Among the things we take most for granted in our lives, is probably medical care. It is true that sometimes we complain because we wait a bit long for the free service, but we hardly realize how lucky we are!

In Tanzania, in the city of Arusha, there is a four-room hospital and though it is very limited and only two doctors work in it, it serves the medical needs of thousands of people from a huge area. Without nurses or an ambulance, 1,142 patients were cared for last year. The hospital is in a rather bad state, because as from the 80s, since it has been operating, there have never been funds to renovate it, since the priority has always been to save lives.

As Sister Grace said: “This hospital welcomes all kinds of patients, with all types of illnesses or problems. Among the most we treat are those sick with malaria, asthma, pneumonia, typhoid, diarrhea, infections, burns, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, infestations of worms and epilepsy.”

Doctor Brighton shares the day with another doctor and they work 12 hours each a day. He states how he often has to choose whom to treat, because he is alone for long hours, while the other doctor is resting.

Dr. Brighton says: “Once, while I was assisting a woman who was giving birth, another girl came for treatment. While she was waiting for her turn, she died on the chair.”

These are the hard and heartbreaking choices that these people have to make daily, because there is no other way. The deficiencies in this hospital are great and serious. Gloves do not exist, the tools are primitive and limited, the beds are roughly made, the mattresses are made of foam pieces and the windows do not close properly; a never-ending list. Not to mention the lack of modern medical equipment, such as a simple ultrasound machine. Of course, those who suffer the most from this situation are the vulnerable, such as children, the elderly and pregnant women.

Sister Grace adds: “With the least complication, patients have to be taken to a better equipped hospital in a nearby town, often on an old motorcycle, for a journey that takes about two hours on roads full of potholes and bumps.”

Privacy, as one can imagine, does not exist in this hospital. For example, a woman who has just given birth and is still regaining her strength often has to share the same space with other patients whose turn it is to be treated. Apart from the dignity of the persons, this increases quite a bit the risk of infections and the spread of unnecessary diseases. Doctors like Dr. Brighton, know that these are not good medical practices, but they also know that they cannot do any better.