Mkombozi today. I saw 18 patients, 17 children eleven years old and under. Nearly all new patients. A greulling day. I can't say that I did good work choosing remedies for them all and I am very glad that I will be here next month so I get a second chance if the first choice isn't good enough. Every time we looked up there were more waiting and in the end we had to turn the others away and when we said 5 more and sent the others home every time we got to the end of our five another few had snuk in. How can you stop another child slipping on to the end of the queue?


The last one didn't take long. An eleven year old girl with pain in the abdomen better for eating. The only symptom. Everything else fine. And she has only had this symptom for one week since her parents could not pay for her to have food in school. Food in school for one month costs 30000 Tanzanian shillings which is just less than €15. She was not the only one with pain better for eating but the others all had other symptoms. This girl is healthy and well, just hungry.


I gave her a remedy which might help her a little not to worry so much when she is hungry and I will find out from the school If I can pay for her food for a month. I wanted just to give her food and no remedy because she is just hungry but she had got herself on to the end of the queue so I felt honour bound to find her a remedy. The food is only going to last her a month but if she is less worried about hunger that is a longer term gift and the remedy is also going to support her general health.


Earlier I had asked a seven year old who was having trouble answering our questions if he didn't like being questioned – I was trying to understand the remedy he needed and his shyness was giving me a clue. He was almost too shy to speak but he said he didn't mind because he likes this medicine. All of these kids have seen their friends being helped by homoeopathy over the years.


Marina also had over 15 patients today in Majengo and had to turn others away. Luckily there are two more volunteers coming in September, which will mean less people turned away though transport is going to be a problem for us.


Davy spent this long day variously trying to break his own politeness barrier and be brave enough to film people or sitting endlessly, endlessly bored and waiting. I was proud of him and feel that his witnessing lots of hungry children, one after the other, all day long, is a contribution in itself. He is slowly getting the hang of the filming and gets better footage every day.


At one stage he managed to record some powerful singing that overwhelmed us from the room next door, drowning out the voices of our small patients but giving us a welcome break of beauty in the midst of hardship.


I haven't worked out how to eat during our long days work because how can you break out the hang sanwiches in front of people who are hungry? I gave away my lunch today. More comfortable to join in with the hunger for a few short hours.


Pendo was one of my first patients this morning, terrifyingly weak and frail but just about hanging in there. All of us keeping her in mind every day.