June.24.2023

Karibu! This one word, spoken so warmly, has followed us around our time in Dar thus far. Whenever someone enters a new location, they are promptly greeted with this word, which means “Welcome” in Swahili (it also doubles as “you’re welcome” after someone says thank you!).

Welcome back to my blog, and I am coming to you from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania! We said our goodbyes to Dr. Taylor on Tuesday afternoon, and departed for Dar es Salaam later that night. After speed-walking through our layover airport, watching approximately five-and-a-half movies in-flight, and experiencing an eventful stopover in Zanzibar, I finally made it to Dar at 1 AM on Thursday, June 22.

Photo: The beautiful view from the airplane: window seat always!

In the morning, we promptly began becoming acclimated, heading to the currency exchange and SIM card offices to get situated. We then met with Dr. Christine Bohne, the Director of Quality Improvement Systems and our in-country mentor in Tanzania. Christine warmly welcomed us with our first meal in Dar at Woodberry Cafe, a beautiful cafe that has quickly become a favorite spot to work! We spent our lunch introducing ourselves and learning more about Christine’s work with NEST360, and had some amazing discussions on global health.

Photo: Entrance to Woodberry Cafe

I was definitely fighting off jet lag afterwards, but I tried to power through because we also went out for dinner with Christine later that night. She took us to The Slipway, a shopping and restaurant strip on the waterfront of the Indian Ocean with beautiful views and even more gorgeous food! Our first dinner meal in the country was a hearty soup called Urojo, or also known as Zanzibar Mix. Urojo was incredibly fascinating because it has roots and influences from so many cuisines, which you can taste when you dig in. From the fried bhajias, to the coconut broth base, to the spicy habanero spice served on the side, there was so much represented in just one meal.

Photo: Urojo, or Zanzibar mix!

After dinner, we headed back home to get some rest, as we had a busy day on Friday. On Friday, we had the amazing opportunity to attend a scientific conference organized by the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. We were able to listen to NEST360 experts present their work on reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. Additionally, we were able to listen to presentations by other esteemed members of the community, including a representative from the Ministry of Health and a representative from M-Mama (an innovative app connecting emergency care services to pregnant women).

One of my favorite parts was during one of the final presentations; the speaker tied together all of the previous work presented, describing the “perinatal care continuum.” It was fascinating to not only understand the work being done, but also seeing how they all linked together across space and time. Some focused on gathering research information, while others focused on the implementation based on that information, and yet others focused on gathering feedback from the implementation. This provided me with a more thorough view of the full spread of work on maternal and neonatal mortality.

Thanks for tuning in!

Shrutika