This month my team is located in Mwanza, Tanzania. Mwanza is the second largest city in Tanzania. We will be involved in many different ministry opportunities under our contact, Pastor Paul. This past week our team was brought to two hospitals in Mwanza to love on the sick patients. I wanted to respect the patients’ privacy by refraining from taking photos, so bear with me as I paint a picture with words. J
The first hospital we visited is the fourth best hospital in the nation. The nature of this hospital would absolutely make you think otherwise. Urine covered the floor from the spilt plastic sacks of catheters. Ants were swarming over dropped food and huge cockroaches crawled in the sinks that I used to wash my hands in-without soap. I believe I saw one nurse the two days I was there. The nurses apparently have a break during visitor hours, but I am not so sure that the patient with soiled sheets appreciates their few hours off. Water is not provided by the hospital. Patients rely on visitors to bring them clean drinking water. One patient that I visited held up a Dasani bottle with a few sips of water remaining. He shared that his family and friends live several hours away and that is all he has until they are able to visit, perhaps not for many more days. To be honest, I looked at these patients and I felt like many of them would walk out of the hospital more ill than when they were first admitted. The amount of weight these patients lost in just a few days of being there was unbelievable. One patient with a simple Urinary Tract Infection had spent nearly a year in the hospital. A UTI is something we would fix at home with a simple antibiotic. I was also shocked at the minimal use of IVs. The experience was pretty eye-opening to me.
When I was a sophomore in university I spent six weeks interning as a chaplain at one of the largest hospitals in Arkansas. I remember ministering to the patients by giving morning devotionals over two closed-circuit televisions that were in every room. After that I would visit the patients, all of whom either had a private room or a double room with a thick divider for privacy. In this Tanzanian hospital at least eight patients shared a room with zero privacy. There were certainly no televisions. As a matter of fact the patients had nothing to entertain them- no magazines, books, or anything of that nature.
The second hospital we visited was ranked number two in the nation. The conditions were much the same, however it was cleaner and several more IVs were in use. In this hospital I was brought to the children’s ward where each child shared a twin bed with another child. In one small room 18 children with malaria resided. There were no toys or color other than a simple sheet that parents would bring for the patient. After the children’s ward I was brought to a ward packed with bedridden women. I walked in and immediately knew that this ward was full of women who had miscarried. It was not simply pain on their faces, it was devastation. The two women I came to first were lying in bed together wailing at the loss they had experienced.
I loved having the opportunity to go in and love these people. I loved holding their hands and rubbing their backs. Even though there was a language barrier we came in and brought comfort and encouragement. I truly wish that I had more time with each patient. So much of the World Race is adopting a change in lifestyle. This si just one thing that I can add to the list- I do not have to be in the context of “ministry” to go and love on people. I want to go and listen to people’s stories and read them books- to be a presence of joy and encouragement. Even though the conditions in the States are exponentially better, loneliness and hurt is still prevalent. I desire to go back and continue to be a little light! J
