Isimila Stone Age Site
Jaci and I visited the Isimila Stone Age Site on Sunday, 1/21, about a 1.5H drive from Ilula (through Iringa). It was overcast and consisted of a muddy hike, but it was still a great experience. The landscape of Isimila reminds me of the Colorado River Basin, specifically the Badlands, Bryce Canyon, and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks. It consists of red earth/dirt with towering pillars dispersed throughout a maze of deep sandstone coolies and canyons.
The site contains a great deal of Stone Age tools presumably used by Homo erectus. These hominid species preceded Homo sapiens on the evolutionary tree, which was the first known hominid to possess modern human body-size proportions that enabled it to walk and run. Interestingly, it existed about 1.9-1.6 million years ago and probably co-existed with several hominid species, as evidenced by their remains being found together in multiple Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa excavation sites. Homo erectus used campfires/hearths and primitive stone tools like cleavers, hand axes, and spearheads which are littered throughout the Isimila Stone Age Site. I love Stone Age history...
AFCON and Tanzania’s group of death
On 1/21 evening, we watched Tanzania’s gut-wrenching 2nd group stage game of the AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) tournament with Adilly, one of the physicians at Ilula Lutheran Hospital who has become a close friend of mine. AFCON is the primary men’s international soccer tournament of the African mainland that consists of the best 24 teams in Africa (as determined by qualification from a field of 50-60 countries) – it is played every 2 years. This is the first time in several decades that Tanzania has qualified and they are massive underdogs. The game started well for Tanzania, who were thoroughly dominated in every aspect of their first game against the tournament favorites Morocco. Tanzania scored first, and you could hear the raucous cheers from Ilula homes, buildings, dormitories, and the even the hospital despite it being late in the evening. That said, Tanzania wilted in the second half and had to settle for a draw against the heavily favored Zambia. Hopefully, they can win in the final group stage game on Wednesday night and advance!
Reflection
Reflecting on my prior post, I am encouraged by the progress in Ilula and proud of what shoulder-to-shoulder (STS) has built, supported, and empowered the local population to accomplish. There are undoubtedly shortcomings in Ilula, and I have some frustrations, particularly regarding unfortunate or preventable outcomes (like deaths) in the hospital and the allocation of resources, but I remain optimistic about the future. Ilula has a strong nucleus of providers (physicians and clinical officers); I’ve been encouraged by several conversations about the hospital’s future with Dr. Adilly and Dr Malala, even if the path is unclear.
I believe the ongoing longitudinal relationship/friendship between STS and Ilula is important and necessary. We can engage in two-way education and provide funding support for infrastructure/buildings and medical education; we have the capacity (and potentially the obligation) to gently identify areas we think could be improved or changed based on our experiences in the US (and vice versa). By regularly supporting learners/travelers from the US, we broaden perspectives about global health and healthcare disparities, increase students’ medical knowledge (particularly in travel medicine, tropical medicine, and hygiene), and nurture relationships between Tanzanians and Minnesotans. I think the annual Ilula Medical Conference supports two-way education, networking, relationship building, and quality improvement on a local and (increasingly) national level.
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