TANZANIA... here we come!: Some final thoughts

Our final day of clinic at Under The Same Sun (UTSS) began like any other. We were told that we would see one, maybe two kids with albinism, but were greeted by five (there were always more) patients, waiting patiently in plastic chairs. The first few kids came upstairs and we (me, David and Michelle) each had our "final exams" with Dr. Kammer checking our cover tests and retinoscopy findings and wrapping up with trial frame refractions. I went downstairs to check on the remaining patient, when Anna pulled me aside. There was one kid waiting, donning sunglasses, with skin noticeably singed by the sun in several prominent spots. Underneath the sunglasses, the boy had a tumor that started near his eye, but had now completely overcome his lower right lid margin and the globe of his eye. There wasn't much that we could do for him other than pray for him and connect him with the local public hospital. I spent the rest of the day in a fog, unable to shake my sad and helpless state.

Anna actually told me just recently that she was praying every morning to see miracles and this episode was just such a miracle. The boy had worked for months (years?) in the field, in all likelihood completely unshielded by the sun's rays. He had visited a local clinic where they provided him with an ointment, but the medicine did nothing and he continued to pick at the wound and work the fields until he could no longer ignore the situation. By the time he started his journey to the big city (Dar Es Salaam), his vision in his right eye was long gone and he had no idea of his final destination. At the bus station, he asked around, pleading for assistance. Another man felt compassion and took him to UTSS where Dr. Kammer and our team would also soon arrive. Becky told me that initially the UTSS staff was going to send the boy on his way. The cancer hospital would cost a minimum of $1,700 a day and there was no budget for such a situation (to be perfectly honest, my mind also constantly drifted to the cost). But after some debate and expert consultation, they decided that they would cover any living and travel expenses necessary to send the child to the local public hospital, where he was eventually admitted. The fact that we and, in particular, Dr. Kammer (an eye doctor!) were there at that exact, providential moment was completely lost upon me until Anna brought all of this to light.

I recall reading Psalm 121 that evening and these verses struck me deeply:

"5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will keep you from all harm —
he will watch over your life"

And I know from Hebrews 11 that faith is "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

So what I ask for is continued prayer over this boy, for miraculous healing of his cancer and good discernment from his treatment team. Please ask for doors to be opened, for hearts to be stirred into action and resources made available for his treatment and recovery. Pray for unwavering hope in his heart and increasing faith, both for him and for us.

*****

On our final afternoon in Dar Es Salaam, UTSS's Tanzania Executive Director, Vicky Ntetema, reported on her meeting with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. I was just in awe of all that God is doing through UTSS in supporting people with albinism and making known their plight and their needs. High ranking officials agreed to regularly distribute sunblock to people with albinism, to mobilize liquid nitrogen (?) tanks for treatment of skin cancer and to increase healthcare staffing at schools where kids with albinism are being housed. We also heard news that the prime minister adopted three children with albinism and has been learning firsthand about the vision needs and cancer risks faced by people with albinism. His adopted daughter recently came home from school with a sizable skin lesion, and he took immediate action to find care for her and find out what was going on at the school that a child could develop such a condition and not be treated with the parents not even notified.

In so many ways, awareness is growing and the situation is getting better and better for people with albinism in Tanzania, but there seems to be so much more work yet to be done. The prime minister himself said that he was learning more everyday about his children with albinism, their needs and their gifts.

*****

I've shared in other forums about the song, "God of this City". It was written as it was being performed by Bluetree, an Irish Christian band, as they played in a brothel in Pattaya, Thailand.

The lyrics read,

"You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City "

There were nights where I played this song as I prepared for bed and Anna shared with me recently that she also played it once (for Hope) during our trip. I could imagine these words stirring the hearts of people in Tanzania, just as easily as they have for people in Thailand or throughout the world in churches, concert halls and even in bars and brothels already. During our short visit, we experienced so much darkness. But we also saw glimmers of hope, even emanating from the eyes of those most affected by the violence. Anna told me about a girl with both arms amputated who nonetheless greeted everyone with a hug. And we experienced even in the shyest, most introverted and damaged children, smiles peeking out of unclenched mouths upon these kids examining their newly white teeth or donning a stylish pair of sunglasses. God is truly at work in this place, but there are so many greater things yet to come. Please pray that those things would come to pass.

Personally, I'm not sure what the next steps for me and Anna will be. We've learned that we could go pretty much anywhere that God leads us. To be honest, Tanzania was not all that different than rural Thailand. And the people who we met were so warm and so inviting and so desiring to share their culture, their language and (most importantly) their food with us. In an interview that I did on one of the final days, I was asked about my long term commitment and I did respond that I see myself being committed to the mission of UTSS long-term. Whether this means that I will go back or that I will support the organization from afar is difficult to say. But I am open.

*****

Some final images