November 2010

November Update from Nyakato, Tanzania

Thanksgiving Update from Nyakato and USA

Happy Thanksgiving to the people who are helping IHP make a BIG difference to Tanzania!

Please, go to KWWL to watch the stories that ran on KWWL Television in Waterloo, Iowa. With this information it’s so easy to see how God uses each and every one of us to make a better world for ALL the children on this earth if we just say “yes”. The Albino children in the lake zone in Tanzania are particularly at risk, have unique needs, and few, if any, people who care about who they are, what they need/want, and how much they still want to give of themselves to others. It’s a heartwarming story. Please take the time to view the stories.

Mary Ellen has the latest from Nyakato…

Dear Friends and Supporters of International Health Partners,

The once promising rains have decreased and large portions of the country are experiencing drought. We listen with envy to the news reports of countries which are getting too much rain. The water company is rationing water which is not a good thing for a hospital. So my note to you this month is connected with water.

I hope you remember when we told you of the huge underground cisterns we are digging to harvest rain water. Our first huge one is almost done. We purchased a submersible pump to pump the water out of it once we hook the gutter system to the cistern. What remains to be done is a big concrete cover to keep the water clean. That should be completed next week.

In the meantime, we have been blessed by a donation to dig a well. We found out through a sophisticated system, that there is water beneath the land where we are building. As soon as we are put on the schedule (and the operator has recovered from malaria), we will start drilling for water. We are hunting for a solar pump for the well.

Water is such an essential element in all of our lives, to drink, wash and clean…. and also for baptism. May you all be blessed with abundant water.

In the meantime, we are blessed by mangos falling from the trees in spite of lots of rain. We must have almost 30 mango trees on the property. It seems like overnight, they are released from the trees. It looks like peaches or apricots covering the ground. This picture was taken after we harvested 2 bushel baskets of mangos. There are so many that children come and gather them as well as adults. We eat mangos, we make juice from them as well as mango pie…..and is almost as good as the pumpkin pie all of you are eating today.

Other parts of the hospital are also growing. The dental suite for the brand new equipment and chairs donated is almost finished except for the floor. The little kitchen for our Masai warriors who keep us safe is done. More bathrooms are being built. We are preparing to permanently open the Patricia Ward since a Tanzanian donated a washing machine for us to do laundry. When our x-ray comes, we will apply to become a hospital. Women are begging us to open the Birthing Center, but I still don’t have a doctor to do C-sections and am missing shelving and tiling for the floor as well as some equipment. But gradually all of it is coming together. It is a big project with lots of little steps along the way. Thanks for taking the walk with us.

Gratefully, Mary Ellen Kitundu

Paula writing:

Back to the travelers here in the U.S. celebrating Thanksgiving in Newberg, OR with dear old friends. Kathy Thorn and I have known each other since she was 3 and I was 4. We were in dancing school together until we were college bound.

Den and I have visited churches, homes, and Rotary clubs throughout the upper Midwest and now the west. We are so grateful for the warmth and interest expressed in the work, and the support given. For this we say Thank You to all who have hosted us and listened to the story.

On a personal note, Den is to have hip surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN on Dec. 27th. We ask that you remember him in your prayers at that time. He will have very little “down” time as we’re going to speak at Case Western Reserve on January 5th. At this rate I figure he’ll be asking for tap dancing lessons later in January!

We are so grateful for all our gifts and blessings. We are so grateful to have your support and to know that the people served by Nyakato Health Center are receiving quality health care because YOU care.

To help, please send gifts to:

International Health Partners, US & TZ

Joyce Zemel, Treasurer

1811 So. 39^th St. #36

Mesa, AZ 85206

Or, go to our website, www.ihptz.org and click on Just Give!

The upcoming schedule:

December 1, Simi Valley, CA

Dec. 5, Trinity Lutheran, Simi Valley, CA

Dec. 7-8 Phoenix, AZ

Dec. 9, Prescott, AZ

Dec. 12, Our Savior’s Lutheran, Ft. Collins, CO