Its been a week packed with exciting and frustrating activities. Last Monday, I finally started my assignment proper visiting the Hawzen Health Centre Laboartory to review their procedures and facilities. An eye opener into laboratory design, infrastructure, operations and making do with what you have with limited budget.
Tuesday and Wedensday were lost but for a good cause. Went with Delphine (the other GSK Volunteer here) to Mekele to the George Markos clinic to get her stomach ailment checked out. The ride to Mekele was with Yanis, my Earth Institute, Columbia University manager who returned to US on Tuesday. We found the clinic and then our hotel as we needed to stay the night for the tests to be complete.
The clinic was dark, no lights and the laboartory operated under candle power. The day was the end of Ramadan so was in fact a holiday. The clinic was due to open about 4pm, with first patients seen by about 5 pm. Pathology was slow for a number of reasons and so Delphine had to return the following day for further tests. Luckily all turned out to be OK with no parasites, but results from a candle powered lab makes me think quality is an issue.
The short stay enabled us to see abit of Mekele as best as it could be done under the circumstances. A walk around the market showed te typical food and house hold products as well as live animals for sale.
A delayed pick up by a MVP car taking Safa (Columbia PhD student looking at oral health at MVP) enabled us to get back to Hawzen by 4pm.
Thursday turned out to e a great day in the laboarory at Megab where I looked at the laboratory procedures and systems. Limited diagnostics capabilities and no Quality Control and a technician who had taken only 18 days of annual leave in 10 years made her role that more admirable.
On Friday back to Hawzen laboratory for another visit as the organisation of cars, despite being prebooked did not happen and enable a return visit to Megab.
At Gheralta you meet intersting people. Yohaniis a German living in Brazil and in Ethiopia for a climate audit went off for 4 days trekking in the mountains with a guide and 2 donekys, and then a few days later we hear from another traveller Chris who worked for Accenture and who had been a volunteer with Catholic Relief in Kenya, had been a on a 2 day trip with Yohannis in the Danikil. Or the British diplomat or the American who was part of the US delegation to the African Union or the German professor who was Dean of Engineerng at an Ethiopian University. travellers passing through, repeating your story...to every traveller.
Saturday aarrived and we decided to walk the 9 km from Hawzen to Megab, a down hill walk most of the way. The walk in the morning took us almost 2 hrs. Along the way we met with various people walking to or from Megab. Language was a barrier in taling with anyone an dteh call sof ferenje and waves from kids gave some reality that we were in Ethiopia. I still see so many eucalypts I often feel at home in Australia. A limited number of cars or trucks passing, showed that it is tough to get around in the rural areas. Prior to arriving in Megab, a photograph of 2 camels and their drivers left me with abuse and almost a stick beating from one of the drivers. Luckily were accompanied by other travellers who chased him off.
Arriving in Megab we were greeted by ferenje calls and guides wanting to take to churches we had already seen. I wanted to catch up withe the heafd of teh health cenmtere but he had gone to Hawzen.
A walk around the market where everything and anything was on sale in the open, a drink and then we were on the road back to Hawzen.
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