David is doing an Excellent job with the chaplains - we have a program which is growing rapidly and organically AND is culturally sensitive and specific. We now have 4 chaplains and 1 Muslim imam, 3 social workers and 2 psych nurses on board!
I have asked for and received a US donation for 6 laptops for this project which hopefully will arrive by June 20.
Dr Ringo along with the current chair of the Tanzania Labor Party have both asked me to join them with creating a revised national policy and structure for a prototypical mental health clinic - A meeting with Dr Shao (exec director and Dr Ringo and myself is being arranged as I type and David and I may meet with the Health Ministry for a meeting on this afterwards. - more on that later.
In addition, Dr Ringo has asked me to present a lecture on the biology of personality to the medical students sometime next week.
Finally, after years of international travel (I have presented workshops and have done therapy in several third world and developing countries) I have learned how to connect and communicate well without mastery of a second language. I did not realize that a preparatory how-to" lab has not been offered in which students are trained in the basics of travel, group dynamics, and cultural communication. I have an idea for creating a course designed to prepare our students in a very pragmatic way (i.e. One class is to bring a back pack that they themselves have packed for travel to any third world country for one month; another is to divide into working group and have established group meta communication etc).
All of the above was accomplished in 5 days, which I think says a lot about the readiness of the people we are working with and the need for the above programs.
whew! - The work is extraordinarily well and even beyond our most optimistic dreams.
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