Outreach Baby Clinic Tanzanian style

Annie works in the Reproductive and Child Health clinic, which covers antenatal mums, babies and all outpatient HIV testing.
The Hospital has four outreach baby and postnatal clinics, each run monthly.
The first visit I went on was to a village by the Lake. Sounded lovely!
It was wet, grey and chilly when we set off. The good vehicle (and it’s driver) went off to the Bishops ordination crammed full of excited Nuns and other VIPs. We had the Toyota Land Cruiser pick-up, definitely past it’s first youth.
Turning off onto a minor dirt road spoiled by the rains, on past an army camp complete with guard and barrier (sapling on 2 forked sticks). We then stopped mid road and turned sharp R, into then out of the ditch, onto a footpath. Mmm.
Footpath got narrower and boggier, definitely bumpier. We turned a corner and there was the loveliest bay. A rocky escarpment backed it with the village nestling near the shore, fringed with trees and shambas. Smoke from cooking fires curling out of the thatched roofs, distant sounds of village life. We then came to the escarpment…still no road, footpath disappeared, only rocks that descended at an alarming angle downwards. We must be stopping here. Ah no.
Over the large rocks we went, lumpybumpy, sloping down at an alarming angle, huge rocks--4WD helped out there--then we bombed down the (relatively) smooth track to the Lakeshore, straight on, into the Lake! Sharp turn R, we drove along the lake shore, nearside wheels on wet sand, offside wheels in about 2’ of water, keep going, keep going! It was now that I realised our driver had never been here before, and was being directed by my colleague, elderly male nurse with whom I was crammed in the front seat. Driver distinctly nervous now, asking where to turn onto land again, and finally chose a less boggy area and we made it. Phew! The "clinic" is a community house, made of mud and wattle, hay on the floor, a small bench and table. There seemed to be about 2million Mums and babies, all squeezed in on to the floor, spilling outside, waiting patiently. We saw over 200 Mums and I vaccinated about 60 babies, in the semi dark, all in 3hrs… Then home time!
Setting off once more, this time with the tarp over the back to keep my 2 colleagues dry, back through the Lake like some latter day landing craft, and up onto the land, over the sandy path and ooops! Stuck in the mud. Driver did something with rocks and 4WD again, with revving and black smoke we were off. Power began to fail at the stony escarpment bit. Now I was worried about the engine. We made it over the stones but then stalled. Driver stressed, bonnet up, running between accelerator and engine. I offered to help (as I was the only other driver on board) by applying pressure to accelerator for him, which helped with the engine, but not his dignity. (I now have a reputation of being able to drive a Toyota Land Cruiser into the Lake!)
The following clinics were interesting, if not quite so exciting, but maybe more of that later…