Tanzania

Community Health Promoters: In Her Own Words

GFH at JGI and in Tanzania

Katie, August (left) with Alice Macharia, JGI director of East Africa programs in front of a classic image of Dr. Jane Goodall

After days of canceled flights and other travel woes, our full team of staff and volunteers has finally arrived in Kigoma, Tanzania. This month, they’ll be training ten more local health workers in the Single Visit Approach and screening nearly 300 women. They’ll also have the pleasure of a visit from Dr. Jane Goodall herself, who is celebrating 50 years of saving chimpanzees and empowering their human neighbors in the nearby Gombe National Park.

Just last month, August and I visited the Jane Goodall Institute in Washington, DC. JGI has been Grounds for Health’s partner in Tanzania since the inception of our program there, linking us to community leaders, local health authorities, and JGI’s thriving network of village health promoters, or community-based distribution agents (CBDAs).

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Another Update from Kigoma

Dr. Annah Kichambati

I just got off the phone with our Tanzanian colleague Dr. Annah Kichambati in Kigoma, Tanzania. Annah is our Kigoma-based, GFH-supported colleague and coordinator of our cervical cancer collaboration. Up until recently, she was working with the Jane Goodall Institute as their lead trainer of community health distribution agents (CBDAs) in HIV/AIDS. She is a talented medical officer, expert community health trainer, incredible gem and wonderful force at the grassroots level on the ground in Kigoma.

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Allegro Coffee Support: Spring Promotion

Allegro's Kanyovu / Grounds for Health Display

Allegro's Kanyovu and Grounds for Health Display

Next time you stroll through Whole Foods Market, keep an eye out for Allegro Coffee’s Tanzania Kanyovu display. From March 24th through July 13, you can purchase special bags of coffee that help support our work with the Kanyovu Co-operative and the Jane Goodall Institute.

When you grab a bag of coffee, read the display closely: Allegro Coffee is donating $10,000 to Grounds for Health.

Needless to say, many thanks go out to everyone at Allegro Coffee.

For more information on the promotion and the Kanyovu coffee, check out the Allegro Coffee website and Allegro’s Kanyovu coffee profile.

Local Update: Moving along in Kigoma

Annah welcoming community women

We just received an update from Dr. Annah Kichambati of the Jane Goodall Institute in Kigoma, Tanzania. Annah is a medical officer and expert community trainer who has assumed the role as coordinator of our Kigoma Cervical Cancer Collaboration. Annah has an incredible presence.

Since we left Kigoma just over a month ago, another 226 women have been screened for cervical cancer using the simple vinegar test (VIA). All ten clinicians continue screening women in their health centers and the referral network for those needing care is smooth.

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Success and Perspectives - Kigoma

In late January, Grounds for Health returned to Kigoma, Tanzania for our second provider training and screening campaign. Similar to our work in Mexico and Nicaragua, we continue to focus on implementing the Single Visit Approach to cervical cancer prevention. Our primary partners in Tanzania are the Kanyovu Coffee Cooperatives and the Jane Goodall Institute.

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In Kigoma - Up to the Heri Hospital

We headed up to Heri Hospital today to do a site visit as a potential next place in the region for our next two campaigns. It is a regional mission hospital another hour north of here in the heart of coffee country and near the Burundi border.

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Quick Thought from Matyazo, Tanzania

We are now in the northern coffee community of Matyazo. This is where we had the very low positive rate last time, so now, armed with 5% Heinz (47 Varieties) vinegar and enough acetic acid for the next two years, (thank you Elisa!) we will see what our results look like.

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Notes from Kigoma - Real Progress

All continues to hum here in the greater Kigoma region. We finished our refresher training last Wednesday and we couldn’t have been happier with the results. All ten of our original trainees returned and every one of them had continued to screen women in their communities. 341 more women in total. This is remarkable considering the fact that this is really the first time that cervical cancer screening has ever been offered in any of these communities.

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Making it Happen: On the Ground in Africa

Grounds for Health is back on the ground in Tanzania! We’re continuing our partnerships with the Jane Goodall Institute and the Kanyovu Coffee Co-operatives, and after just a couple of weeks, we’ve already accomplished a great deal.

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