A few weeks ago, our Health Director, Africanus John, asked me to discuss a unique case with him. He began describing a five-year-old girl, Victoria, who weighs just 14 pounds. She has no signs of malnutrition, has a loving family, and likely suffers from a not-yet-diagnosed genetic syndrome.

To ensure that students are healthy enough to thrive both in and outside the classroom, TCF’s Health Team conducts annual health screenings at our three partner schools for over 1,700 students. For each student, we conduct a thorough medical history review, performed a head-to-toe assessment, and asked about any complaints or concerns.

Last Fall, a mother from the Oldeani community named Helen visited TCF’s Rural Community Health Clinic in search of a solution for her newborn son Prosper who was born with clubfoot. 

In rural Oldeani, access to specialized care and surgery is often rare and prohibitively expensive for families.

We are constantly growing our programs in an attempt to create holistic change for this community, but one of the challenges we still face is ensuring that our community is aware of all the programs we offer. Elizabeth lives in a neighboring village and learned she was pregnant with her second child in August of 2021.

Ruth Hamza is a 58-year-old entrepreneur from Oldeani who has been living with epilepsy for 10 years. As part of TCF’s commitment to improving our community’s health and well-being, we have been working to expand knowledge surrounding chronic illnesses.

India, who is pursuing a Clinical Medicine degree, spends her school breaks interning at our Rural Community Health Clinic. Through hands-on experience, India has gained a wide variety of practical skills.

In the months leading up to her delivery, TCF also provided Hosiana with transport to her monthly prenatal program visits, ensuring that she did not have to walk three hours to receive the care and education she needed.

Zawadi Mwema, a Form 3 student at Oldeani Secondary School (OSS), has overcome countless obstacles to be where she is today. Like many other young girls living in the developing world, she grew up in a system that always seemed to be working against her.

Just about a year ago, we made the difficult decision to go into lockdown in order to ensure the safety of our community. During that time, our college kids came home and our senior staff remained at RVCV as we went into quarantine. As we reflect on those days spent together, we feel grateful for the unintended positives that resulted.

As we kick off 2021, the health and wellness of our children and wider community in the rural mountains of Northern Tanzania remains a top priority.

Some of the cases that come through the clinic go well beyond our scope of work. Dedicated to ensuring that every member of our community gets the care that they need, in such cases we assume the roles of medical case manager, supporter and advocate.

Welcome Richard Daniel!

In what can only be described as a miracle, baby Aidan opened his eyes. 

Gretchen joined TCF’s team last November, and brings the “3 H’s”—Health, Humor, and Hope—to all of the patients at our Rural Community Health Clinic.

School physicals are an important (and fun) part of my nursing responsibilities. This year at Gyetighi Primary school, I started the physical exams with the younger children in “Awali,” which is the Tanzanian equivalent of kindergarten.