Struggles

In Zanzibar, the biggest challenge facing Sun and her colleagues was the language barrier. In the daytime they treated patients, but during evenings after work they studied English and Swahili with the medical team's translator. It was difficult, especially for older people on the team. Everyone carried around notebooks in which they would write down words, perusing the pages whenever a spare minute arose. After about three months, they were able to have basic conversations with local residents.

It was also difficult for the team to adjust to Tanzanian weather and diet. Many fell sick from the hot temperatures and the egg- and beef-heavy meals. However, resting wasn't an option.

In those years, many of Zanzibar's local clinics had no doctors. The key professional medical workers were the volunteers from Jiangsu Province. The pressure to keep working was constant. "It was common to care for patients throughout the night," Sun says. If patients were coming in for emergencies, she wouldn't leave the hospital at all.

Hospitals then were lacking in supplies and medical knowledge. Sun taught locals how to use Chinese high pressure sterilization technology for needle injections and the changing of wound dressings. This drastically reduced cross contamination and infection. Every week, she held lectures for Tanzanian doctors and nurses on how to improve medical standards. "I hoped we could leave with a permanent medical team in place," she explains.

The Chinese medical team began traveling to the countryside to treat patients twice a week. "When we arrived, there was always a long queue [of people] waiting for treatment. And we would start working at once," Sun recalls. The staff often went to a local orphanage where they would treat and play with their young patients. The children had a lot of affection for the Chinese doctors, and Sun to this day keeps a photo of herself playing with the youngsters.

Life in Zanzibar was tough. Sun's only contact with her family was through monthly correspondence. Whenever a letter arrived she couldn't wait to read it. "I was in poor health, easily fatigued and sometimes felt stressed," she recalls. "But my patients kept me motivated."