Hello, I am Doctor Fanny Wong from Hong Kong, and I am a general practitioner. I’m interested in exploring the world and working in tropical regions. Therefore, I decided to study for a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene in Liverpool in 2018. During the course, I had the chance to meet different people around the world who were also eager to work in tropical medicine and learn about different non-profit organisations working in different parts of the world.
What inspired you to volunteer with Cedar Tanzania?
Cedar Tanzania is one of the organisations I learnt about whilst I was in Liverpool. I was interested in Cedar Tanzania because Kamanga Health Centre is a family clinic setting which is similar to where I work in Hong Kong. Another thing that attracted me to Cedar Tanzania is that it doesn't just concentrate on medical services. It also has outreach teams and various different programs that work within the community. The aim of Cedar Tanzania is not just to provide quality health services but also to improve the community’s awareness of wider health issues. Cedar Tanzania also helps people with disabilities, deprived children and also tries to enhance the social status of women and girls.
How long was your volunteer placement?
For people in Hong Kong, we only have few holidays. Therefore, I was lucky that I could take a long leave and work for Cedar Tanzania for 3 months.
What was your volunteer role at Cedar Tanzania?
I was working in Kamanga Health Centre as a doctor but I also had the chance to join the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) outreach service and visited patients in the villages who had physical disabilities.
Can you mention highlights of some of the activities that you were involved in whilst you worked for Cedar Tanzania?
Kamanga Health Centre mainly provides outpatient services for the community. It also provides in-patient treatment to those patients with more severe conditions and who require intensive monitoring. There is also antenatal, childbirth and postnatal services.
As a volunteer doctor in Kamanga Health Centre, I was mainly working in the outpatient clinic and in-patient ward services. My other role, besides providing medical treatment, was also to suggest ways to improve the medical services in the health centre.
What things did you find challenging either in your work or living cross culturally?
The main challenge of working and living in Tanzania is the language barrier. Although in Mwanza city centre, most of the people in the shops and restaurants could understand English, in Kamanga most people could not speak English. This meant I could not provide direct patient care most of the time. But luckily, most of the staff in the health centre could speak and understand English well, so I was able to have interpreters. I also found that as I look different from the local people, often passerbys would be too eager to talk with me in the streets. I found their “enthusiasm” sometimes challenging.
What things have you found enjoyable or surprising about Tanzanian culture either socially or at work?
All the staff in Kamanga Health Centre are friendly and they made it easy for me to adapt to the environment there. I enjoyed my time visiting my colleagues’ homes and attending church with them too. Tanzania also has many amazing national parks with different kinds of wild animals - I enjoyed visiting these safari parks during my stay.
What would you say to anyone considering a medical volunteer post with Cedar Tanzania?
My advice to anyone interested in volunteering for Cedar Tanzania would be to start learning some Swahili before the trip. If you are able to talk with people here directly, you can certainly enjoy your time more. But really all you need to do is to relax and just enjoy the warm welcome from all the Tanzanians you’ll meet.