Dungu To-Do List

Yesterday’s to-do list:

  •  ✓  Wake up on time (05:45) in Dungu, République Démocratique du Congo.
  •  ✓  Remove 156 icepacks from 3 freezers, place on conditioning table to warm up a wee bit.
  • Cold chain fridges, freezers, cold boxes, and icepacks

  •  ✓  Make coffee, eat bread and jam, drink coffee.
  • JJ Bean coffee and French press in DR Congo

  •  ✓  Help load 26 vaccine carriers with conditioned icepacks, ready for measles vaccines and solvent.
  •  ✓  Organise loading and departure of vaccination material for 8 teams onto 40 motorcycles and 1 red pickup.
  • Vaccine carriers leaving base

  •  ✓  Sort receipts, and various other admin work.
  •  ✓  Eat more bread and jam, finish off jar of peanut butter.
  • ⃞   Dismantle vaccination site in front of hospital. Site still operating, dismantlement cancelled.
  • Dungu hospital vaccination site

  •  ✓  Sign contract with carpenter to build roof over Namboli drum burner, with hole for chimney.
  • New drum burner installed at Namboli health centre

  •  ✓  Sort logistics material (tables, chairs, tarps, etc) in courtyard so staff can enter and exit their bedroom doors.
  •  ✓  Dismantle vaccination site in front of hospital, send all material back to base on motorcycles.
  •  ✓  Meet plane at airstrip, collect cargo, load 4 large cool boxes onto plane, instruct logistician for retrieval of 25,000 measles vaccines from Isiro.
  • MAF Cessna 208 Caravan I arriving at Wando Airstrip, Dungu, DR Congo

  •  ✓  Unload cargo at base, organise massively overcrowded storeroom.
  •  ✓  Check on progress of fence around Dungu Uye incinerator, notice old metal grill needs replacing.
  •  ✓  Sign contract with welders to make new metal grill for Dungu Uye incinerator.
  •  ✓  Create 2 long purchase lists, send 2 logisticians out to buy loads of stuff with cash advances.
  •  ✓  Meet plane at airstrip, collect 4 large cool boxes filled with measles vaccines, plus 1 logistician. Load fridge, motorcycle, 2 hospital lamps, and 5 boxes of cholera vaccines onto plane.
  •  ✓  Unload cargo at base, re-organise massively overcrowded storeroom.
  •  ✓  Receive vaccination material from returning vaccination teams, sort, and store in storeroom.
  •  ✓  Visit site of drum burner, check quality of roof before paying carpenter.
  • Drum burner with roof to protect against the rain

  •  ✓  Settle cash advances with 2 logisticians.
  •  ✓  Attend team meeting, plan for coming days.
  • Team meeting in Dungu

  •  ✓  With assistant, prepare payment information for 48 rented motorcycles, 5 daily labourers.
  •  ✓  Hand over admin/finance to colleague.
  •  ✓  Bucket shower.
  •  ✓  Sleep.