Village Medicines

I guess, seeing as the point of me being in Africa is to do a medical elective, I had better tell you today about the clinic I was working in while in Engaruka. It was a fairly basic affair. One building with 4 rooms. One for injections and administering medications, one for deliveries, one for storing vaccines and one for consultations. Some days it was busy, like this, antenatal clinic day.

Other days it was quiet, like this.

My favourite day was child clinic day. I sat outside and weighed babies by hanging them under a tree. So much fun.

 Their local doctor had unfortunately passed away last year. A new one has been assigned but no one really seems to know when he will finally appear at the clinic. So it was just us and the nurse holding the forte this week. It seems they have a very low threshold for treating respiratory infections and malaria. Everyone with a cough or headache seems to walk away with antibiotics and antimalarials. The worst thing we saw was three little un-immunised kids come in with severe cases of measles. The nurse had to help us through that one as none of us had ever seen measles before! They looked very poorly. The most unfortunate thing though was that they had sat in the waiting room full of antenates for about 2hrs before we saw them. I hope those mums had all had their immunisations!

Many of the patients coming in had strange little scratch marks and scars all over them - even some of the babies. Apparently this was local medicinal techniques that involve rubbing ash and other things into shallow wounds/scratches. I would have loved to have known what they were supposed to do. We didn't go to any local medicine men but what we did do was go to see the local spiritual healer! Here he is.

He is apparently training his son now to take over so it was he that read our stones for us.

It was a strange little process. He jiggled around a bunch of stones and marbles, had us spit on them, and then  counted them out into little piles. For me, he first looked a little uncomfortable and told me (through Lewis) that he would have to give me something to shower with in order to improve my luck. Great. Not off to the best start! But then he managed to tell me, without having any information about me whatsoever, that I was with a very good man and would be with him for many, many years to come. I was thinking, 'tell me something I don't already know Babu!' So then he managed to get around to mtotos (children) and happily informed me that I would be having three and that I was not challenged at all in the fertility department.

Thanks Babu...so I'm not barren..what about some lotto numbers?

I didn't get any lotto numbers, but he did let us milk some of his goats. Well, 'try' to milk some of his goats.

I'm not sure if I believe in Babu's rock counting magic but it was fun to hear his predictions for everyone. Thinking back to it, I was actually quite nervous about what he was going to say.

Two days later Babu came along to our clinic. Apparently curing pneumonia isn't within his healing repertoire. We sent him home with some penicillin in case the rocks don't work out for him.

Till next time x