New Friends

Mutzig For 2

We had a meeting this morning at with the Obstertician and midwife from King Faisal. We decided to brave the motos again and it was a different ride from last night. More traffic than last night and all of us in skirts. Very fun though in the morning air.
At King Faisal we were greeted warmly and it was clear that they were expecting us. Sharp contrast to Kibagabaga as this is the private pay hospital. We toured the birthing center and the NICU. The woman in charge of the NICU staff, I believe she is a Pediactric Nurse Practitioner, (From Cambridge University), is the wife of the British Ambassador and she is quite dismayed with the conditions at Faisal. We told her that is she wanted to feel better about her job that she should go to Kibagabaga and have a look around. Beryl told us all about the different staff members and the certifications that they held- Lactation, Advanced Life Support Obstetrics, etc. They have reached an amazing level of success especially considering that the exams all have to be taken in English. They are currently working on getting certified as a "Baby Friendly" hospital. Primarily this has to do with the promotion of breastfeeding and bonding. It will be the only hospital in Rwanda to meet these standards.
We had a great discussion with Alice Cannon, Dr Javier and Midwife Beryl about the needs of the hospital and the medical community in general in Kigali. It seems to be such a dichotomy of the old traditions that work mixed in with 50s and 60s "modern" information. I am very much looking forward to corresponding with these folks to try to figure this whole system out and how we can be most helpful in the future. They too have trouble getting the supplies that they need.
After Faisal we went back out to shop. We have been looking for traditional cloth or pagnes and we finally hit the jackpot. We asked a taxi driver downtown where to buy the traditional fabrics and got directions to a bunch of stores-- they were down a long hallway and each stand was packed with cloth. Overwhelming but so beautiful. I was able to speak french and bargain a little bit with the vendors. We each picked out several fabrics. The bargaining is getting old.
This afternoon it was back on the motos to Kibagabaga to distribute the educational info that we had collected as well as to give out more of our supplies. I got teary-eyed when I saw that the metal cart that the babies had previously been set upon after birth was gone. In it's place was a warmer which was turned on and warm in anticipation of a baby! So wonderful to see the concrete signs of change. The staff gave us big hugs and thanked us profusely. The moto ride was a bit different in rush hour and along the winding road that dips far into the valley. I had to close my eyes at certain points.
A group of us went out for spicy ethiopian food cooled by mutzig then walked home through the crazy city streets.