Hot October is here!

As usual we have been very busy.  For the last 3 1/2 weeks we have medical students from the University of Zimbabwe with us.  They have just finishing their 3rd year of 5 years and so don't have a lot of clinical experience so far.  They do 2 clinical rotations in rural areas in their 5 years and so this was their first time "in the bush."  This group had someone we knew--Jonathan Fernades who came in June and July last year during his school holiday to do some clinical experience.  It was nice to have him back again and meet new students, futures doctors in our country.  They left on Wednesday and found out they all passed their end of year exams and now officially 4th year students.  Congrats to them!

Last weekend we had an area youth conference from Friday through Sunday morning.  The church was very full so over 500 youth attended.  We ended the church service on Sunday with 10 baptisms in my pool.

We have a new visitors that arrived on the 6th of October, Amy Heather.  She is nurse from Aukland, New Zealand.  She just finished a 6 month Tropical Diseases course in London and has now joined us for a couple of months of experience.  She is interested in full time mission work in developing countries.  She goes to a church in Auckaland where a missionary who used to work in Zimbabwe, Jill Shaw,  now works.  She put us together.  She hopes to be with us through early December.

On the 11th of October our surgeon from Harare,  Dr. Kundiona and Dr. Kajese joined us with his wife Nokuthaba to be our scrub nurse came and did 9 Major surgeries for us.  They did hernias and a hysterectomy.  Everyone was so happy they had their operations here.  They worked hard from 6:30 a.m. until they left at 6 p.m. to drive back to Harare!  We are so thankful for their willingness to give up  an off day and come and work with us.  Dr. Isala worked with them and is learning to do these surgeries.  We have planned their next visit for December and have started the surgery list already.

This week we started a countrywide program of HIV testing, involving the whole family.  A team of 6 people are going out each day from our hospital for the next 14 days to test people for HIV.  The country wants to determine the need for drugs to treat AIDS in the country.  Our teams have been busy covering 2 schools a day and one night didn't get back until 9 p.m.  Amy has been joining the teams and they have been so happy to have the extra help!  I am sure she is exhausted but she keeps going back for more!

Today we were happy to have a visit from Harare Dawn Rotary club.  They officially came to hand over the Laboratory machines that the Rotary Club in Sebastopol, CA provided for us earlier this year.  We have been working with them and after several months of planning got them to come.  We enjoyed having them here.  One of the members who came is Mr. Makarau, a neurosurgeon in Harare who taught Dr. Isala in medical student, so that was nice.  We enjoyed lunch together before their big ride back to Harare.

On Thursday evening we got our first drops of rain for the season.  We had quite a thunder and lightening storm, which of course blew out our electricity and it is still out tonight (Saturday!)  We are coping with our solar backup and it has been a bit cooler so we hope this is the start of a plentiful rainy season.  Most days it is up to 105 and a low of low 80's!  Hot October, otherwise known as suicide month is here!

 Kathy and the Medical Students and their driver

 Baptisms during the Youth Conference

Surgery day at Chidamoyo with Drs. Kundiona and Kajese

Amy Heather

Don McDonald from Rotary Harare presenting the machine to Kathy

Dr. Isala with her former professor Mr. Makarau from Rotary Harare