The Newsletter of the Society of Friends of Mvumi Hospital - May 2001

There was encouraging news from Mvumi. The rains this year look good and there was hope that the harvest would be a good one. While waiting for the harvest to mature, the hunger fund had been started in the hospital to cover the costs of care of children and women who had undergone caesarean section. Although there is a prospect of a reasonable harvest the hunger fund is still a vital support for those in need.

Dr Alison Talbert and Amanda Ormerod who have been running the Overseas Link Committee at Mvumi will be going on leave in the near future. Fortunately, Dr Simon Walton is likely to take over this role until their return. The Overseas Link Committee liaises between Mvumi, the Friends of Mvumi and other grant bodies ensuring a smooth flow of information and supplies between them.

You may remember in the last news letter we appealed for a new treasurer. Peter Spencer has after 10 long years decided to spend a little more of his retirement on himself and family rather than pawing over the books! During his time as treasurer Peter took a very professional pride in sorting out our accounts and filing our returns with the Charity Commissioners the auditors and hands on the role in perfect order to his successor. The Society owes Peter a great debt and we wish him a very happy "retirement". We are delighted to be able to welcome to the committee Hilary Lowe who takes over as treasurer immediately.

Peter hands on the accounts of The Friends of Mvumi in a very healthy state. In his final report to the committee Peter informed us that general donations were up compared to the last five years, although this did include a one off donation of ₤10,000. Donations to the hunger fund have been falling steadily and we hope have fulfilled their purpose. In all he leaves us with a positive bank balance and many major projects planned, or underway in Mvumi, which gives us all a sense of optimism and enthusiasm for the future well being of the hospital.

Many of you will know Dr Scudder by reputation if not in person. Marilyn first started work at Mvumi as a young doctor in the early 1970's. She went back to the USA to train in ophthalmology , returning to Tanzania in 1975 to become one of the first eye consultants at KCMC hospital in Moshi . After nearly 20 years at KCMC she moved to Mvumi in 1994 where she has continued to provide eye care of the highest quality.

Marilyn's energy and dedication have been an inspiration to all around her and her reputation spread far and wide. Many will remember the shiny new 4x4s arriving from Dodoma when parliament was in session, as MPs came to have their eyes tested. Her work encompassed the very latest in laser eye surgery to basic eye care for poor people living in the dry dusty central areas of Tanzania. Marilyn regularly undertook eye "safaris", often for a week or more, visiting a variety of Mission hospitals in Central and South Tanzania. Mvumi has also been an important centre for training ophthalmic assistants and eye nurses and Marilyn has continued the training of students from all over Tanzania, many countries of Africa and even nurses en route to Pakistan!

Marilyn worked ceaselessly at Mvumi, operating for long hours, working her way through mammoth patient lists escaping only periodically to rest with friends or on vacation. Marilyn will be sorely missed at Mvumi for her energy, enthusiasm and sense of humour. But where will Marilyn be spending her retirement? In fact she won't be far away! She is heading north to spend her retirement in Maua, on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro with her friends in the Franciscan Sisters who run Sanya Juu, a leadership training centre. Doubtless her skills as an ophthalmologist will still be in demand. We all wish Marilyn a long and happy retirement and a warm welcome in Mvumi will always be hers.

After so many years of poor harvest due to drought, floods and pests it is a great relief to report that there is hope of a reasonable harvest. The rains started early last year and have continued through the season. In fact, they have persisted longer than they should so that farmers worry that the grain won't ripen or dry through lack of sun. Despite the possibility of an excess of grain in the village, buyers have stayed away because the grain is too wet for long-term storage. This underlines the precarious nature of farming in marginal lands and the tightrope which Mvumi farmers balance each year. On the bright side there is a prospect for a moderately good harvest of millet and maize and a good harvest of peanuts. After the plight of the community for the last few years this at least is a sign of hope and everyone is looking forward to eating some fresh maize.

Simon and Laura Walton and their children Grace and Esther have now taken up residence at Mvumi. The Walton's spent their first six months in Tanzania at language school, but paying several visits to Mvumi, most memorably during the jubilee, to establish themselves and practice their Swahili. The Walton's come from Manchester where Simon was a GP and Laura a teacher. With two young children, Grace aged 2 and Esther 1, they will be very busy. Arriving at the hospital in the middle of the malaria season can't have been easy and their CMS link letter graphically described the situation on the children's ward earlier this year -"48 children admitted over the weekend, nearly all with malaria; 24 were on drips at once; 7 died and that made at least 140 children in the 54 beds". We send Simon, Laura, Grace and Esther our very best wishes and luck for the future.

Allen and Penny Foster were at Mvumi between 1975 and 1985. Allen was with ChristoffelBlindenmission, and headed up the Eye Department as well as doing some general surgery and the Medical Superintendents job for several years. Penny generally filled in, helping out where needed.

Since returning to the UK, Allen has continued with CBM, who initially seconded him to the Institute of Ophthalmology in London where he was teaching Community Eye Health students from many countries, in addition to travelling abroad as Medical Consultant to CBM. He is now based at the London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and latterly has been involved in a worldwide collaboration of WHO, governments and non-governmental organisations which goes by the name of Vision 2020, and aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. Penny is working part-time as a community paediatrician, and as for the 3 children, Johnathan is working for a research company locally, Rachel is doing a post graduate nursing diploma, and Katie is in her first year at Newcastle University.

Hospital attendances fall after termination of Hunger Fund: The Hunger Fund which continued its subsidies for the early part of this year was finally halted about two months ago. After record admissions during the rainy season with an average of 40 admissions to the children's ward per day, attendance fell almost overnight by a dramatic 27% once the subsidies from the Hunger Fund stopped. It is unimaginable that this was due to a sudden drop in the number of sick and undoubtedly reveals the harsh reality that many in Dodoma region cannot afford to pay for health care.

Art show celebrates Mvumi Hospital: Several years ago a group of CMS volunteers visited Mvumi to aid in the refurbishment of the school chapel. Whilst there they painted the Mvumi Mural which is reproduced on the Friends of Mvumi greetings cards. Tim Steward, one of the volunteers, since returning to England has painted a series of pastel drawings and paintings of African children, some of which are based on his experiences at Mvumi. His work will be on exhibition at St Aldates Church, Oxford (opposite Christchurch College) from Tue 15^th May to Sat. 19^th May (10h30 to 16h30). Opening times are extended to 19h30 on the Saturday. A proportion of sales will be donated to the Friends of Mvumi.

New hospital vehicle: The hospital was delighted to receive the donation from the Burkitt legacy which enabled them to purchase a new hospital vehicle. Previously hospital personnel had to beg for lifts to Dodoma to carry out hospital business, but they have now purchased a Nissan 4X4 which will make more efficient use of peoples time and is also an added incentive in recruiting and retaining staff. The arrival of the new vehicle brought to mind this insight written by John Denton of life around Mvumi before people could jump into a car and be in Dodoma within the hour.

"At moments like this I think of old Mazengo standing in the shade of a tree outside our Dodoma office, dressed in a tan loin cloth and shod with sandals made from motor tyres, waiting for me to finish a letter to Welles on the old Royal typewriter. He would fold it into a piece of skin and jam it in the cleft of his long stick and set off at a jog for Mvumi, 25 miles away."

Hopefully with the new hospital vehicle things will be at least as fast!

Security grills for pharmacy: Another donation from Friends of Mvumi has been used to increase hospital security. After theft of a microscope from the Pathology Laboratory and donation of a large amount of drugs by CSSC higher security was essential. The laboratories and the pharmacy have now all been fitted with window grills and security doors, which should keep out even the most determined thieves.

Renovation of nurses hostel toilets: Although a fairly mundane task, anyone who had seen the nurses home toilets would have agreed how necessary their renovation had become! Again with money from the Burkitt legacy the toilets will be thoroughly renovated and work has already begun.

New photocopier: We cannot thank enough the generous bequest from Dr Burkitt, which is enabling so many modest, but necessary improvements in the fabric and facilities of Mvumi Hospital. Just one such addition is the purchase of a new photocopier for the hospital administration. Something we would hardly notice in England, but in Mvumi a real treasure!

Small items: Money for the purchase of bed sheets and security lights has been sent and they will be purchased shortly. New books for the laboratory tehcnicians training school have already been bought and sent.

Renovation of COTC: The Clinical Officers Training School Renovation of the dormitories has been started with money from the Burkitt legacy. However, renovation of the entire complex will be a huge task and we would like to find a major donor to support this. In the meantime, plans have been drawn up and costed. We will break down the costs into manageable lots in case there are churches or individuals who would like to support the rebuilding. If you would like know more and can offer help please contact David@mvumi.org.