Travel report in Tanzania
July 15th, 2021 - "What is Volunteering? Know yourself, leave a trace. Rukwa is a very poor region, there are no elderly people, a region of children without wise men, Joice, a journalist from Dar, tells me. On the plane, we share seats like sisters on a couch. The twin-engine aircraft lands at Mbeya; from above it looks like a city of white roofs, they're made of sheet metal, because hail kills here. Huts, barefoot youths, wooden plows carried by children pass by along the highway. The women cook on the grounds; infants with woolen hats in the sun in plastic buckets admire them. The shadows of the few trees protect the livestock and people in clean Sunday clothes from the heat. Mvimwa Monastery is a health oasis for 20.000 souls. Only a few speak English, only one Italian, but we communicate, we are human, non-verbal language is universal. At the Dispensary Dr. Tanganika teaches us the African-time with which Henry was born with the invaluable help of the students. Out in the villages they give birth alone, without assistance, many die, in the monastery cemetery we see too many mothers of the past. Some have never seen a Caucasian in a surgical suit, the children are crying, we look like aliens, but we bring candy and so they start playing and smiling. That smile is worth all the effort."
Dr. De Luca Cristiana
Physician in specialist training
Area of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
