Ya kwanza (first) CCBRT community field visit

Today, Jeff and I had a full day of work at CCBRT complete with a community field visit (details to come...keep reading!). CCBRT stands for Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania. It is a local NGO that has partnerships with several local and international organizations. CCBRT’s mission is “to improve the quality of life of people living with disabilities, their family members and caregivers enabling them to become full members of society.” The centre where we are doing our fieldwork placement is called Tumaini (Hope) Centre located in Moshi.

There is a CCBRT van that picks us up at 6:45 am every day and drops us home so we haven’t had the pleasure of riding the dala dala. After picking us up in the morning, the van picks up the staff (OTs, PTs, administrative assistants, etc.) and we arrive at the Tumaini Centre by 7:30 am.

After some Swahili self-study time, we helped load some equipment into the CCBRT jeep and started our day. Along with our preceptor and two technologists, we conducted three community follow-up visits with children who have spastic cerebral palsy. The mission today was to evaluate previous wheelchair prescriptions and ensure that the wheelchairs are meeting the children's needs. Our first stop was a house that has been rented by the family to an organization that provides services to children with disabilities. Renting the house allows the organization to help supplement the family’s income while also providing space for other children with disabilities in the community to come during the day while their parents are working. We spent most of our time here as we had to remove the head support and cushion and change them, and adjust the arm rest and tray. We helped the technologists remove the old parts, but I’d say they did most of the work. It was incredibly hot and I think the individuals who were supervising house today took pity on us by bringing chairs so we can sit outside.

Following the changes and adjustments, we ensured that the fit was appropriate for the child and completed documentation before we left. The next visit involved some walking across fields and unpaved roads (note to self: wear running shoes for future community visits). Unfortunately, for this child, the hip pad on the wheelchair was missing and we asked that the parents bring the wheelchair to our centre. We then conducted our last follow-up visit where we observed the technologists and our preceptor adjust the foot rest and add foot straps. We also got a taste of local culture by observing a family cook a stew outside. Their kitchen consists of having a pot with firewood around it. We both never did community field visits before so the entire day was exciting and eye-opening. It gave us the opportunity to observe and appreciate how practical and hands-on OT really is and how much seating and posture can make a major impact on a child's quality of life.

Other highlights from today include me mispronouncing the Swahili word "kumi" (number 10) for a really bad word (it prompted a laughing fit from the local children; please don't say it, kids!)...and the cook at CCBRT professing her genuine love for Jeff and her admiration for his good looks. She couldn't stop commenting, in Swahili, to our preceptor how handsome he is. She further demonstrated her admiration by scooping Jeff lots of second and third helpings. All that extra attention made two technologists especially jealous. Too bad she only has sons, Jeff!

Everyone at CCBRT from the OTs to the PTs, technologists to the kitchen staff, and security guards to drivers have been extremely welcoming and helpful. The next 7 weeks will be nzuri sana sana (excellent)!