Tanzania trip 2012

Our founders, Dr. Henry Ziegler and Priscilla Ziegler, a nurse, and Penny Kardis (also a nurse) just got back from Dar es Saalam, Tanzania, November 14, 2012. Here is an update on their trip:

Hello All,

All was well In Tanzania; we arrived home safely yesterday morning.

St. Augustine’s English Medium Primary School

The school is doing very well. With the funds we sent, Alice was able to get a carpenter there to finish the roof and do other work. All moving in Tanzania time!

My son is at Trinity At Meadow View School, just around the corner on Lee Highway from church. They had a chili cook-off fundraiser last Saturday and chose the school as the benefactor. The school raised $3700! This will allow them to finish the toilets and tile the bathrooms. I am so happy! TMV will send check to Holy Cross to be transferred.

I got to do morning prayer a few mornings. I also went and had lunch a couple of days. I was able to have the teacher help me to identify some kids who did not have lunch and we sat and had a nice lunch together under the tree. I feel the school is doing well.

Plan: Would love to take a group of students like my son back. They have some computers. We can get the kids to bring their laptops and have tutorials on use of computer and the internet. Alice thought great idea. Their spring break is same as ours, but they start back to school in July. Worried that this would conflict with other Youth Missions though.

Buguruni Anglican Health Centre
Staff all looked well, clinic had meds and lots of patients, although numbers where down just a little. Help here still needed to keep them in this positive path with supplies and paying salaries on time for staff. They have a wonderful young man who started the same week we were there. John is a new BSN degree nurse and is very bright and talented. It was an honor to work beside him. I think quality of care will certainly increase. They did have an Environmental  Survey by Govt while we were there. Did not go well. Could be some issues about broken lights, ceilings leaking…..

Plan: Keep fundraising going since Health Centre doing well. Their govt reimbursement is falling (like ours!) and needing to keep skilled staff working there and paid on time is important. Hopefully we can engage other congregations to help us.

MEH
This area could use some of our help. They have not had adequate funding for a while, or any grant money. They are having a hard time paying their three Community Health Workers. I spent a lot of time with these ladies, walking in the villages on home visits, going to schools to see the orphans and making sure they were attending. These ladies work hard. I made a donation to pay their salaries  of the month of December, with a Christmas bonus! The are my new dadas (Swahili for sisters).

Several things came up here that I decide to help with while there. A young girl and her brother had both completed primary school but had no funds for secondary(high school). They were very bright and really wanted to go back to school. I have made arrangements to fund them for one year. They will keep me informed on their progress, so I can plan for further donations. Another young lady wanted to go to vocational school and learn trade in tailoring (actually above young lady above also wanted to do tailoring and her brother secondary school). This was an easy donations of 100,000 shillings, about $65.

The Health Care workers supplied me with names of 8-10 more AIDS orphans who are in school but have not paid their fees and risk being removed. These are bright young people trying hard to stay in school. I have a few pictures.

Plan: Try to find donors to support some of these orphans for their school fees. These are the kids trying to make a change. Also see if we can continue to help support the Health care workers so they can stay in the community and help the orphans and get to the elderly. I walked one day with them, and rode the bus, for about 5 hours. Long hot day in unbelievable conditions. They are Grand Women.

Last on my list, Alice and the Health Centre could use computers. Was wondering if we could do a drive after holidays for people to donate after they have gotten updated technology for holiday gifts. That could be old laptops or cameras.

All for now, but I am sure I will think of others. They all asked about the team and wanted to know when everyone was coming back. I hope we can all walk  there together again!

Blessings, Penny