Tumaini Health Center Project Tanzania.

The Tumaini Health Center was founded in 1987 as a dispensary under the leadership of the Sisters of Our Lady of Kilimanjaro CDNK.  It is a private/public facility governed by a board of directors made up of members selected by both the representatives of the Ministry of Health Tanzania and the Catholic Diocese.  Sister Clarissa, a long standing partner of CACHA is the Medical Officer in charge and has taken on this role after several years at Kilema Hospital where CACHA supported the construction and operations of Tanzania’s first Care and Treatment Center for HIV and AIDS in Tanzania as well as it’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s Program and its HIV Prevention from Mother to Child Program.

In 2009 the dispensary became a Health Centre.  The goal of the Tumaini Health Center is to reduce suffering, promote health, and care for the most vulnerable in a rural catchment area of Ndatu village serving a population of 268,000 between Arusha and Moshi.

Over the last decade, in partnership with CACHA and friends of Tumaini, several improvements to the Health Centre have taken place. A small surgical theater for emergency surgeries including caesarian sections, hysterectomies, and appendectomies was constructed and staffing was increased. In 2021 the Ministry of Health, assessed the Health Center based on the Ministry’s Star Rating System.  This system, that has been implemented in all primary care facilities on the mainland in Tanzania, assesses 11 domains of service delivery and rates them on a scale of 1 to 5 stars.  The Tumaini Health Centre was awarded a 4 Star rating in recognition of its excellent services and care to the surrounding community.

A priority area for further development nationally has been the improvement of prenatal services, reduction in maternal and infant mortality and post-natal care. These services are collectively called Reproductive Child Health (RCH).  The Sisters of Our Lady of Kilimanjaro seeks to improve delivery of RCH services through the construction of a new campus on lands adjoined to the Health Center. The first phase (Phase I) of construction is for a RCH facility.  Initial funding for the RCH facility for three years 2018 – 2020 came from an Italian charity, Caritas Italian Initiative (CEI) based in Rome and supported by the Italian Bishops Conference.  The contract with CEI ended in October 2021 as initially agreed but unfortunately due to unforeseen costs such as electricity installation, price fluctuations, water shortages, higher than expected local transportation, security, unstable exchange rates, and other, some elements of the construction were left unfinished.

In April 2022, on behalf of CDNK, Sister Clarissa approached CACHA with a proposal to support the completion of Phase I.  The proposal was approved by the CACHA Board of Directors in May wherein CACHA agreed to support the center to complete Phase I including the drilling of a bore hole, construction of a water storage facility and the completion of the construction of the RCH facility which will house a the prenatal clinic, operating theater, delivery rooms, a maternity ward to accommodate up to 50 mothers, a pediatric ward and well-baby care clinic.

Once the construction is completed, the RCH facility will need further support to equip Phase I with necessary ward furnishings such as surgical beds, delivery beds, fetal monitors, an ultrasound, and an anesthesia machine.

Together, with your support, a fully functioning RCH facility can become a reality.  Together we can improve the health outcomes of this Tanzanian community, reducing morbidity and mortality for mothers and newborns.

The Sisters of Our Lady of Kilimanjaro thank you for your generosity.

For more information please contact Don Kilby, CACHA project coordinator for this project:

[email protected]

Goal $100,000