Maasai Health Systems newsletter #53. This is an update on our work in Tanzania.

 MAASAI HEALTH SYSTEMS

16714  91^st Ave. E.

Puyallup, WA 98375

a tax exempt 501 (c)(3) charity

NEWSLETTER  # 53  October, 2018

RAINY SEASON

The rains have stopped.  The recent rainy season was unusually wet with one inch a day for days on end. Some places saw as much as 4 or 5 inches of rain in a single day. Some houses have been constructed with sun-baked, adobe-style bricks. They are not water proof like kiln-fired bricks so when the rains washed away enough of the sun-baked bricks, houses started to collapse making those families suddenly homeless in a rain storm. Flood waters submerged houses in low lying areas. Storm related deaths were reported in places. However, the rains have stopped and people are repairing and recovering as best they can.

2017 SUCCESSES
This is old diesel generator that Selian Hospital was using.













It couldn't produce enough electricity to operate the new digital x-ray machine.  In 2017, MHS raised $35,000 to replace the ancient generator with a new one. The hospital will soon be fully functional even when the city electrical system goes down (which is frequently).

We continue to provide $12,000 annually for salary support so salaries will be competitive and the hospital won't suffer loss of staff due to underpaying the staff.

2018 PROJECT
The 2018 project is to modernize the hospital laundry. When I visited Selian in 1993, they were washing the hospital linens by hand and drying the linens by spreading them out on the lawn. Since then, they have purchased washers and dryers, but those machines are now old and failing.  We plan to replace them when we raise the funds to do so.  This will be another $35,000 for the commercial washers and dryers and remodeling.
 

Right now, they use clothes lines to dry linens when the dryers can't keep up with the amount of linens that need drying.  Some are covered and some, like you see below, are not covered.  Obviously, the uncovered portion can't be used in the rainy season.  A further complication is that it can take 2 days to dry in the cold season during our summer. The turn-around time for linens is too long at that time.

I invite you to help with this project.  The $35,000 to upgrade the laundry is in addition to the $12,000 we will continue to contribute for salary support. Please recall that since since we are a 100% volunteer organization, all donations go directly to the project.

I thank you in advance.

Don Rowberg
President
Maasai Health Systems.