HEALTHCARE PROGRAMS
Mobile Medical Clinic (2021-Present)
We met Dr. Shemaghembe in 2015 when he was still working for the Tanzanian government. We partnered with him and helped to sponsor the government-run mobile medical program. We supplied them with a pop-up tent for use in the field, along with an ultrasound machine and some medical supplies. The mobile clinic was only part of this program, and on those days, the doctor would load up supplies at the static clinic in the morning, and then go out into the field, central to where the Maasai were presently living depending on the season, to administer services for the day. He noticed that he would reach a lot more people this way, when bringing the services directly to the patient. Unfortunately, in Tanzania, all government employees must retire once they reach age 60. Judy, founder of Maasai Partners, thought it was a shame for the Maasai to lose such a valuable asset to the health of this community, and so she reached out to Dr. S well in advance of his retirement to see if he wanted to continue his life’s work with sponsorship from Maasai Partners. Because he was passionate about this work and the impact he was having as one single individual, he happily agreed. So in 2021, Maasai Partners bought a Toyota Land Cruiser (and later a trailer that would act as a private examination room for patients) and started covering the doctor’s salary as well as other expenses like fuel and repairs for the vehicle, and phone and bookkeeping costs. In exchange Dr. S expanded the mobile medical program to reach as many Maasai as possible.
Monitoring the growth of children is an important part of preventing malnourishment
When comparing Dr. S’s impact with that of the government in 2022, his mobile clinic administered 36,775 vaccines, mainly to children under 5 years old, which constituted 54% of all vaccinations given in the NCA that year. The government static health clinic staff administered the other 46% of vaccines. Dr. S has surpassed them each year since.
Because Maasai Partners believes that proper health is a prerequisite to any other areas of progress and change, we have participated in several programs over the years to bring access to more Tanzanians. For instance, in addition to the mobile clinic, Maasai living in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area now have access to Nainokanoka Health Center, a recently built facility. Work on the hospital began years ago, but with help from the Clinton Foundation during a visit in 2015 and other funds, it was finally finished and has now been in use for about 8 years.
People receiving treatment at Nakuro Post
…and at Empakai Post
Government Health Cards @ Nainokanoka (2016-2018)
In order to give more Maasai means to use this center, from 2016-2018 we provided health cards for the poorest families in our three communities. For only $10, an amount the Tanzanian government was willing to match, a family of up to six would receive health care for an entire year. Through this program, we provided health care for at least 150 families before the government decided to unfortunately shut it down. We have found Dr. Shemaghembe’s mobile medical services to be much more reliable, since we are funding him directly, and hope to continue this program until he wishes to retire.
FAME Medical Fund (2013 - 2015)
In the past, Maasai Partners has sent those who need more serious medical treatment hours away to FAME, a hospital in Karatu that was featured on 60 Minutes. The Foundation for African Medicine and Education (FAME) is a US nonprofit organization that reliably provides advanced health care in this part of the country. Because it is too far away for one-day travel, and additional lodging costs were a prohibitive barrier, Maasai Partners provided money for transport, food and board and has referred hundreds of Tanzanians to FAME for health services and hospital care in this manner. We still refer patients to FAME on occasion, as part of our mobile medical program.
Between these health options, Maasai Partners has tried to provide help to villagers who would otherwise suffer from disease and health misfortunes such as epilepsy, tuberculosis, HIV, broken bones and other ailments. Our partnerships with Dr. Shemaghembe, Nainokanoka and FAME have substantially changed the course of many lives in Alailelai ward and the conservation area in general.
Looking to the future, as more funding comes in, we plan to expand our mobile medical program by allowing Dr. S to hire on a second team member of his choosing. More immediately, we are hoping to raise enough funds to purchase a second vehicle, so that Dr. S can still work while his current vehicle is in the shop for frequent repairs and maintenance, due to very poor road conditions in the conservation area.
The FAME Medical Center
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