Showing posts with label Richard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard. Show all posts

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Fire in the Congo







There aren't a lot of "rain" showerheads in the Congo. In fact, there aren't a lot of showers in the Congo. Mostly, I've enjoyed jungle showers, which involve heating water over fire (even the most hardened traveler prefers warm showers to cold, unless he/she is trying to prove something to him/herself), mixing hot with cold in a large plastic bucket, pouring the water (sparingly, unless you'd like to dash out, naked and soapy, to mix more hot and cold water) over your body, soaping, and rinsing.

It's not bad, actually. The critical bit, you may have discerned, is the heating of the water. Luckily for me, on only one occasion had that step been overlooked by the people charged with the task.

Fire has other uses in the Congo. As can be seen in the second photograph above, it can be used to turn bread into toast. Charcoal braziers are used by many people to cook/heat food, and as may be imagined, open fires can be ... dangerous. See third photo.

Quite a lot of children (and untreated epileptics) in the Congo fall into cooking fires at home, incurring nasty burns, sometimes on more than one occasion. It's tough to see, but amazingly, I never heard so much as a whimper out of any of these kids. [Until the nurses' needles come out ...]

Ace Reporter Ayako Tsujisaka Contemplates A Big Change



Had a bit of fun snapping Ayako and Dr. Richard after our tour of the Rutshuru Hospital operating theater ...

If only I had 10 years to spend getting my medical degree ...



Spent a day a few days ago getting the tour of the MSF hospital in Rutshuru from medical director Dr. Willy (not pictured). The hospital there (about which more later when I have more time) is full-service, from maternity services to trauma treatment. [A day later, given a chance to chase an MSF ambulance, I watched/helped nurse Didier deliver a child burn victim (cooking fires are open, and children are often burned) and three maternity cases to the hospital.]

In this photo is Dr. Richard, who gave us the tour of the hospital's operating theater. I had a chance to imagine myself starring in a medical drama (since a TV offer seems more likely than my getting a medical degree). [Yes, I chose the cap purposely.]