From the Heart of Montana to the Hearts of Tanzania
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This May a group of Montanans will once again make the journey to Tanzania as a part of a medical mission to support the Sakila Dispensary. Montanans have been making an impact in Sakila and surrounding villages for several years. In fact a house named Montana has been built on the property. This group includes doctors, physician assistants, nurses, emergency medical technicians, physical therapist, and support staff. In all there are will be 15 of us. This mission is made every two years from the Montana group.
So how did this all get started? The International Evangelism Center (IEC) was founded in 1983 by Bishop Eliudi Issangya, a resident of Sakila. This began as a bible school and has grown to offer a primary and secondary school, orphanages, a trade school, a radio station and a 100 acre farm. The radio station is in partnership with Your Network of Praise which began in Havre, Montana.
In 1990, the medical program began with a medical clinic on the grounds of the IEC. This facility is called the New Hope International Hospital Sakila Dispensary. It has grown from a three room clinic with a dirt floor to a new building and a fully Tanzanian medical professional staff. It is addressing the needs of local people 6 days a week. The dispensary is supported by donors in the U.S. which includes visiting teams of doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals and support people. While there, our health care professionals will be seeing patients in Sakila as well as surrounding villages for a two week period. During that time we will stay at the IEC.
Our team has been collecting for donations of clean clothing for all ages, shoes, socks, warm clothing (their winter is not cold to us but is cold to them). These items will be for the orphanages, schools, and local people. The Christ Hope Orphanage has been open for over 10 years, growing from 30 parentless children to more than 80 children. Since 2009 the Sluys/Anderson Primary School has grown from kindergarten to seventh grade with over 500 students. In 2015 the Hebron High School opened and enrolls over 400 students with about 300 boarding on campus each year. Both schools have been officially recognized by the government of Tanzania and students have scored excellent on national testing.
It was decided this year to delay the sending the clothing donations to Tanzania by container ship until 2020. The money will go toward training the Sakila Medical Clinic Staff. We will continue collecting donations and have a storage unit that we can store them at.
Here are some items that our group will be taking with them on the plane: roller gauze, gauze pads, band-aids, medical tape, exam gloves, ace wraps, wrist, ankle, knee braces, toothbrushes, soap, and lotion.
Of course money is needed as well. The money will be used to purchase medications when we arrive in Tanzania, and other necessary supplies. Of course some patients will need to be referred to another medical facility for additional services. Since most of the patients are extremely poor, money is needed to pay for their transportation to the medical facility and also if they need any medications. The transportation is not fancy, most ride on the back of a motorcycle.
A fundraiser dinner and auction will be held on April 6 at the Boys and Girls Club in Havre. The dinner will be Cowboy Cocktails (pulled pork, baked beans, and coleslaw) along with dessert. The dinner will be a free will offering followed by a silent auction. There will be a presentation by members who have gone on many missions to Sakila. This will be a time to learn more about the mission and Tanzania.
All the donations, supplies, and money will go directly to this mission. In other words there are no administrative costs. All the members pay for their own travel and expenses. Of course your donations are tax deductible as well.
Please contact Peggy Perry (357-3324) or Marilyn Granell (390-0505) if you have questions or would like to donate. Here is the website to learn more about the organization http://www.nhihtanzania.org.
