June Update
In February 2024, a small group of PSCTP volunteers traveled to Tanzania, and we finally got to meet every single one of our scholars in person. What a thrill! It was a meaningful gathering, combining a formal educational program with the opportunity to get to know one another even better.
Each of the scholars is doing very well, and we continue to be exceptionally proud of our role in helping to create future healthcare providers in Tanzania. They have formed a strong network amongst themselves, and going forward they have big plans to accomplish a great deal in the world of healthcare in Tanzania.
One of our goals in meeting the scholars was to explore the challenges they face as new graduates in healthcare. Whether they have a diploma or a bachelor’s degree, they are all required to perform unpaid volunteer work before they can obtain paying jobs. Moreover, a Diploma in Nursing or Social Work is but the first step of the educational process, and a Bachelor’s degree is ultimately needed (much like first obtaining an Associate degree, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in the United States). After much investigation and discussion with our scholars and the Scholarship Committee, PSCTP has determined to offer further scholarships to our recent graduates so as to allow them the opportunity to eventually obtain meaningful paid employment and to make a difference in their respective fields.
PSCTP Scholars, June update
In February 2024, a small group of PSCTP volunteers traveled to Tanzania, and we finally got to meet every single one of our scholars in person. What a thrill! It was a meaningful gathering, combining a formal educational program with the opportunity to get to know one another even better.
Each of the scholars is doing very well, and we continue to be exceptionally proud of our role in helping to create future healthcare providers in Tanzania. They have formed a strong network amongst themselves, and going forward they have big plans to accomplish a great deal in the world of healthcare in Tanzania.
One of our goals in meeting the scholars was to explore the challenges they face as new graduates in healthcare. Whether they have a diploma or a bachelor’s degree, they are all required to perform unpaid volunteer work before they can obtain paying jobs. Moreover, a Diploma in Nursing or Social Work is but the first step of the educational process, and a Bachelor’s degree is ultimately needed (much like first obtaining an Associate degree, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in the United States). After much investigation and discussion with our scholars and the Scholarship Committee, PSCTP has determined to offer further scholarships to our recent graduates so as to allow them the opportunity to eventually obtain meaningful paid employment and to make a difference in their respective fields.
PHYSICIAN PROGRAM
Dr. Ezekiel Noah Moirana
June, 2024
Dr. Ezekiel Moirana is amazing – he is everywhere, gives of himself tirelessly, and constantly advocates for his patients. He is now the Chief of the Department of Neglected Tropical Diseases with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and presented during our educational conference. Ezekiel continues to work as a clinical physician, seeing patients and performing endoscopies. He remains in close contact with many of our scholars and is a voice for the future of healthcare in Tanzania. We are so fortunate to count him as one of our own.
Dr. Rebeka Gurti
Graduate, medical intern
June, 2024
Rebeka continues with her internship training at Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital, located in Arusha, Tanzania. She has already completed several rotations, including general surgery, orthopedics, and obstetrics, and she is now in pediatrics/neonatal medicine. Remaining in the internship program are general medicine and emergency medicine. Much to Rebeka’s surprise, she loves pediatrics (sick children have always made her feel so sad, but she has discovered “they are just little angels who need our attention”). If she has extra time, Rebeka heads over to labor and delivery to perform Cesarean sections that are needed, as she really enjoys her time in the operating room. The internship will be completed in December 2024. She recently wrote, “Thanks for your consistent and great support always.”
Whenever possible, Rebeka returns to her hometown of Endasak, where she and her husband continue to operate the Nazareti Dispensary out of their home. The PSCTP team had the opportunity to travel to the clinic during the February 2024 trip, and it was simply incredible to see what Rebeka and Amani did with their private home. They turned their entire home into a clinic and built additional buildings to expand the clinic. They sleep in a small room off to the side so as to maximize the space they have for the clinic and their patients. The clinic provides much-needed healthcare services to the region.
Boniphace Petro
Medical Student
June, 2024
Boniphace is in the second half of his second year of medical school at the University of Dodoma and continues to really enjoy the intellectual challenges. His present curriculum is comprised of four units, each of which is done concurrently so as to tie together the many aspects of human physiology and pathology. The units include Community Service, Parasitology, Pharmacology, and Pathology and Systems. He is passionate about pursuing a career in medical research that is connected to community outreach and providing advances in medical care for underserved communities. After attending a national healthcare conference, he made a formal presentation to PSCTP and the other scholars when we visited Tanzania in February, which was quite informative.
Boniphace is compassionate, intelligent, deeply committed to his country and people, and very appreciative of PSCTP’s support. He recently said, “Thanks to the support of PSCTP, we are the ones who can make the changes for our country.”
REGISTERED NURSE PROGRAM
Saumu Kingu, RN
Graduate, ongoing scholar
June, 2024
Saum has just been accepted as an ongoing scholar by the PSCTP Scholarship Committee. After graduating from Decca College with a diploma in Nursing in December 2023 and passing her licensure exams, Saum immediately began volunteering at Dodoma Regional Referral Hospital (DRRH). She has gained enormous experience working in maternal and child health, rotating through all phases of pregnancy, postpartum care, and neonatal intensive care. She has been working several days each week while also working at a pharmacy so that she can provide financial support to her family.
Her acceptance as an ongoing scholar will allow her to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree of Nursing (BSN) in Obstetrics and Midwifery, an area of nursing that she is deeply passionate about. She plans to apply to St. John’s University. When she recently visited the university to obtain more information about their BSN program, they informed her she would be accepted because her GPA in the diploma program was so high.
She was the class representative in nursing school, has been a leader in her community, and continues to work as an unpaid volunteer at DRRH. When asked about her perceived strengths, Saum said, “I am a leader. Wherever I go, people see me as a leader.” She also observed that “to be a nurse who cares for different people, you have to have passion to be a good nurse, and I have that passion.”
Jacqueline Mungare Wilfred, RN
June, 2024
Jacqueline is in her final semester of the two-year Master’s Degree in Nursing and Midwifery at Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Science in Dar es Salaam. In the first three months of 2024, she had clinical rotations in the labor ward and the Neonatal ICU. In March, she passed all the end-of-semester exams in both theory and skill demonstrations.
This last semester is all about research. Jacqueline’s research explores barriers and compliance with the recommended antenatal visits, and her project is titled “Postnatal Mothers’ Perspectives on the Current Eight Required Antenatal Contacts at Mwananyanal Hospital in Tanzania.” Jacqueline has finished her data collection and is now doing transcription and data analysis, with report writing to follow. She will submit her dissertation by the end of June, after which she will be assigned a defense date. Her graduation will occur in the fall of 2024.
Jastin Mwanyila Fredy, RN
June, 2024
Jastin recently received his acceptance letter for the Master of Science in Pediatric Nursing program at the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences for the 2024/2025 academic year. The PSCTP Scholarship Committee originally selected Jastin as a nursing scholar in 2022, but he had to defer his schooling to satisfy the requirements of his employer, Bugando Referral Hospital in Mwanza. During this time, he worked in both the Emergency Room and Pediatric wards with his nursing students. Jastin recently wrote, “I realized that children and their families need supportive care and health education for them to stay healthier, especially from we nurses.”
Social Work Program
Veronica Lugwisha
Graduate, ongoing scholar
June, 2024
Veronica was recently accepted as an ongoing scholar by the PSCTP Scholarship Committee. Even before completing her diploma in social work at Mwenge Catholic University in November 2023, Veronica had already begun her bachelor’s degree in social work at the same institution. PSCTP continues to support her as an ongoing scholar, as she has clearly demonstrated great ability and passion in the field of social work.
Veronica is currently doing fieldwork at the Moshi Municipal Social Work Office, which offers services to clients in three categories. The elderly and disabled are assisted with the coordination of psychological and financial services, as well as conflict resolution. Families and children are provided services that involve child development, foster care/adoption, mediation of marital disputes, children born out of wedlock, rescue of street children, and daycare centers. The third category involves children’s legal rights, social investigation, and linking children to rehabilitation services when they have behavioral issues. Most of her ongoing work at this time is in an office setting, although she will conduct home visits if there is an important need identified. Veronica is very pleased with the experience she is gaining.
Iman Charles Chimuly
June, 2024
Iman is in his fourth semester of the 3-year diploma program in Clinical Social Work at the Open University of Tanzania, located in Dodoma. He is doing well in school. In his most recent clinical rotation, he spent time in small villages, where he and his classmates advocated youth involvement in micro-businesses and enterprises to address youth unemployment issues. He has just returned to the main campus in Dodoma for the next semester, where he will continue learning about conducting assessments.
Iman attended two different healthcare conferences in Tanzania last semester, both of which were funded by PSCTP. The first focused on primary health care. The second addressed non-communicable diseases and policies on how best to minimize the burden these diseases have on the community. In Iman’s words, both conferences were “real amazing.” He will share what he learned during a presentation at the next PSCTP All-Scholar Zoom meeting.
Elisha Panga
Graduate, ongoing scholar
June, 2024
Elisha has recently been accepted as an ongoing scholar by the PSCTP Scholarship Committee. He graduated in December 2023 with his bachelor’s degree in social work from Kampala International University and obtained his formal school certificate in late February. He could not find paid employment, so he sought volunteer work as a social worker. He discovered that all the available volunteer opportunities required a full-time commitment, which he could not give because he needed to provide income for his family and care for his wife, who had been in an accident. Elisha instead took a job selling tires.
He is very interested in pursuing an advanced degree in social work to become a policymaker in the field. Social work remains a new area of professional care in Tanzania, and we can think of nobody better qualified to be a future leader than Elisha, who is exceptionally passionate about the profession. Accordingly, PSCTP has extended a scholarship to Elisha to pursue a Master’s degree. He was delighted and wrote:
Thank you very much for this great news and the opportunity you offered to me. I really feel honored to be accepted for the scholarship program. I promise that I will study hard and meet the needs of the program and my community at large… Thank you.
Elisha expects to be admitted to the Open University of Tanzania in late June for a master’s degree program in social work and will begin classes in July 2024. Meanwhile, he will present at the Ethics and Education Motivation Club at the University of Dar es Salaam on June 1, 2024, where he will address the role of mental health in relation to success.
Arafa Mghusi
Graduate, ongoing scholar
June, 2024
Arafa has recently been accepted as an ongoing scholar by the PSCTP Scholarship Committee. She graduated with a diploma in social work in December 2023 from the Mkolani Foundation Health Sciences Training Institute. Like our other recent graduates, Arafa was unable to find any paying positions in social work, so has been volunteering full-time at Village of Hope in Mwanza. She works with children to identify their unique talents, addresses social and behavioral learning issues, and teaches life skills, including counting, reading, and writing. She counsels them on how to cope with difficult situations and does outreach with the parents about good parenting practices. In June, while students were on break from school, Arafa volunteered with Steps Organization, counseling people with drug addiction.
PSCTP approved Arafa’s application for a bachelor’s degree in social work, and she is thrilled. She plans to apply to two different schools: the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Dodoma. Applications are due in August, and if accepted, she will commence the three-year program in November.
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