carefully dispensed one dose at a time so that nothing is wasted. Needles and syringe barrels are carefully re-used after boiling to ensure sterilization. Health care workers here do daily battles against parasites and infections that are every bit as dramatic as an episode of E.R. In spite of the limitations of the system they function in, all of the dispensary workers that I have met seem very dedicated to their work, giving what they can to help.

Dinas took me with her on home visits to check on three different patients. I was touched by how grateful they were to have me in their homes. One old woman was upset that she had no food to offer me. It was so moving that this person living in a one room hut with nothing but a mat and a few empty baskets was looking for what she could give to me. The whole experience was so emotionally charged that I was grateful to go back to the house to share my experiences with the team. Their support helps me to deal with these experiences.

We all attended the secondary school debates. Today’s topic was: Tanzania’s monoparty system vs. multi-party system. Sarah and I even had the chance to get up and take part.

Later Mary escorted Jennifer, Rene, Mark, Sarah, Scott and myself to a beautiful waterfall outside the village. Upon our return we had the team meeting and heard life stories from Anita and Steve. After a dinner of potatoes and cauliflower, Harani entertained us with the story of how he came to be engaged to Wayma and later played some guitar music. Afterwards, the group night owls Mary, Jennifer and Scott went to the infamous “Place” for beer and stories of the ever-fascinating German airport.

Now in its 16th year of operation, Global Volunteers is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting intercultural peace and understanding. To that end, Global Volunteers partners with communities in 20 countries and within the United States, sending teams of volunteers to those sites to work alongside local people, serving and learning and, in turn, building a foundation of mutual understanding.

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