Dispatches from Kilimanjaro

About the Book

Nyraka kwa Kilimanjaro, or Dispatches From Kilimanjaro is a series of thirty emails sent to family, friends and colleagues between 1996-2000. It depicts the adventures and life of the author and his wife, in their mid fifties, who left the comfort and security of their privileged Boston lifestyle to serve in Tanzania. The story depicts the beauty and one of Africa's most peaceful and beautiful nations and the sharing of language, culture, and lifestyle of its gracious people. It shares in the sadness of the HIV-AIDS pandemic, poverty, the founding of the country's second medical school, and our own misgivings of acquiring the skills of a new language, vocation and culture at that stage in our lives. It also shares the authors personal view of himself and the fulfilling nature of the work and faculty of Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre. In short, it is a brief journal of our adventures and love affair with one of the world's most beautiful country and people despite the significant handicap of poverty and rampant disease.

About the Author

David B. Pomfret was born in Somerset, Massachusetts, educated at Stonehill College and received his MD at University College, Dublin of the National University of Ireland. He is married to Anna Rafferty, also a physician, and have four children and eight grandchildren. They both enjoy skiing, sailing and travel. They both had private practices in the greater Boston area and continue to serve as Clinical Associate Professors on the faculty of Tufts University School of Medicine for the past 32 years. The Pomfrets' reside in Bartlett, New Hampshire and Jamestown, Rhode Island since their return from Tanzania. They hope to return to Tanzania three months each year to continue their service to the medical school at Tumaini University, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College, in Moshi, Tanzania. They both enjoy their beloved grandchildren to whom this book is dedicated.

Dr. Pomfret is a board certified Internist-Cardiologist who has given numerous talks about Tanzania and the medical school at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. He has served as a visiting professor in South America and in Africa where he was the director of Post Graduate Medicine and Research at Tumaini University. He is the author of numerous publications since his days as a medical student.