Privat: alles gut in Ifakara

Hier in Ifakara ist alles gut im Moment. Ich habe grossen Spass hier zu sein. Andererseits ist die Lust, über die hiesigen kleinen Erlebnisse und Bekanntschaften zu erzählen, gar nicht so gross. Schlecht, wenn man wenig Neuigkeiten produziert, daran bin aber auch nicht nur ich schuld, sondern auch das Leben hier. Kein Wunder an einem Ort, wo man zwar immer nach den "Neuigkeiten" fragt und die Antwort doch immer nur ein zwar emotional manchmal erstaunlich ernsthaftes, aber doch inhaltlich bescheiden aussagekräftiges (und newswertiges) "gut" oder "sehr gut" ist. Die Forschung selber befindet sich noch immer in der Vorbereitung und was sich nicht schlecht anlässt, wäre doch zu früh zum kommunizieren. Ifakara und die Menschen hier zeigen sich wirklich sonnig. Ein grosses Dankeschön geht an Karin Gross, die mir hier einen ganz wichtigen Kontakt vermittelt hat. Auch ein Dankeschön in der gleichen Kategorie an Elisabeth Rotzetter von Solidarmed. An Lukas geht ein Dankeschön für den regen Austausch. Gefreut habe ich mich auch über Jamie Monson, einer ausgezeichneten Historikerin und an Maia Green, einer ausgezeichneten Ethnologin über diese Region, die beide auf eine Email von mir nicht nur rasch, sondern auch sehr konkret und weiterführend geantwortet haben.

Privat: alles bestens in Ifakara

Liebe Freunde,

Die Busfahrt hierher war eines dieser nicht aussergewöhnlichen Abenteuer. Eine grossartige Reise, aber auch nicht ganz einfach. Belohnt wurde die Fahrt im Höllenbus mit der grossartigen Landschaft, die sich darbot: hier ist nun alles grün und blüht, dass es eine grosse Freude ist.
Mit meinem Kollegen Lukas sitze ich ausgiebig zusammen und wir diskutieren und parlieren produktiv, wenn auch nicht immer nur bezüglich der Forschungsarbeiten.

Wenn ich noch ein bisschen Werbung machen darf: ich war heute mal wieder in der Solidarmed Support Unit hier in Ifakara. Diese unterstützt eine ganze Reihe von spannenden Projekten im Gesundheitssektor hier in Kilombero und nicht zuletzt in Ulanga. http://www.solidarmed.ch/index.php?id=76

privat: morgen geht es weiter nach Ifakara

Morgen Sonntag geht die Reise weiter nach Ifakara. Über DSM gibt es nicht so viel zu berichten, es ist "heiss und staubig" wie hier alle sagen.

Father Medard, Swiss army trained...

This one is colourful, from 1934:
"Father Medard himself has got some Medical Training when servicing as a Sanitary Solider in the Swiss Army during the war. He got a Hospital Training in the town of Bale [Basel]. Moreover the said Fatehr took over the care of the Kibata Leper Camp after the death fo the late Father Werner Huber. He made all the injections himself against Leprosy, Yaws and syphilis and it was never heard that he made any mistakes in the treatment of his people."
Who signed? Father Medard himself.
By the way, and I do not claim this to be representative of the services offered in general, this is what a local Government representative mailed togehther with a copy of Medard's letter to a colleague of his:
"May I suggest that you inform him all patients must be treated irrespective of their religion."

It remains unclear what hase prompted this official to make this comment. In general, i am assured, and have not found much evidence differing from this, that patients in fact were medically treated irrespective of their religion.

Dr. W. Müller, Mission Doctor in Ifakara, 1951-1952

Doctor Müller has not yet featured prominently in my sources on the history of Ifakara's St. Francis Hospital. Today I have found at least some documents telling me, that he was there. It seems he was expected in May 1951, (I have proof of his actual work in October the same year) and he probably has left services again in September 1952.

Many thanks here also to Father Meinhard Inauen, who told me, who might know more about Dr. Müller.

Doktor W. Müller war lange mehr Mysterium denn Person mit einer Stimme. Auch wenn ich noch kein Dokument gefunden habe, das seine Unterschrift trägt, immerhin zeigt sich nun, dass Bischof Edgar Maranta, schon mit ihm als Missionsarzt einen Neubau des Spitals in Ifakara anvisierte.

Here is an extract from the archives:
>"As regards our medical unit in Ifakara I wish to point out that in 1951, when Dr. Mueller arrived, we had the firm intention of building up this place into a medical centre which would comply with regulations and be of a real servie to the district around Ifakara. It became, however, soon apparent that Dr. Mueller would not stay and the plan was therefore abandoned, much to our regret. During next May another doctor, Dr. K. Schoepf, is expected to arrive and will be posted to Ifakara." (Maranta to Director of Medical Services, 28.04.1953).

It might also be important to say, that the Capuchin's were the only Mission that was refused Government grants-in-aid in 1953 due to the lack of services and the location of their services.
Kein Wunder, ein Neustart in Ifakara war 1953 wirklich nötig.

Documents of the day

> Are you interested in a nursing career? Think about it:
(from Tanganyika Territory Medical Dept. Circular No. 41/1951 re Nursing Training for [African] Girls, 1951)
"Nursing is one of the most satisfying careers for girls. The training which is given, in the prevention of sickness, by the promotion of personal and domestic hygiene, the welfare of children, and the care of the sick, is of great value througout a woman's whole life. Whether she devotes her time entriely to the care of her family or continues in general nursing work, she should be a powerful influence among her neighbours with her knowledge of healthy living and the care of children and so can do a very great deal to lessen the burden of ill-health on the community in which she lives."

>And here comes a straightforward answer:
(from a discussion in legislative council, 1937, Question by R.M.Gibbons, reply from the law specialists of the Territory through the Director of Medical Services):
Q6: Can a Native Dresser or a Native Dispenser perform a professional action on an individual without the consent of that individual?
Reply: No, Sir."

Document of the day

For today I have a document for you, from a file I used before in this section. Since there was no electricity today, I could not get new files from the depots, so you will have to live with this extract of "A speach made by Biharamulo African at H.E.'s Coffee Party on 16.02.1950. His Excellency is the then Governour of Tanganiyka Territory, and he is adressed by, do you want to call them: stakeholders?:
"We hope that he will do a great deal during his stay with us in this Territory to develop it in education, social services and agriculture particularly on the side of African communities who are in great meed of such developments. ...most Africans are crying for education - Mass Education - and to sum it up here we are hungry for Higher Education.. Secondly, our land is ... infested with tsetse fly and we need it to be reclaimed in order to get rid of tsetse fly so that we may get a good land for settlement. Thirdly, we require badly several properly placed Maternity Hospitals with qualified Mid-Wives. Lastly, but not least, we erarnestly beg His Excellency to provide this lonely and remote station with a Social Welfare Centre which would release the intolerable conditions which at present are being experienced by the people who live in this minor Settlement. Also a library attached th this Welfare Centre ..."

Document of the day

The document of the day is from a dossier that has been consulted by a an interesting list of researchers, Denise Roth Allen, Walter Bruchhausen, Stacey Langwick or Matthew Bender amongst them. The dossier adresses the training of African women as midwives. The discussions in colonial health services testify to the idea, that intervening in birth practices shall serve as a 'modernizing' instrument . This is what an official wrote in 1950: "Such girls [25 year olds] may not in fact be of much value as midwives, but they will form a nucleaus and a base from which the old tribal conservatism may gradually vanish, giving way to a future service of young midwives."

gelöschter Eintrag / deleted

cleared by COSTECH

I do support the COSTECH research clearance idea: As a researcher you have to submit a research proposal for scrutiny by the Tanzanian scientific community and COSTECH. In my case, and I suppose this is general practice, a quarterly progress report to COSTECH shall make sure that I do not just run away with my research data/results, turning the Tanzanian field into a pure research laboratory.
Now, I am glad to see that my research project is cleared by COSTECH. Thanks to those who supported this process, Yusufu Lawi of UDSM's Department of History and Mr. Mashuhuri at COSTECH.