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Charles Powell, President, IHP, U.S. Inc. writing:
This is a time of year when most of us have thoughts of family, meals, shopping lists, gifts, trees, lights, and friends. But the work at Zinga continues even though much of it is currently behind the scenes. We have had a flurry of planning. Our board member, Ron Overmyer, has been working hard on organizational and financial considerations in order to facilitate the transition from a small clinic to a large hospital. We have two volunteers looking at issues related to wastewater, both “grey" and “black,” so we can move ahead with opening the Mary Ellen Kitundu Memorial Birthing Center. Our environmental and water experts are Larry Roesner who is Professor Emeritus of water and environmental engineering at Colorado State University, and Russ Balcher, an environmental engineer who is retired from US Government service. Bob Chadwick is working on some possibilities for electronic medical records for our future inpatient services. Christine Petersen has made contacts in the IT and mobile device technology that may help us with learning and communications. Dennis Dickerson is examining possibilities for reliable Internet service to the campus. Please forgive me if I have left anyone out. We greatly appreciate everyone’s efforts.
Dr. Bon has expressed his gratitude for the installation of electrical service at his home, at the margin of the IHP property. Dr. Bon and his wife have been living with nothing more than battery power for nearly five years. Think about living by battery lighting only for that length of time! Some of those living in California got a small taste of the being “off the grid” with the recent power outages.
Finally, in this season of giving, please remember those less fortunate than most of us. Many of us in IHP-US have given ourselves to helping those in Tanzania receive better healthcare. Please consider volunteering, speaking, and fundraising, or contributing to IHP as you are led and able. If you have a special area of expertise, please ask where you can help. I can almost guarantee God will find a place for you to contribute your skills.
Best wishes for a blessed and peaceful holiday season.
Charles W. Powell, M.D.
President, International Health Partners – US
Jesse Kitundu, President, IHP-JEMA-TZ writing:
Dear Friends of Mothers and Children of Tanzania,
Though rains are back, the road to our facility this time is not bad as compared to 2 years ago. This has been different because we the Caterpillar Skid Steer donated to us by Emily Brown of Gregory Poole Equipment Company of Raleigh, N.C. has really helped us to do some repairs.
Our patients are very happy now as they reach us in their pikipiki (small motorcycles used as taxis) without problems. The staff is also happy as our bus has no problems picking them from the main road. We thank you and thank you for continuing to help us in all aspects of building The Children’s Hospital at Zinga and serving our patients.
This coming month we expect to conduct outreach programs in our community. We expect to visit primary schoolchildren and orphanages with children under 5 years of age. Also, we are going to organize free medical checkups for adults, especially with non-communicable diseases. Already, the Village administration has approved it. Such activity has been possible due to your support. Free care is never free. YOU make it possible.
We are expecting another container to be cleared this coming week from Canada. The beneficiaries will not be only our patients but also the community around us who are in need. What a Thankgiving for us! Asanteni sana sana. (Thank you, very, very much.)
Jesse A. Kitundu, MD
President,
IHP-JEMA TZ
Denny writing:
We are halfway across half of the U.S. continent in Salt Lake City (I guess that makes us a quarter of the distance across the U.S.).
My father, when I was growing up, admonished me never to do half a job. Once you ‘ve started a task, you finish it. Yet, here when we find ourselves begging for money (fundraising) is most successful when it is done essentially in quarter sections – 2 quarter sections of the U.S. during one-year and 2-quarter sections the following year, i.e. the west coast and inland this year – the east coast and inland next year. We are now on the inland quarter of the west coast and moving west.
We thank the mid-westerns who have supported us and the westerners we’ve contacted so far – we thank you for your support and prayers as we continue our fundraising travels west (with a brief return to the Midwest (Kansas) for Thanksgiving.). We wish you all a happy and thankful Thanksgiving.
Dennis E. Lofstrom, M.D.,
C.O.O., IHP, U.S., Inc., and IHP-JEMA-TZ
Paula writing:
As Denny noted, we’ve been traveling the Midwest and out west as far as Salt Lake City. You’ll see by our schedule what the rest of the tour will be like. When we first arrived back in the U.S. and were on the road within 30 hours of landing, we were not yet 6 blocks from the house in Overland Park when Denny said, “This is my favorite part of what we do.”
He meant he likes for us to be together in the van, going from place to place, meeting people, and sharing the mission of what IHP does, and, with God’s help, continues to do. It’s true, he doesn’t like standing up in front of a crowd, but he does it. But he likes the process. He also likes being in a laboratory in a hospital looking at cells under a microscope and seeing what they tell about a patient’s diagnosis. He likes teaching and interacting with the medical students and residents and fellows who come to Zinga. He’s 91, he’s still working, and he’s fulfilling the purpose he feels God put him on Earth to do. And I get to go along.
Some of our donors that are 70 ½ or older, support the mission of IHP by making qualified charitable distributions from their IRA. To qualify, the IRA administrator must make the distribution directly to the charity. IHP is a 501 c 3 non-profit corporation. Donors who wish to make a gift in 2019 are encouraged to do so as soon as possible and to contact their plan administrator to ensure the gift will be completed by December 31, 2019. We have an established brokerage account that eases the transfer of stocks. Our treasurer, Matt West, can assist you with that information.
Additionally, IHP has benefitted from those who included IHP in their wills or trusts, some with a set amount, but more often with a percentage of their total estate. What a way to make an ongoing gift to the future. Thank you.
Our financial planning is becoming more detailed as we plan for the future, for a hospital that will continue to grow and to serve the children and families of Tanzania for generations to come. Step-by-step, with careful planning, amazing progress is being made. To help that to continue moving forward, please send what you can afford to:
IHP, Matt West, Treasurer
8016 No. Everton Ave.
Kansas City, MO. 64152
The money will be spent on:
A roof for the maternal and child health center
A roof for the garage complex for vehicle repair and storage
The wastewater reclamation system for the birthing center complex
Installation of the plumbing fixtures in the birthing center
Finishing the walls and floors of the NICU building
Savings account for salaries to cover the first 4 months when the birthing center opens.
Christmas giving through charitable donations:
For those who wish to make a donation to us as a gift to those on your list, we will send a thank you note as soon as we receive the donations so that by Christmas, they’ll know you’ve sent a gift in their name(s).
You can go to our website, www.ihptz.org and donate right on the site, or you can call Matt at 816-985-4406 and he’ll put the gift on your credit card and take a note for whom to honor and their addresses.
Merry Christmas = You’re helping those in a place far away but not beyond the reach of your love and good will.
Paula Lofstrom, Managing Director, IHP, U.S, Inc., IHP-JEMA-TZ
Please see the speaking schedule below and fill in any weekday or Sunday you can! Thanks!
Selemani Shabani writing:
Hello IHP Donors,
It is another time again we are here to update you so that you know what is going on at The Children’s Hospital at Zinga.
For major construction, we don't have much going on right now because of the shortage of money. We don't have enough funds right now. We are barely making the monthly payroll. However, I am thanking every one of you for your donation, support, help and your in-kind gifts that you are providing to IHP.
Through your donations, support and your help we are able to keep our jobs.
We are managing to pay for school fees for our children, supporting our families, and
supporting our communities, we are providing quality health care to the community.
All of these things I mentioned have been done through You IHP DONORS.
Allow me to call you, IHP ANGELS. You are the reason that there are lots and lots of smiles in our community.
Thank you so much for been a blessing to this country through IHP. We value your presence.
Right now, we are just finishing up the Lofstrom guesthouse. We are installing some grills over the doorways. We’re putting in walkways and touching up some paintwork. We’re grinding down the cement floors to make them level, then they will be sealed and polished. The guest house must be ready in May for the teams coming from the U.S. to help work move forward at the hospital.
We are also doing some repairs for the outpatient clinic i.e. lights, water lines, and wastewater lines. Also, we are fixing the road because it has got some big holes. These holes are not good for the patients even to us too.
Our wish list 2020 is as follows:
We wish to continue working on the following whenever we have more money from you.
1. Wastewater reclamation system for the birthing center,
2. Clean water for the birthing center,
3. Sanitary fittings for the birthing center.
4. Roof for the MCH (Maternal and Child Health) building.
5. Roof for the garage building.
6. Finishing up the NICU building i.e. electrical conduit work, wiring, plumbing, wall-plastering, ceilings, door frames, windows, painting, plumbing installations, and floors.
7. Walls for the PICU building.
So, I am welcoming you, and asking for your help, support and donations so that we can proceed on these projects which you have already started with us. It is you IHP DONORS we are asking for your help.
Let me remind you,
This is where you are Serving God,
This is where you are doing God's work,
This is where you are helping the poor,
This is where you are educating lots of Tanzanians,
This is where you are putting smiles in lots of faces.
It's enough for today (Leo is the Swahili word for today.)
.
We love you but God loves you more.
I wish you Early Merry Christmas and a Happy New year 2020.
Best Regards,
Selemani Shabani,
IHP-JEMA-TZ Contractor
2019 – 2020 speaking schedule:
December 2019
1 – Video conference with Ohio team
8 – Hillcrest Christian Church, Overland Park, KS
9 – Visit with artists interested in adding their talents to the hospital
15 – OPEN
20 – Drive to Phoenix, AZ for Family Christmas
22 –OPEN
29 – Oceanside, CA
January 2020
5 – Trinity Lutheran, Simi Valley, CA
8 – Noon Rotary, Walnut Creek, CA
12 – Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, Orinda, CA
13 – Kiwanis, Oakland, CA
14 – Luna Vista Rotary, Woodland, CA
15 – Rotary, Oakland, CA
19 – OPEN
20 – Chico, CA
22 – Rogue Valley Manor, Medford, OR
24 – Eugene, OR
26 – OPEN
February 2020
2 – Unity Church of Maui
9 – Immanuel Lutheran Church, Vancouver, WA
16 – OPEN
23 - Coeur D’Alene, ID
24 – Kootenai Hospital, Coeur D’Alene, ID
March 2020 (Flexible)
1 – High River, Ontario, Canada
8 – Custer, SD/ Bismarck, ND
15 – Marengo, IA
April 2020
4 – Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians, Anaheim, CA
10 – Return to Tanzania