MedShare found a well deserving recipient of the fundraised medical supplies: the Shirati KMT Hospital in northwest Tanzania. The hospital is in a rural region a few miles from Lake Victoria and has 200 beds serving an area of approximately 200,000 people. The hospital has an inspiring story being formed with sustained support from Tanzanians and Mennonite missionaries. It has already overcome major hurdles training the Tanzanian staff via a nursing school and getting water and electricity to the hospital.
Shirati KMT is at the front line in the fight against malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, and the current AIDS catastrophe. More history of the hospital can be found here and the location of Shirati can be seen here. Their non-profit facility is chronically under-resourced and MedShare is helping bridge their need for medical equipment and supplies. The container sponsored by the CauseToPaddle project will be a great start and future projects will continue to strengthen the Shirati Hospital. Watch this excellent video where Dr. Chirangi describes his community.
Thank you all for helping support the Shirati Hospital and its community with your donations. In the coming months, the Shirati Hospital and MedShare will prepare the list of supplies to be sent and go through some review processes. MedShare does an excellent job of waste-reduction not only by bringing surplus medical supplies into their warehouse but they also have review processes with the recipient to ensure that the right supplies are sent and will be fully utilized.
I thank you all for supporting the CauseToPaddle project and making it a successful fundraiser. It has been quite an adventure and I thank you all for joining me on it!
