You read about Namibia being a desert, on the whole. It doesn't prepare you for your namibian plane neighbour welcoming you to the capital, windhoek, as you approach the airport and seeing nothing but rough shrub until the horizon. The runway was a strip in the middle of shrubland, with about 5 small planes on it. You're in the southern district of windhoek, the capital, and theres nothing but shrubland! the sun sets at 5.30pm..the days are very short.
I spent the first 2 nights on the Naankuse wildlife farm about 45mins from the airport. I stayed in a great big tent, which was lovely and the stars are just as famous as they said they were - absolutely beautiful, the milky way is in plain view each night. but it was freezing! and so basic. ive lived in basic accomodation but nothing comes close to this. my first day was enjoyable - fed the lions, cheetahs, leopard, wild dogs, and we happened across a giraffe and a bunch of zebra, my first ever sighting of wild zebra! the lions were huge, much larger than i expected. massive beasts. you heard them at night, so close. that was cool. the second day i prepared the food for the domestic animals on the farm - chicken, geese, meerkats, deer, sheep, goats, etc. the meerkats are super cute. but i love the sheep. the volunteers were from new zealand/UK/switzerland/argentina/all over, and great fun. we spent our evenings around the fire pit, sharing stories or playing games. on the second day we played footy with the local bushmen's kids, that was great fun. in Uganda it was so easy to meet locals, but here, there is literally no-one around for miles! its hard to find any locals, let alone meet them.
The third day i left the farm for the Naankuse Lifeline clinic, where i will be for 4 weeks. It's about 4 hours east, near Gobabis, in an area called Pos 3, ie area 3. There are Heraro and San people living here. In a nutshell, going back hundreds of years the San community originate from the Khosian people, originally in southern Africa. The Heraro population originate from the Bantu people, who originate from northern Africa. So they look different and have a different language - the San have fair skin, high cheekbones and have a clicking language, the Harero are darker and have fewer clicks. Anyway the ethnicity of the Namibian population is fascinating, as is its history. its only recently become independent.
The scenery in namibia is underwhelming, on the whole. shrubland for ever. deserty sand with thorny bushes. the sunsets are spectacular though. Pos 3 is a very small settlement, probably about 200-300 people, mainly living in tin/rubbish bag huts. we live inside the compound with the clinic, in a separate house. work is from 8-5pm but its been incredibly quiet this week. school has started and so the patient numbers have dropped. i havent even done much exploring, we get home quite tired, and the sun sets 30mins after work ends. we cook dinner together then go to bed by 10! this weekend i look forward to exploring and getting to know the locals. as in uganda, making 'home brew' ie home made vodka, is an issue here. its made in places called shabeens. there are 2 in Pos 3. the harero are the more well off population, they make it and sell it to the San, who cant afford to buy shop-stocked alcohol.
Patients - TB, burns, STIs, contraception so far. MSK problems, rashes. The local state clinic and us lot work together well. Patients of note - one man came in, having been found from our TB screening from a settlement 2-3 hours away, with no breath sounds from the right lung. Xray showed pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum. when i walked around Uganda i sometimes wondered, what would you find if you clerked and investigated the average ugandan. well, i cant believe this patient was just walking around namibia. His 02 sats were 87% on air and he was about 30 years old. he has suspected TB, probably long standing. there is a settlement about an hour away called hinda, with 5 plastic bag huts. they reckon the majority of the 30ish residents there have multi-drug resistent TB. sputum samples dont always come back positive, but the clinic diagnosis is one of TB, and culture takes about 6 weeks so what do you do in the meantime? its tricky. opiates are generally not legally prescribed in namibia, so patients with cardiovascular risk factors demand high strength NSAIDs and without anything else to give them stronger than paracetamol you advise them of the risks and they make the decision.
On the whole, underwhelming scenery, limited opportunity for exploration of the area and interaction with locals, but good company and good work experience! food is great. chicken casserole yesterday. soon we'll try springbock!
i got pictures but it will take an age to upload them and im tired and its late soo..another day!
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