In 1951, aged 31 Vivian was posted to remote areas of Tanzania, worked
as a member of a team conducting medical surveys under the auspices of
the British Colonial Service. Every day, Doctor Usborne walked miles
through dramatic landscapes in the Northern Province gathering data on
common diseases from rural inhabitants on Ukara Island in Lake Victoria
and, later, in the savannas of Sukumuland. In 1953, she treated patients
in mission hospitals in the far reaches of the Southern Province. She
journeyed thousands of miles throughout East Africa, often alone, by
car, train, boat, and small plane. She bathed in crocodile-infested
waters, lived for months without plumbing, electricity, or running
water, slept on a cot inches above roosting bats, fell asleep to the
beating of drums and the howling of hyenas, sampled lakefly cakes and
fried locusts. She painted the people and places she observed with only
the materials at hand.
These are
extracts from Vivian Mary's book: To an island in Africa
4.UKARA ISLAND: Dr Usborne’s Garden.
This is looking out from the house. On the right you can see my kitchen.
I transplanted the Old Maid flowers that grow wild on the island. The
plant is also called Vinca Major – a wonderful plant that is used to
beat Leukaemia.
5. UKARA ISLAND:
View of Nurse Nora’s house
Up the hill and along the road was Irish nurse Nora’s aluminium house
in this incredible setting. I made up none of these rocks! This is
exactly how it was rock by rock. There was a fantastic amount of erosion
in front of the house. She didn’t like these rocks. Pythons were said
to dwell in them. Thinking the snakes might be visiting ancestors, the
Wakara sometimes left milk for them to drink. Eventually we moved to
another part of Tanzania. Nora said, “Oh I’m glad we are moving.
Above all there won't be any rocks".
