High Tech

Just because Tanzania is a developing country doesn't mean we can't use technology. It's just harder.

No piece of technology more advanced than an inclined plane works as billed in this environment. You have to fight for every functional moment. Examples:

Dr. Joyce brought a conductivity meter to test distilled water. The machine came from a reputable firm, was factory calibrated, and arrived new in the box. Doesn't work.

We set up Dr. Frank's simple and reliable battery charger to do some electrolysis rust removal. Very basic setup: water, washing soda iron cathode, iron anode, solid electrical connections. Doesn't work.

I bought a brand new, light-up watch in the market. Doesn't work.

Backup Internet modem... doesn't work.

Lamination machine... doesn't work.

Microscope camera...doesn't work.

To cap it all, we have a long succession of failed hard drives.

One of the major problems is dust. Karatu is dusty all year except for the rainy seasons, when it's muddy. A big chunk of our most delicate, and expensive, equipment is located in a special room in the laboratory. This room is one of three on campus equipped with an air conditioner (the other two being the operating rooms). Last time we had a massive dust storm blast through, the windows were left wide open. Why? The lab techs said the air from the air conditioner was too dry, and it gave them a headache. Dr. Joyce (one of our lab volunteers) was ready to pull her hair out.

The most recent problem is ants. They live in the rafters and come trooping down every day to eat the serum that gets tested in the diagnostic equipment. Dr. Joyce has one of the techs clean the wall twice a day with bleach to disrupt their navigation, but still they come.

Every day the techs go forth to combat an unrelenting onslaught of swirling dust and swarming ants. Except for today, since it's pretty nice out. But usually...

In some ways, though, Tanzania is far more advanced. Even in largely developed countries, like the US, we don't have anything nearly as high tech as laser ketchup.

PS I have started shucking and roasting the coffee I brought back from Kessy's house at Kilimanjaro. Early attempts have yielded mixed results, but I continue forward, undaunted.