More pictures from Kigutu

There is so much about this place that I love and that I will miss: the people, the work itself, the patients, the sense of comraderie. But what I will miss as much as anything is the physical beauty of Kigutu. The clinic sits high above Lake Tanganyika, overlooking a vast expanse below. Hilarie, Melino, and I walked up to the top of the hill above the clinic tonight. I took these pictures with my little camera as the sun set. The only sounds we heard were the birds chirping around us, and the noise of the boys playing soccer that wafted up to us from the field below. I felt a sense of peace and tranquility, and downright joy, as I stood there with my new friends. I think the pictures demonstrate that sense.

You may wonder, however, about the large bandage on my left lower leg. I will explain. We went with Melino to a Burundian wedding in Bujumbura last Saturday. (More about that later). It was completely dark when we exited the wedding. Our car waited for us in the street outside where the wedding took place. I had forgotten about the large ditch that ran alongside the road. This ditch became a step that I should not have taken. I fell feet first into the five foot ditch, causing a rather nasty wound to my leg (Just to set the record straight, I had not been drinking). Melino then took me to a private clinic hospital where the wound was expertly cleaned and dressed. I did have to pay for that expert wound care, and the cost of that care was

four dollars. Yes, of course, that will make you laugh. Unfortunately, four dollars is not so insignificant here.

But now to the beauty that is Kigutu. First, you will see a morning rainbow over Lake Tanganyika, after a heavy night-time rain.

Then you will see pictures of sunset over Lake Tanganyika, a vista that I enjoyed with two of my friends. The two are Hilarie, a superb nurse and a lovely person, and Melino, whom you already know.

My only regret is that I do not have a camera sophisticated enough to capture the beauty of the night-time sky. One speaks about the African night-time sky, but to actually experience it is breathtaking: the thousands of stars shining brightly in the dark night, so close that you feel you can touch them. Here it is especially beautiful, because down below on Lake Tanganyika, one can see hundreds of fishing boats, their lights twinkling to attract the fish.