Category: Public health

Waves For Water

Here’s the scoop: Cape Town, South Africa is in a pretty serious water crisis. Not just Cape Town, but countless communities around the globe are experiencing a water crisis and live without clean drinking water. Drinking unclean water causes a variety of issues to include cholera, diarrhea, nausea, lung irritation, skin rash, vomiting, dizziness, and in some cases death.

At the moment, Cape Town has less than 120 days left of drinking water. The dams are at 27% and because of this level 3b water restrictions are in place. Think fines if you are caught washing your clothes at home, if you take a shower longer than 10 minutes, water your lawn, run your dishwasher, or really just waste water in any way. Pretty serious.

To add to this, many communities, such as the township communities of Capricorn in Cape Town, don’t have clean water at all. Children have permanent runny noses, skin rashes, and diarrhea because they don’t have clean water. Some kids don’t drink water at all. Germs spread like wildfire when there is no water to wash hands, clean up, and drink. Water is a key component to quality of life.

I attended a film screening in Muizenberg recently as a response to this water crisis called Waves for Water. Essentially, a famous surfer had a bit of a life crisis and invented a water filter that can be used in communities that do not have clean water. One water filter can provide 100 people with clean drinking water for up to 5 years. Great investment, right?

The filter costs about $50 and comes with a demo/ training information. The goal is to provide access to the filter in all communities around the world without clean water. I’ve committed to helping daycare and school centers in Capricorn gain access to drinking water. Here’s what you can do- get involved, make a donation, or purchase a clean water filter.

Yes, I provided links- you are welcome.

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East Side, West Side

When you enter Langa Township, the first thing you see is a brand new public housing complex that is quite nice. The government has stepped in and replaced settler communities with new public housing. 50% of the housing for Cape Town residents and 50% for migrants from the East. At first I didn’t understand the dynamics of this, but it became clear as I made my way through Langa.

Continue reading “East Side, West Side” →

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Salud

Yes, health. As in my health and the public health system in Costa Rica. Not ideal, but 3 days into my lovely trip I got sick- like really sick. Maybe because I drank the water, or ate a tortilla de queso unheated (I know, breaking all the gringo rules). Continue reading “Salud” →

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Testing M-RDT

M-RDT or Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test is deemed the primary method of blood testing for Malaria by the WHO in Tanzania. I had the pleasure of attending a training put on by the Ministry of Health in Tanzania to train health professionals from hospitals and clinics in the Moshi District. Continue reading “Testing M-RDT” →

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Eco Choo

Let’s talk sustainable public toilets. Sexy, right? This isn’t something I gave much thought to, until I worked on a project building them in Tanzania. I mean, who really walks around thinking about toilets? (unless you need one at that moment). As it turns out, sustainable public toilets are more interesting than I anticipated! Continue reading “Eco Choo” →

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Sema Sauti

Sauti means loud or loudly in Kiswahili. Sauti also is the name of a project I had the pleasure of participating in during my time in Tanzania. I spent a month and some change in Moshi, Tanzania looking at the public health system, and I know, I’ve been posting about everything but public health. I’ve found a hard time finding the right words to even begin to describe my experience. Where to start? Continue reading “Sema Sauti” →

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Heaven in Rwanda

Yes, there is a Heaven in Rwanda. It’s actually a bar and restaurant that I happened to stumble upon the last night of my trip. I was sitting there by myself, looking out over the city, struggling with the menu. I wanted something local, but didn’t know what to get. The owner then came to my table and we started to chat. He’s from NYC, lives here with his wife, he started to tell me about his book, but had to step away quickly after giving me some recommendations. Continue reading “Heaven in Rwanda” →

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A Walk Through Kibera-A Nairobi Slum

When I travel I like see the diversity of a city. I want to see touristy things, but also how local people live. This time I found an organization in Nairobi that supports people from the Kibera slum by giving tours, so I signed up with the hope that I’m giving to the community. This is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the largest urban slum in Africa. Two men led me through markets, a bone factory, a women’s center where women raise money to support those in the community with HIV, and finally to the slum. Continue reading “A Walk Through Kibera-A Nairobi Slum” →

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First, I’m always a bit torn about how to share my experiences abroad. I almost feel a sense of responsibility to protect the people and culture I love so much from misunderstanding and judgement. So I must say before I talk about my experiences, that the lack of development in Africa has nothing to do with the competence and intelligence of its people, but with the political and economic system and the lack of access to education and resources. Continue reading “Tanzania Yetu” →

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The Truth About Education in Tanzania



“Mwana unleavyo ndivyo akuavo”


As you Bring A Child Up, So He Will Be


 


Imagine you are in grade school. You are about 12-13 years old, have just completed your primary education, and are about to transition into a new and exciting period of your life as you enter secondary school or high school if you are a student from the United States. You will be going to a new school and do not know what to expect, you are feeling nervous excitement. It is your first day of school and to your surprise, your classes are taught in a completely different language! You’ve had some lessons in this foreign language, but you certainly do not speak it, nor can you read it. What would you do in this situation and who could you turn to for help? Imagine how limited your opportunities would be if your education ended abruptly at the high school level because of a language barrier. This is your reality if you are a student in the Tanzanian education system. A system set up only for wealthy children to succeed and less than 30% of average students to achieve secondary education. Continue reading “The Truth About Education in Tanzania” →

			

		
	
	

					
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