Field Trip to the National Tuberculosis Hospital

After two days in “school”, I desperately needed to get out of the classroom. The final straw was being told off for answering a question without putting up my hand. I was looking forward to the field trip to the National Tuberculosis Hospital at Moneni. We were split into four groups so we could interview…

Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Workshop

“The thing I hate about workshops is that they shop work.” Dr Immo, German Technical Assistance, 1982 Mansa Konko, The Gambia. As soon as I found out that MSF had lined me up for a job in Swaziland, I knew I needed to refresh my knowledge of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. This is because Swaziland…

Buganu Festival

Every February, Swazi people gather fallen marula fruit (“emaganu“) to make an alcoholic drink called “buganu“. Marula fruit are the size of large crab apples. As they ripen, they turn from green to creamy yellow. To make the brew, women wash the fruit, peel off the skin and squeeze out the juice (“kuhlabela“). After adding…

Back in the saddle

I like a challenge. Life is more fun when there are new skills to learn and master. My role in Matsapha Clinic is a bit like being a GP. Half the work relates to people suffering from HIV and tuberculosis, the rest is like general practice, but hyped up on steroids. I see more serious…

Bridal Heaven

I suppose in a country where the King has married fourteen wives, I should have expected that weddings are very popular. But I didn’t realise that they would be such big business. Strolling around Manzini at the weekend, I saw half a dozen bridal shops. The shop window mannequins are glorious, displaying wonderful dresses, amazing…

Sunday morning

While working in rural Zambia, I used to enjoy the sight of families walking along the roadside to church on Sunday mornings. Everyone dressed in their best clothes, father in a dark suit several sizes too big, mother holding a large umbrella as a sunshade, and the children often carrying their prayer books and bibles…

It’s been decidedly chilly in clinic this week

Perhaps you’ve heard the expression: “Four seasons in one day”? Yesterday, the weather forecast for Manzini was 22C and snow! The photograph above shows an electric bar heater in the immunisation room. I hope the nurses didn’t leave it there; you can see the infant weighing scale just above it. It’s good to keep babies…

Choosing Names for Paint

The only experience I have of marketing and advertising is when I used to advise pharmaceutical companies on the imagery and words in their ads. Sometimes the ads were witty and attractive, but usually they were dull and inoffensively bland. Here in Swaziland, Star Paint has hired some massive billboards around Manzini to promote their…