Steen: On ICAP - International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Program

On the ICAP Office – Physical Space
o We had a brief glimpse of the ICAP office in Dar, but since it was a Muslim holiday our first day (Tuesday), no one else was around except for us and Sheila, who was helping us settle in. The office is located in a seemingly nice area in between our Onella hotel at the northern tip of Oyster Bay and City Centre. There are other organizations nearby. There is always a guard on duty and the office door is kept secure through a keypad lock. I noted two ICAP SUVs and a golf cart.
o The ICAP office in Bukoba is quite large with a reception desk, an office for Dr. Bertha, two other spacious offices for 2-3 people, and a conference room. There is also a small kitchen. We have two ICAP 4x4s to drive around in.

On the ICAP People
o My first impression of the ICAP Tanzania and specifically, the ICAP Kagera staff were that they were very friendly and committed to serving the region. That said, I wasn’t sure specifically what we would have in common besides ICAP. Was I in for a surprise! Some of their lives have had much more adventure and diversity than mine. Dr. Bertha, our mentor, has studied in Russia and speaks Russian, which I took in high school. Dr. Baldwin, as it turns out, is a Tanzanian who speaks Mandarin Chinese, which I speak at home, because he did his medical training in China up until the year 2000. I expected to meet new and different people coming all the way to Tanzania, but I did not expect to be speaking in Chinese here to someone who is not Chinese! That was immensely cool.
o I am really impressed by the commitment of the ICAP staff to improving HIV care in this region. Many of them are separated from their families as a result of this work, since we are out in the remote regions of Tanzania and their families are in the larger cities of Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, etc. They start work at 8am and always stay until 5pm, but often the days will go even later when there are important work meetings and site visits. By and large, people are cheerful amidst the difficult issues we are dealing with, but I feel that there is also a certain amount of sacrifice being made by most to do this work. I am not sure how common or uncommon it is for people working in Tanzania to be separated from their families, but regardless, it must not be easy.