Sickness takes over the house

Rebecca and I have been sick for the greater part of the last 3 weeks, due to the fact that we are always around sick children at the orphanage.  I missed a day of teaching at KOC during our second week here due to a bad cold, and then started feeling a little better. Then Rebecca started feeling sick and I got sicker, and then we passed it all around the volunteer house. And the other volunteers are always around sick children also, so the house is a bed of germs and viruses and bacteria, and we just pass it back and forth.

Rebecca went to the medical clinic today, and for about 30,000 TSH (about $19 US) she saw a medical doctor, had blood work completed, and walked out with 4 medications, one of which was like the ZPAC antibiotic we get at home. $19.00!!!!!!!!!  In the duka la dawa (pharmacy) you can purchase many prescription medications without a prescription. We may have even been able to purchase the ZPAC without the doctor, but as it was, we just got it at the medical clinic where they did the exam and the bloodwork. Some (but very few) things are easier here than at home.

At the Foot2Afrika volunteer house, many people have come and gone during our stay here. I am not sure how many people can stay here at one time, and we have not had a full house yet, but there is always turnover, with new people arriving and others leaving. When we arrived, there was a large group of volunteers from Ireland (18 of them), who left and were replaced by a smaller group of 5. Foot2Afrika has a partner organization in Ireland (TVP) and they send many volunteers to Tanzania. This weekend 5 volunteers from Ireland leave, and more will arrive. A brother and sister from Norway depart, and start their Kili climb, followed by safari, while 2 others from the US leave on safari. And of course, Rebecca and I leave Moshi to start our safari. It is with sadness that we end our time here. Hopefully we will all be healthy!