Aha, I hear it is cold in Belgium and it is snowing :-) Here it is nice and warm, the tropical sun makes everybody to be in a good mood today. When I arrived in the women’s ward, the patients were dancing for me. A real treat!!

I try to download the pictures on this blog, no idea if it’ll work…..  

I try to visit every discipline systematically and to co-operate a little with each and every one of them. As soon as I arrive at the hospital, they call out 'mzumbu'(= white woman ) welcome! Help us! Come to us...Nurses try to stay around me as much as they can as well and really overwhelm me with their thousand and one questions! I could easily fill up a one year’s time table with all ‘urgent matters’ here. Fortunately, there is the African rhythm…granting me some peace and quiet every now and then.  

I can see things have changed quite a bit over here, compared to last year. Our missions do make a difference (although sometimes the progress seems so small..)
This morning I saw a patient who had suffered a relapse. She was here last year and she recognized me. She sat next to me and told me what had changed in her life over the past year. Last year she gave birth to her 5th child and she regularly came to after-care at the doctor’s and psychologist’s. She’s understood it is vital for her to keep taking her medicine. So far so good! Unfortunately her husband died recently… leading to her quit therapy, hence the relapse and renewed admission. The team is now looking how she can reorganize her life and find the means to take charge of things. Maybe she should be trained to become a seamstress or somethng of that order ...It is nice to see how everyone here is pulling his weight to find a solution! I am sure I will be able to tell you the rest later!

Big hug,
Veronique