Friday

Things got really moving today as we  visited 5 medical centres in Old Moshi.  Old Moshi is a rural area on the outskirts of the Moshi Town. The terrain is extremely hilly with steep valleys. These clinics are smaller and varied greatly from a day clinic with 2 beds and maternal care to a unused 26 bed rural hospital. Each clinic serve as the entry level health care facility for the local community.

They all had their “wish list” of needed items that they hoped we could supply.  It was very sad to see how valuable assets had been left to decline due to neglect and lack of government support.  Some clinics had the minimum required equipment. A hanging weigh scale, a stethoscope, a few basic cots, limited water and little or no electricity.  The good thing was that all clinics had a kit for testing expectant mothers for HIV/Aids.  The only modern pieces of equipment in all the clinics was a propane powered cooler box for vaccines such as polio, measles, tetanus and diphtheria.  Immunization is for infants and young children is a priority and seems effective.

 

We hope that we can partner with the Rotary Club of Moshi to help some of the clinics with their equipment needs.

After a great lunch at the home of the Moshi Club President Bwana Arthur we travelled into the foothills of Kilimanjaro to Kilema.

Saturday

Today the team split into two groups to evaluate ongoing projects with members of the Rotary Club of Kilema Kati.  Roger and Dave met with the President Bwana Lyimo and Sister Clarissa, the hospital administrator to review the Kilema Hospital Equipment Global Grant.  Sister confirmed that all the equipment was in place with 95% of the items running and being used on a regular basis.  The few problem items have a plan in place to help with training staff for safe use.  It was wonderful to visit the OR and see so many “new” machines helping to save lives.

Sister also provided some of the medical statistics needed for completing the Rotary International requirements for the global grant.

Sue, Bill, Tom and Theresa accompanied Rotarian Joseph Militi to visit the water furrows that the club has been working on. The Rotary club is working hard to provide irrigation water to thousands of small subsistence farmsteads.  The water also provides water to school gardens which provided mid-day meals for the students. The overall goal is to increase local food production through enhanced agriculture and provide increased water availability for everyday use.   The club has been focussing on rebuilding the water intakes to increase the flow of water into critical furrows.

The increased water flow has encouraged the local community to take a greater role in maintaining the furrows. Under the leadership of local Rotarians the historical water use agreements are being reinstated and every Monday members of the community with Rotarians are maintaining their furrow by removing debris and identifying sections that need more aggressive renovation.  The next step in the process is to reduce water losses along the channels by rebuilding sections that have major leaks.  The club is working with the team to identify priority furrows and estimate the cost of the next steps.

Returning to Tanzania reminds us of how very fortunate we are to live in Canada with access to good free education, exceptional health care and strong social programs.

Dave Green and Sue Leach

 

One response to “Clinics in need! and other Projects”

1. chris snyder says:

   2020-01-12 at 8:30 p.01.

   Great update and summary cheers Chris Snyder