As expected, people in the hospital are pleased to see us. Patients assume that any white person is a doctor and express gratification freely. I am frequently asked how I am by complete strangers as I pass. What I didn't expect was that we could make an impact more widely...
In the run up to Christmas we either went or sent a shopping list to Chipata most weekends. The logic is the same as in the UK when people choose big supermarkets. Many of the items were cheaper and better quality, plus there were the items you can't get in Katete - like semi skimmed milk. It was easier to buy lots of things than pick and choose. So we stopped buying Coke at the Chada, for example, because it was more economical to buy a 2.5L bottle in Chipata.
I didn't really think about it more broadly. I was still heading to the market for fresh veg and a few other items, like bread and eggs when needed.
Then I stopped at Theresa's shop to buy some things. She didn't have a lot of her usual stock. I was a bit surprised, she's normally really good. Then she said 'You are still here then?' Yes, why? 'I thought you'd gone. You were an expensive customer [by which I understand her to mean that I was a good customer]'
This brought it home. I used to go to Theresa's once or twice a week and spend nearly £8 each time. This might sound a bit pathetic to you, but there are low end supermarkets in Northern England where the average spend per transaction is £4. So, even there I'd be a valuable customer. And then I'd just stopped. It hadn't meant anything to me, it was just a matter of convenience but it was clearly having a big impact on Theresa, especially considering it's rainy season and the hospital in general is quieter.
Since she pointed it out I've made a point of going to her more often. The large bottles of Coke have gone. Our consumption of eggs has increased so much that we'll probably have a heart attack shortly. But she's got her expensive customer back, for now. All I have to do is persuade the others to shop there after we leave... but perhaps the lure of Chipata will prove too much!
Some of the people that are pleased to see you are less obvious. I went to the lab recently to ask them for some data. It wasn't a planned trip so I was surprised when I entered the office to find everyone smiling at me and the In Charge saying he was very pleased to see me.
He invited me into the lab and listened very patiently to my request for statistics. Then at the end he started explaining about the FACS count machine, what it did [they use it to measure the CD4 count of HIV patients] and that it needed to run a control test every day.
'The control test needs to be someone that doesn't have HIV and I am tired of giving my own blood. Please can I have some of yours? I will tell you your CD4 count!'
Now I understand why they were pleased. They'd been arguing in the office in Nyanja about who should have to give blood that day. Then they saw me and clearly thought that they'd found the solution.
Sadly for them, they hadn't. The guy looked at me a little blankly when I explained that I don't like needles, I don't give people blood unless I absolutely have to (it's only happened once and it took 3 doctors nagging me to do it) and I was wearing a tight long sleeve top so the logistics weren't simple either. Even his pleading that he only wanted a small amount didn't work!
I felt a bit bad as I ran away through the rain but, blood and needles, that's just one step too far!
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