April, 2009
The Question: So Joelle, what exactly do you do in Tanzania?
By Joelle Rosser, Elimu Africa Vice Chair
I can’t believe I only have a couple months left in Tanzania. I have too much work to do! Every weekend for the next month and a half is completely booked up with seminars or clinics in the village and the weeks are filled with training sessions, organizing seminars & trainings, setting up small preventative health projects, and helping individual cases. So what does all of that mean? Well, I’ll just give you some of the details of the seminars/projects we have going.
So to start with: I work in a village of a little over 5,000 people. The village is called Shimbwe and lies about 45 minutes outside of Moshi Town. The village is located on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro and is a beautiful fairytale land from my perspective. I work with a locally started women’s group called Minjeni. This organization has four departments which all work both individually and together. I am currently the project manager/director for the health department (though I hope to be able to hand over the managing responsibilities to a local woman named Suzi and a social worker named Iku by June).
So what are we doing right now?
First of all, we are continuing the educational seminars that I started at the end of my last trip. A sharp young single mom in the village named Suzi will teach the seminars. We are starting this weekend with a seminar on sanitation/cleanliness (and have plans for seminars on alcohol, nutrition, and malaria in the future). I started creating the lesson plan and as I was going over it with her, she kept piping in with more great ideas. I love it! We are trying to get a hold of some health manuals in Swahili so she can organize the seminars herself. Suzi has so much potential to be a positive force in the community and I am so excited that we are moving in this direction.
We are also trying to help the local dispensary (think of it like a small primary care clinic) be more effective. A major problem at the dispensary is a lack of consistent medication. The government is supposed to deliver a supply of meds every three months, but often the shipments are several months late and the dispensary has nothing to offer people. The local people then loose faith in the ability of the dispensary to help them and rumors have started that the local clinician is selling the medication. Although we cannot (nor do we feel it is right) simply supply the dispensary with all the medication it needs at this time, we are hoping to at least supply it with the medication necessary to treat hypertension. We are hoping that by starting with this small program, we can attack a preventative health issue, rebuild some trust in the dispensary, and figure out other ways that we can help the dispensary in the future. So what do I do during the day? Well, taking this project as an example… some days I am talking to patients, nurses, and local leaders… other days I’m researching hypertension and the available medications… some days I am organizing days to screen for hypertension and trying to recruit doctors to help us… other days I am trying to figure out where I can obtain a good blood pressure cuff.
We have also started a project to get women screened for cervical cancer. We are holding a seminar about cervical cancer and explaining to women the benefits of screening and getting a list of sign ups. We are then partnering with the regional hospital to get about 8 women screened pre week. We are hoping that we will also have enough funds to helping women who do have cervical cancer to get down to the capital for treatment at the country’s only cancer treatment center. This brings up one of the biggest barriers to medical treatment for people in Tanzania: the cost of
transportation. Screening is free. Treatment is free. Transportation to/from the regional hospital is about $1 or several hours of walking. Transportation to/from the capital is about $50. I’m talking about cervical caner right now, but transportation is a huge problem for many patients, particularly those with chronic problems which require monthly trips to pick up medication (epilepsy, schizophrenia, HIV, congestive heart failure, etc.).
Partnering with the women’s department of Minjeni, we are organizing a training session for the local dispensary and health center nurses on the procedure for handling a rape case. My good friend, Mitra, worked last year at a hospital in town to establish a procedure for helping rape victims. We are attempted to expand this training to more local level health facilities, and then follow up with seminars for the local leaders and for secondary school students.
Further developing a partnership with a group of Canadian physicians, we are organizing an Eye Care Day, inviting anyone with eye problems to be evaluated by a volunteering ophthalmologist for a small fee (of course those patients whom we know cannot afford the fee will still be seen). We have donated reading glasses and we hope to use the proceeds from the day to help patients purchase regular prescription glasses at the regional hospital (about $20 a pair).
Finally, we are following up with special individual cases that were identified by the Canadian Health Caravan in January and trying to establish a policy for assisting specific cases in the future.
I have two other small pipe dreams. The first involves starting a medical insurance project and perhaps linking it to a microfinance project. The second involves integrating more sustainable farming methods into the community. Water availability rapidly becoming a large concern on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and it is currently my understanding that this is largely due to deforestation and soil erosion. I am looking into getting a bit of training at a farm demonstrating sustainable farming practices on Kili’s steep slopes. These are very long term, difficult projects, but I can still hope, right?
So back to the question that I keep getting asked by my friends and family: what do you DO in Tanzania? Well, I conduct surveys, meet with patients, discuss issues with local leaders and healthcare workers, organize seminars and health days, network with various organizations, advocate for patients in the local hospitals, try to figure out what resources are available and how we can mobilize them. And then when I’m tired of all that, I go home and make passion juice or banana bread out of the enormous basket of fruit that I get in Shimbwe.
I love my work here. I don’t know how I’m going to leave it in June. Unless I can devise a way of getting back…
December 2008
Dear Elimu Africa Friends and Supporters
Rather than send the usual newsletter, we thought it might be fitting to send you our holiday greetings, our thanks and a bit of news to let you know our plans for the new year.
Fundraising News
Our fall letter writing campaign is well underway and we have had a great response. We thank all of you who despite a tougher economic climate have chosen to remember our students in Africa. If you have not had a chance to send us your gift, we are still accepting donations through the end of year to use for 2009 planning.
Please make your checks to Elimu Africa and mail to:
Janet Caron, Elimu Africa Treasurer
6202 Quantico Lane, North, Maple Grove, MN 55311
Board News
Joelle Rosser, EA Vice Chair returned in September from her yearlong stay in Tanzania. Joelle had many incredible adventures during her time and accomplished so much for us. Since returning home to California, Joelle has been interviewing for medical school and plans to start school in the fall of 2009. She will be returning to Tanzania in January 2009 for a few months to continue her work with a local women's health initiative and to be our eyes, ears and helping hands, at our current project, Cheju Wisdom Center, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Our plans for 2009
- Your generous donations will go toward funding building projects and educational materials for the Cheju Wisdom Center, Tanzania East Africa. Cheju is educating disadvantaged students from the poor island of Zanzibar with the goal of eventually lifting their overall level of education, health and prosperity.
- We are working to locate sponsors for 10 Cheju students who come from very poor rural families. The formal profiles of these students and information on how to sponsor a student will be posted on our web site: www.elimuafrica.org in early 2009. It will cost only $500.00 per year to change the lives of these lovely kids. If you would like more information on sponsoring students at Cheju, please contact our Sponsorship Coordinator, Sandy Baldwin at: sbaldwin4@charter.net.
Shop online and make a donation to Elimu Africa at no cost to you!
Do your holiday shopping online using GoodShop: www.goodshop.com.
It’s super easy to get started: Go to www.goodshop.com and type in “Elimu Africa”.
Shop online using the GoodShop Mall and Elimu Africa will receive, on the average, a donation of 3% (range is 1-7%) of your purchase!
You can purchase through some 600+ stores – virtually any store you can think of – and there is no added cost for you to do this!!!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your ongoing encouragement and financial support. Each one of you is changing lives in ways you cannot imagine. Mostly, you are blessing this group of very deserving human beings with the invaluable tool of education.
We wish you joy, peace and good health during the holiday season and the upcoming year with all its opportunities and challenges.
All the best,
The Elimu Africa Board and our students in Africa
August, 2008
We are pleased to announce our new project, Cheju Wisdom Center, located on the beautiful island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, East Africa.
Cheju Wisdom Center, founded in 1999, is a project we are excited about and one which also inspires us. The people of Zanzibar face poverty, hunger, a lack of quality health care, gender inequity, and a lack of access to education.
The Cheju Wisdom Center hopes to change lives by educating their students in their government’s curriculum, especially in English and mathematics, to enable them to move into quality secondary schools or vocational training. The Center has been very successful as 98% of the 520 students that have passed through its doors have gone forward with their education and toward a better life. For The Cheju Wisdom Center to continue to be successful in helping these very deserving students, they need our help!
In addition to their studies and extracurricular activities, students work in the large garden providing food for school meals.
Serving disadvantaged students: Although it costs about $600.00-$900.00 per year to educate and board students, The Cheju Wisdom Center asks families to pay only $430.00. If families cannot pay, sponsors are found. Or in exchange for tuition, families can offer food or volunteer their time and labor to work on building projects.
The most urgent needs for the school include:
- Lab equipment and chemicals
- Books
- Computers
- Building projects
- Sponsorship for 10 students
Volunteers Meg and Andy Mitchell, Chicago, IL raised funds and traveled to Tanzania in July, 2008 to help with building projects at the Second Chance Education Center (SCEC) in Moshi. Below are photos showing the vast improvement in the kitchen and dining rooms for students and staff. Elimu Africa and SCEC are grateful to the Mitchells for their energy, compassion and generosity.
Dining Room Before and After
Kitchen Before and After
The stove donated by Elimu Africa donors is shown below the window. This method of coking replaces the need to collect wood and cook over an open fire.
In March, 2008 we received the official word: we are now a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization through the IRS. This good news will allow us to keep supporting deserving students in Tanzania. Summer seems an appropriate time of year for this to have happened. The seeds that were planted in 2005 with a simple idea and a passionate group of people have grown strong roots and will now have the chance to spread, grow and bloom. Over the next few months, our board will be doing some thoughtful strategic planning to define our direction. We will continually work to fulfill our mission: To help support disadvantaged students in Africa by facilitating their pursuit of education, which is vital to combating the cycle of poverty, disease and abuse.
We wish to thank our good friends of Tanzania Life Project for their support since 2005 as we awaited our non-profit status. They processed our funds, and their good advice and stellar example as an organization have been an inspiration.
Fall Fundraising Campaign: In 2007, we raised $16,000.00 simply by writing letters and receiving gifts from you, our friends, family and kind supporters. We will be sending letters once again this fall to help continue our work with students in Tanzania. Thanks for your generosity and compassion!
One individual can make a huge impact: Sandy Baldwin one of the CHS parent chaperones who traveled to Tanzania in March, 2008 with Dick McMorrow single handedly raised $20,000,00 for Tanzania Life Project. She did this by conducting an H2O project. Tanzania Life Project was the recipient of these funds which will go to help their current project of digging a well to supply water to the rural village of Chisichili, Tanzania.
If you are interested in doing a fundraiser at your school, church, community or your home, there are so many ways to have fun while helping a great cause. You can easily plan events like “Penny Wars” campaigns, “Dining for a Cause”, Walk or Bike-a-thons, or any idea you might have. If you are interested, please contact Kristy Blick, EA Chair.
Volunteer News
Volunteering through Elimu Africa:
Elimu Africa does not have a formal volunteer program at this time. However, if you are planning a trip to Tanzania, we are certainly willing to help you with advice on things like how to get your visa, how to pack and a few travel and volunteering tips.
If you are interested in planning a volunteer trip, please contact our volunteer liaison Dick Mc Morrow at mcmorrow@charter.net or Joelle Rosser, vice chair and assistant volunteer coordinator at joellelovesafrica@gmail.com. In addition, there is a lot of useful information on our web links page which would be helpful in trip planning.
Dick McMorrow, EA co-founder and board member traveled to Tanzania in March, 2008 with ten of his students and parent chaperones. The students were part of Dick’s Global Issues Class at Cathedral High School (CHS) in St Cloud MN. While in Tanzania, they volunteered at the Second Chance Education Centre. They spent time getting to know the students by tutoring, playing games and sports and just hanging out and sharing their mutual cultures. The CHS group spent hours working, laughing and sweating side by side with SCEC students while digging a large garden for the school. In addition to working with students in all of their volunteer work, Dick conducted a needs assessment at the school. The group also found time for a little fun with activities like swimming at the YMCA, day tours in the scenic Kilimanjaro region and going on Safari.
 | “This trip has been life changing for all of us and we want to bring our experience home to all of you, carry them with us for the rest of our lives and use them to do something more.” Kelly Becktold, CHS Jr. “This has been a great bonding experience and the group is truly getting along so greatly.” Abby Janick, CHS Jr. “We weren’t just helping students there, we became friends with them and inspired them to become strong, educated women and make a difference.” Tori Briixius, CHS Sr. |
Joelle Rosser, EA co-founder and Vice Chair continues her year-long stay in Tanzania which began in September, 2007. Joelle spent the first six months of her time working at SCEC. She wore many hats in her role at the school including classroom teaching, working to promote extracurricular activities, working with SCEC school administrators and conducting ongoing needs assessments at the school. Joelle has been a true gift to all of us at Elimu Africa with her hard work, great insights and compassionate, honest and thoughtful recommendations to our board. We are continually grateful to Joelle for being our eyes, ears and hands in Tanzania. Recently, Joelle has made a transition to follow another passion of hers which includes women’s health and empowerment and working in the medical field. Joelle has been an inspiration to so many here at home and a godsend to those she touches in her life in Tanzania. The following is a description Joelle wrote in March, 2008 describing her current projects:
“Although I visit the school regularly to see how the school is progressing and to socialize with the students, the majority of my work now takes place outside the school. I am working with other volunteers and ex-pats to develop long-term funding and volunteer strategies for the school. I am also researching how other private secondary schools in Tanzania develop and function, with the hope that this information can help Elimu Africa expand to other projects in the future.
I have also started working with Minjeni Women's Group, an organization providing services to a very poor area in Rural Moshi. The group provides support to orphans and vulnerable children, promotes women's social and economic empowerment, and addresses healthcare and educational issues. I am specifically working in the health and education department and we are currently trying to complete a needs assessment and provide basic health education seminars. I also spend a couple days a week volunteering at a rural hospital, doing everything from going on rounds with doctors to mopping floors to delivering babies to teaching expectant mothers how to play card games. I love my work in Moshi and dread the day I have to leave”
So, if you want to read my stories, keep any eye out for my emails, or for more frequent updates, check out my blog at www.moshimoments.blogspot.com
 | Joelle and new baby. Karibou – welcome to the world! |
