transitions, transitions, transitions

Africa is a continent of transitions. The population seems to be
constantly on the move, especially if you are well educated, and the
expats often are flitting about from one site to another as they visit
various projects and evaluate potential areas of need. In Lords of
Poverty, this kind of money spent on "fact-finding" was roundly
condemned as a waste of money that would be better spent on in-the-field
needs, not on westerners flying around to see them. I don't know about
that, but the fact remains that we have had 24 people coming in and out
of Mukinge over the past two weeks. At the hospital, 2/3 of our
administrative staff has left for 6 months to 2 years to pursue higher
education; similar things have happened to our nursing staff. Adult
education plays an important role in career development, and virtually
everyone you meet has future plans to better their education in some way.
In similar veins, AIDS and HIV has a similar impact on the professional
staff. The hospital has lost two personnel that had been there for many
years this past two months, and it has taken a toll on the morale at the
hospital. I have been trying to get one of the staff to get himself
tested for HIV for some symptoms he has been having, and after a month
of cajoling and talking him out of statements like 'I think I might
commit suicide if I test positive' I think we have gotten somewhere, but
those two deaths have made my job that much harder. The statistics
published in the Lancet say that we lose more professionals to HIV than
we do to the 'brain drain' that I referenced back in October.
Clearly we as temporary missionaries contribute to the problem, as I
find that I have to reinvent the wheel for duties and information that
was probably known by previous executive directors and doctors but never
got written down, passed along, and the contacts have all changed due to
the transient nature of things here. And I will probably leave behind a
similar legacy, although you try to improve the system a little bit and
make it easier for people to come in and out. I do feel that Zambia
clearly isn't ready to stand on its own, not from intelligence,
training, or force of character, but simply because resources don't
exist in ample supply to get there. It may be quite some time before
that happens, as well. Until then, I think we have to stand in this gap
with our brothers.