Students for International Mission Service (SIMS)

Outlook 2001

Tanzania
Tamara Heibultt
School of Medicine sophomore

A learning experience in Africa

We could hardly believe we had made it. After two 12-hour plane rides, a 15-hour layover spent searching for a lost suitcase, an unexpected four-day delay in the capital city, a long 45-hour train trip across the country, and a five-hour drive over mountainous roads, we had finally reached our destination: Heri Adventist Hospital in Tanzania.

It was here that we would spend the next four weeks volunteering at the hospital, learning a few words in Swahili, getting to know the people and their culture, and adjusting to life in a developing country. We were certainly in for quite a few surprises along the way. It took a little time to get used to reusing gloves and other things that were in short supply, or having rice, beans, and cooked cabbage for meals three times a day every day, or being followed by groups of children shouting “mzungnu, mzungnu” (white person) wherever we went.

By the end of the first day, we found ourselves assisting during surgeries, changing dressings, going on rounds with the doctors, examining patients, and giving immunization shots. We were also able to participate in the daily staff devotions, sing hymns to the patients in the early morning, and become involved with various aspects of the local church.

We learned how great it was to have a pineapple patch in the front yard and a cold Fanta in the village on market day. We learned we could survive without a hot shower and without electricity. We learned about generosity as the Tanzanian nationals—staff and patients alike— took us to visit their homes, laughed at our broken Swahili, taught us about African life, and became our friends.

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