I would therefore like to this opportunity to introduce you to to +Kim Balsdon, a Radiotherapy and Oncology student at Cardiff University, she too will be travelling to Dar es Salaam. Excitingly, she has also chosen to write a blog about her coming experiences: http://tanzaniaradiotherapy.blogspot.co.uk/
I would highly recommend keeping an eye on her blog, as she will be travelling to Tanzania in June; therefore her experiences in the country should be posted in near future. I know that I shall certainly be monitoring it, with the hope of gaining some insight of what to expect in Tanzania.
I am also going to take this opportunity to mention and thank David Evans, a previous winner of the competition and Radiotherapist, who also travelled to Dar es Salaam for his placement. You can view his experiences in Tanzania via Facebook, including interesting updates and photographs concerning the cancer centre in Dar es Salaam. I must admit that I emailed him over a month ago asking if he would like to share a short piece about his experiences in Tanzania, I have been beyond tardy in acting upon his swift reply; however this seems the appropriate moment to share with you what he said:
I can’t believe that it’s nearly two years since I was out in Tanzania on my Work the World adventure! When I met the two most recent winners of the competition at the Annual Student Conference it was hard to put into words how much I valued the experience and how much it meant to me both personally and professionally. As the first winner of the competition it was a voyage into the unknown both for myself and the team at Work the World…but I can honestly say it was one of the most challenging and also uplifting experiences of my life.Work the World make it very clear that you are out there to experience life as it is rather than trying to change it, which is difficult in two ways. Firstly, as healthcare professionals we are focused on providing a level of care which is supported by some of the best equipment and facilities in the world. Say what you like about the NHS but comparatively we have life very easy, and it can be difficult not to be shocked by the differences. Secondly, Dar is nowhere near the normal tourist trail so seeing a “mzungu” becomes quite a talking point, and a lot of time was spent comparing cultural differences. Also, being so different compared to the locals (this means tall and very pale) made blending in very difficult.The Work the World house in Dar is incredible. Well, except the cold showers…I never got used to them! All of the staff are so generous with their time and within days you feel like part of a very large family. There was such a blend of people there from different professions and of different ages, it was a great inter-disciplinary learning experience. I should also say that although Work the World is based around working placements, there is plenty of time to explore the area and the culture first-hand, including weekend trips on safari and to the island of Zanzibar.When Richard asked me to write a short piece about my experience I was a bit apprehensive; firstly, peoples’ holiday stories are never that interesting and because I had such an amazing time while I was out there I thought it would just sound like someone droning on about their gap year and about how it’s changed them in such a deep and spiritual way. But more importantly, I didn’t want my experience to shape Richard or Kim’s view of Tanzania. Winning the Work the World competition is a once-in-a-lifetime experience but half the fun is not knowing what it’s going to be like. So all I would say to anyone who is going to Tanzania would be learn as much Swahili as possible, take lots of mosquito repellent, and throw yourself into everything Work the World and Tanzania has to offer.My congratulations go out to both winners of the SCoR’s Work the World competition: Richard Betteridge and Kimberley Balsdon…it’s an experience you’ll never forget!
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