Words from Tanzania

The Medical facilities in the Pare Diocese cannot be compared to ours, but we know they are heading in the right direction. Gonja Hospital was on a track to be closed in the years 1998-2000, Shigatini Dispensary was a part time facility, and there was no supply chain or future for their dedicated employees. We took a couple of days last week to visit Gonja, to install a line filter in an utrasound machine, to see if we could do something about their poor internet service and to give some support to the folks there who now have more new computers than people who know how to turn them on.

Gonja Hospital, Shigatini Dispensary, and the Ruvu Dispensary are now popular places for visitors, both short and medium term. Our own Dr. J Gardner just completed over 3 weeks of volunteer medical services to Gonja Hospital. We’ve been able to direct other medical students from Holland, Germany and the States to spend some time at the health care facilties of the Pare Diocese, and those who have worked at the Tanzanian Government health facilities comment that there are no places like Gonja and Ruvu where the people actually care about their patients. There are new ARV and home-based care programs at Gonja, a new Palliative Care program is starting, and there is a line-up of western visitors coming to stay, coming to serve and coming to experience this mountain-top health care facility.

At the end of our little visit to Gonja, we loaded up a portable x-ray machine to take to the technician in Moshi and tried desperately to troubleshoot the ailing internet service, satellite-based. I was able to make three phone calls in three hours of work (the cellphone coverage has changed and the nearest point to make a call is at our own Bombo Parish), and found out that a service technician must be scheduled to look at what appears to be a satellite hardware problem.

As always, Dr. Mary Msemo, Dr. Amini Mshighwa, Matron Dora, Nurse Kajiru, and head cook Joyce thanked us for visiting, and we know firsthand what makes the difference for Gonja Hospital- the caring people.