Fresh meat – there’s nothing like it!!! Although most of the time we seem to eat meat of dubious source and quality – including home grown but scrawny chickens, when we do find some fresh meat it is excellent.
Last weekend we heard that a hospital neighbour was killing one of pigs and selling the meat for about £1 a kilo. So we ordered 4 kilos and picked it up on Saturday – still warm from the carcase. And it was good news for the chickens – it means we didn’t pick one of those this week.
Since we killed a chicken 10 days ago the rest seem to have got the message. We suddenly seem to be inundated with eggs and Irene even made a 10 egg omelette this week to reduce the stock – and we gave some away to neighbours. One of the hens has also became very broody, sitting on the eggs and fighting anyway who tries to remove them. Irene has marked a couple and we will try to leave them with her to see what happens.
Last Saturday we visited Gordon and Rae, a couple of retired Aussies, working at the Amani Development Organisation project in a neighbouring village. The agricultural project started after one of the recent famines, to help train villagers in good practices for growing food. Gordon is an expert on growing trees, and Rae is teaching English at the school. The setting of the small holding (growing vegetables, grapes etc) is very pretty and it was the first time Irene has seen monkeys in Tanzania. However, it is remote so they do not have a permanent electricity supply, relying on a small petrol generator for power and a charcoal stove for cooking.
Our first service in the new St Andrews building was very good and felt very spacious. It still looks like a building site as more funds are required to complete the remaining 20% of the roof and put in doors and windows – fortunately there is no rain in Mvumi for most of the year – but when it rains in December / February it will be very heavy. We understand it will take several years for the congregation to raise the money to complete the building.
We are beginning to count down for our return to England as there are only 9 weeks to go, 2 of which will be a holiday. The financial management of the Hospital continues to be difficult with not enough money to pay costs. Budgetary control is meaningless when you are waiting for income to pay a backlog of essential invoices. It is now clear how much PAYE is owed to the Revenues Authority and Malcolm is ensuring that, for the first time, all allowances are properly taxed. He is also chasing staff for the payment of agreed charges for the use of Hospital water supplied to their homes.
He is finding it frustrating that there is no clarity to the correct solutions to the financial problems. It is possible that the Government will pay most or all staff when the Hospital becomes a Designated District Hospital which means it would be unnecessary to lay off staff now. However, DDH should have happened in July but has been postponed and progress is slow. Alternatively, if the financial position does not change then the Hospital is overspending by a significant amount, not paying PAYE, National Insurance and other suppliers and has a rapidly worsening position.
He has worked for some Councils with financial problems – but nothing like this. His approach is to try and involve the senior management in the decisions about who to pay – but it also means putting pressure on some of the departments to pay their way and release funds from their bank accounts which should be used to pay salaries, electricity and other hospital costs. Again, neither of these approaches is popular.
And to cap it all he was eating a coconut – and his bridge came out again – back to the dentist!!!!
Irene has had an easy week as the medical filing has come to a halt until more shelving is provided. She has enjoyed the rest but will look for something else to do soon if the shelving continues to prove elusive.
So, for next week:
- We wait to hear if the planned visit to Mheza Hospital to find out about becoming a DDH will proceed, or be postponed for a fourth time
- still waiting (yet again) for more shelving so Irene can complete filing the medical Records
- possibly meet the Bishop to discuss whether to return next year, (or whether we will be invited to return)
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