It was, once again, the large morning report with a packed conference room and folks at the window trying to listen – we have a larger conference room on our FAME wish list if anyone would like to donate towards it or fund it in one fell swoop. The case we had yesterday of the young man who had been brought in after losing consciousness and who we had ultimately diagnosed with primary generalized epilepsy had been so significant that I felt compelled to make an announcement at the end of report. Had Dr. Dahaye not recognized the posterior shoulder dislocation (not always an easy diagnosis to make as you have to consider it), the patient would have very likely been sent home as a simple syncopal episode, and we would never have been consulted. I wanted everyone at the meeting to know what wonderful teamwork had occurred and that FAME had once again come through in changing someone’s life for the better. It’s these types of successes that make it all worthwhile and you can look back on the next time you’re incredibly frustrated, realizing that you can make a difference.
Clinic was incredibly slow today, as was FAME in general, which must have had something to do again with the planting/harvesting cycle since other than tourism here in Karatu, most everyone are farmers in the Iraqw community. For teatime today, they had made chapati for everyone as they were organizing Valence’s wedding committee (Valence is our IT fundi, or specialist, here at FAME, and critical for the day-to-day operations over the last five years ever since FAME adopted an EMR) and it was a bit of a pre-celebration. Weddings, at least those that I have been involved in here in Karatu, are not funded by the family, but by the couple’s friends, who each contribute to a fund, and it is up to the wedding committee to make sure there are enough donations in the fund. When I had attended a Maasai wedding in Arusha many years ago that was for one my co-workers here at FAME, it was far different as the bride’s family, who lived in the city rather than in a boma, had funded it. It was lovely affair with lots of dancing and singing and tons of food, but there had not been a wedding committee nor donations to pay for the ceremony.
The chapati was a welcome addition to our daily chai – really masala tea that is a mixture of spices and honey – as typically they have only plain white bread to eat in the morning which I have never really understood, though everyone seems love it. Chapati, on the other hand, is so incredibly delicious that it’s impossible to pass it up. A welcome transplant from India and an excellent reminder of India’s contribution to the African continent and the culture here, chapati is a wonderful flatbread that is a staple eaten with any meal of the day. Once I told my team about chapati mayai (mayai is eggs in Kiswahili), it was all over – eggs and cheese rolled into a chapati, which is essentially an African breakfast burrito. That became the standing order for the team from the Lilac Café each morning for the rest of the week.
Lunch on Wednesday is pilau, which is typically everyone’s favorite, though I’m still partial to the rice and beans served most days – it is my favorite food here and I dream of it when I return home each time. Pilau is rice cooked in beef broth with pieces of meat mixed in and is served with a wonderful coleslaw made here. And, of course, it requires huge helpings of pili pili, or their homemade salsa fresca, at least for me. The other plus for today’s lunch was that there were crates of soda on the floor of the canteen for everyone to choose from, again in honor of Valence’s wedding committee selection. Even though we had no input whatsoever in the wedding activities, we were quite happy share in the benefits.
Given how slow it was in clinic today, and the fact that we had not yet visited the African Galleria, now called Safariland, with Jack and Joe, it was decided that we would close shop an hour early and head down the road. The African Galleria (I like that name better than Safariland), which has been a staple of our visits here since it opened twelve or so years ago, is not only a shopping destination for African art and souvenirs, but also for the last five years, has been home to a wonderful restaurant (Ol’ Mesera) that has hosted many meals for our groups. Their collection of both local and international gems is also outstanding and not to be missed whether you’re planning to purchase something or not – Tanzanite, mined only in Tanzania, is an amazing gemstone that turns a brilliant violet-blue when heated, and Tsavorite, mined only in Kenya and Tanzania, is an equally brilliant sparkling green garnet that is even rarer.
Everyone did some shopping today (I picked up a very large rosewood salad bowl), and afterwards, we stopped in the restaurant for some snacks. Their cheese samosas are to die for, and their potato fritters are equally delicious. Had we stayed for dinner, we would have been sharing their skewers of roasted chicken, paneer and beets, and their delicious barbecued short ribs, but that will be for our next visit as we had dinner waiting at home and nothing here is allowed to go to waste.