Looking back at the 1st trip to Tanzania this year

High above Tanzania from the window of our plane we look at the beautiful country that we leave again. It is beautifully green. From this perspective, we look back to a successful mission!

We have been able to help most patients who were selected to undergo more specialized operations. With our surgical / orthopedic specialist team they could be treated in Sengerema. Otherwise they would have had to go further away to another hospital. The costs for the treatment would then be much higher, the journey longer and more expensive.

We have received a lot of support around and during this mission. The Slingerland Hospital in the Netherlands and in particular the group of surgeons. They enable a team to go to Sengerema twice a year, together with accompanying material that is no longer needed in the Netherlands, which is still very useful in Sengerema.

Sister Marie Jose of Sengerema Hospital made sure that we had accommodation and access to the hospital. The experience she brings and the knowledge of the impossibilities she overcomes to arrange the care for all kinds of groups. together with Hilde who took care of all things bureaucratic, they have done a decent selection of the potential patients, so we could start our mission energetically. Hilde was also very involved and thought solution-oriented. She has a fresh outlook and is communicatively strong, through her Swahili knowledge, but also through her engaging enthusiasm and the constant disarming laughter.

We have mentioned the operating team before. Almost every operation involved a team that allowed each other and us to function well.

The conductor of the operating room squad: Stephen did well again! Also the rest of the staff, such as the nurses in the departments and especially at the IC, made sure that the departments functioned well. The physiotherapy, which is actually a rehabilitation department, ensures that the right patients are operated and that the follow-up treatment goes well.

From Krijnen Medical we had, in addition to textile caps, a headlamp on batteries. Fortunately, there was no power outage of this mission, but a very nice back-up for the future. The 2 omnitracts do not fit into the current autoclave, but that will soon be resolved with the commissioning of the new sterilization department with a large autoclave.

There are now 2 ERBE diathermy devices, one from the company and the other from the Alrijne Hospital. They are still doing fine!

For the aftercare we had, thanks to Louise's father, a sufficient stock of painkillers at our disposal. This has prevented a lot of pain for the patients we have been working on!

Of course there have been many more contributions. We will probably forget a few more. But it is a fantastic feeling to experience so much support.