Machame Lutheran Hospital: First Fixes

So now I have gotten into the rhythm of work here at Machame hospital and only really have one week left. Internet is really slow here, and while this is a bad excuse-- it is very difficult to update my blog except when I go into town.

So a little about the hospital: while this is a very small hospital, only about 250 beds, it does have a very good orthopedics department. It also has a large OB/GYN department so there are lots of pregnant ladies waiting around. In this hospital the last month of carrying the baby is free so many Masai women come up the mountain and stay their last month (how they decide its their last month I don't know!). They are all freezing cold because well its COLD on Kilimanjaro and it has been raining like crazy recently.

Camilla and I get up around 6:30 am and have breakfast so that we can walk to church at 7:40 am. Luckily we live in a guest house 5 minutes away on hospital grounds! There they do a quick service and have announcements - all in Swahili but because we go everyday, they know our faces and are much happier to talk with us. Our first fix was a fetal doppler machine (really it just needed batteries, gel and someone to show them how to use it). The OB/GYN nurses are really friendly but we are not sure if they will actually use this machine or if they use any of their infant incubators- all 5 are working.
                                                      Fetal Doppler Machine
                                     
 There are a few local technicians that we have been working with. They can do basic electrical fixes and we often go to them if we need something sawed. Here is Camilla and Wingod, a student engineer, after we put together a new bed.

 On a final note, I have noticed that hospitals in Tanzania, Machame especially, are full of contradictions. On one hand you have instances like below which are what people normally think of hospitals in the developing world.

 Then you have parts of the hospital that are fairly nice-- like this awesome lamp and an organized room full of orthopedic supplies. I have a bunch of other pictures of things we have fixed and will be uploading them soon! Only one more week in Tanzania- wow how time flies!