The Global Orthodox Witness in Tanzania - Orthodox Christian ...

HealthcarePartnershipsIn September 2012, only three months afterthe health centre first started seeing patients withthe new staff in place, we welcomed a combinedteam of American and Greek medical providersincluding physicians, a nurse practitioner, apharmacist, a dentist, nurses, a lab technician,and administrative support staff, as well as a highschool student volunteer. Project Africa Global,an American NGO, and Mission is Possible,a missions organization from St. Paul GreekOrthodox Church in Irvine, California, partneredto organize the trip from the US. Giannis andtwo volunteers from Greece and Luxemburg alsojoined the group. Giannis and I worked with HisEminence and local Church members to host theteam, arranging lodging, meals, transportation,translators, etc. Some team members volunteeredat the local government regional referral hospital,offering their surgical skills to patients free ofcharge. The team also offered medical care to ruralvillage communities outside Bukoba on two days.The two weeks the team spent were rewarding foreveryone, and many patients came to the healthcentre to receive care.October 2012 brought a short-term OCMCmedical team to the Bukoba area. Although theteam provided medical care exclusively to ruralvillages and did not officially volunteer withinthe health centre, team members visited withour staff and generously donated medications,supplies, books, and equipment that remainedafter the end of their medical outreach. Sincethe other group from the US had also recentlydonated a great number of medications andsupplies, the health centre staff worked hard withGiannis to inventory the items and to store themappropriately. We were extremely grateful to bothteams, as we aim to provide services at minimalcost and on a not-for-profit basis. The staff at theABOVE: OCMC Missionary FeliceStewart provides information to staff andcommunity members about addictionsand recovery. Thanks to Felice and herteam, substance abuse counseling isbeing offered through local Orthodoxchurches in several villages in Tanzania.health centre eagerly askedif OCMC team memberswould be returning at afuture date, so that theycould work together.In early Novembera KEDAS team arrivedconsisting of physiciansand a dentist, as well asa non-medical but verymotivated volunteer. At thesame time, a volunteer from a different NGO inGreece, Poreia Agapis, happened to be in Bukobaand joined the team to provide technologicaland accounting services. This team collaboratedextremely closely with our Tanzanian providers,exchanging ideas and learning from one another.Team members helped to set up both a minorsurgical procedure room and also a roomfor emergency medical cases. One physicianprovided a brief demonstration and explanationof Basic Life Support protocols, which our staffwas extremely eager and interested to learn.February 2013 brought Giannis backto Bukoba, accompanied by a young Greekpediatrician. As I began preparing to depart to theUS with Felice, we welcomed the addition of thisnew medical provider who seems very interestedin remaining involved in the development of thehealth centre. With a background in public healthand looking forward to a six-month assignmentin the Central African Republic as a volunteerwith Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Patra Key willbe well-equipped to provide excellent advice andsuggestions to KEDAS board members about thenext steps of developing the health centre.Currently, the health centre functions asan outpatient facility providing primary care.We have a working pharmacy and lab, but ourultrasound and x-ray technology needs updating.The dental room is fairly well-equipped, but thereis room for improvement. The eventual goal is tobuild wards and extend the services to includein-patient care, which is definitely needed.Currently we have to transfer serious cases toother hospitals, and we’d like to avoid needing todo that in the future. The first building priority,however, as identified by His Eminence, is anOrthodox chapel on the grounds. His vision is toprovide a full-time priest and offer daily servicesat the health centre as a means of ministeringto the spiritual needs of the people. AlthoughFelice’s term of service in Tanzania is completed,her work and the AA meetings are continuingunder the supervision of the medical director andother staff, as well as members of the AA group.In this way, the health centre is positioned to offerABOVE: Nurses from Project AfricaGlobal, an American NGO, triagepatients and take vital signs withthe assistance of a Tanzanian nurse/translator. Many of the team membershad experience with medicine andnursing in developing countries,including Africa, but for many it wastheir first visit to Tanzania.holistic care for the bodies, minds, and souls ofpeople who seek help.The long-term vision for the health centreis for it to complement the existing healthcarestructures presently available in Bukoba, not toreplicate services already offered elsewhere. Weare working to partner with NGOs in the US todonate medications and supplies, as well as withindividual donors who have offered to provideequipment or may be interested in helpingto finance construction projects. The greatestneed is for human resources, since Bukoba isin a relatively rural part of Tanzania, and mosthealthcare providers would rather work and livein a more urban environment. It has proven agreat challenge to recruit adequately educatedand trained staff, given budgetary constraints.One temporary solution is to welcome individualsand teams of medical providers from abroad, butultimately the goal is for the health centre to beadministrated and fully staffed by indigenousprofessionals.Despite linguistic and cultural differences,as well as varying professional backgrounds andpersonalities, our team of Africans, Europeans,and North Americans have come together tofacilitate the opening of a health centre whichhas the potential to radically impact the physical,psychological, and spiritual health of people innorthwestern Tanzania. I believe that it is noaccident that so many people have managed towork so well together, despite many challenges.It is through the grace of God that three peoplewith no experience in opening or running a healthcentre in Africa have experienced any success inthis endeavor, and it is my hope that God willcontinue to bless it, and that people will be healedand brought to Christ through this ministry.16 OCMC MISSION MAGAZINE • WWW.OCMC.ORG