I’ve just come back from a full day with Patrick’s trachoma research and education team. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so dusty. Nine of us crammed into the KCCO jeep and headed out to Masai villages to examine children’s eyes and take swabs from all the kids aged 1-9 in two village areas.
It was a fantastic and fascinating day. We split into two teams and walked from house to house through dry corn fields and along narrow dusty paths. I had the best job. Not only did I get to sterilize the ophthalmic nurse’s hands, but I was the one who got to give the kids pipi (sweets) after they had their eyes checked and swabbed. Since this involved flipping the eyelids to check for trachoma, some kids weren’t too happy about it.
Most of the kids had English names and there was even a Brenda! (like my sister) One little chap was called Manager, and, as Odilia, the ophthalmic nurse, put it, “If Manager cries, they’ll all cry." .... And they did. But all parents were happy to have the team come and check the children.
Because these places were seriously off the beaten track, we needed both a guide to help us bounce down the very rocky roads and also the help of village elders to guide us from house to house. It’s a very poor area – unlike what I’ve seen around Moshi or up Mount Kilimanjaro. The Masai like to live close to their cattle and the flies help spread trachoma. But I’m pleased to say that today, after dozens of swabs, we didn’t find a single case in that area, so I assume that the education about face washing, hygiene and latrines is working.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) I’ll rejoin the Childhood Blindness Workshop. Monday’s session from 9-5 was brilliant. There are program people and ophthalmologists here from Cambodia, Nepal, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and of course Tanzania.
