The year has flown by but was productive and inspirational. Team Tanzania 2014 was an amazing collection of talented and generous people. St Eizabeth Hospital, Kisongo Clinic and Endulen Hospital were abuzz with medical and pediatric care, academic teaching, surgeries, specialty care, social services, laboratory, technical care and pharmacy and infrastructure planning. At the end of a very fast two weeks, over 1,000 adults and children had been served in the clinics, 42 surgeries accomplished, daily veterinary visits shared, hours of collaborative work and teaching logged in and many miles of home visits. Most importantly, many lives were changed and inspired by the compassion, grit, patience and generosity of Africans and Americans alike. Photos from the 2014 trip and testimonials can be found on this website and our Facebook page.
Fundraiser and Special Hosts
In April of 2015, our very special colleague, Lesikar Nyaalis Sabore visited the United States for the first time. As our infrastructure supervisor for the construction of the Kisongo Clinic, he had opportunities to meet with donors, construction specialists and development planners. He was hosted by several team members, treated to a private tour of The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, rode with Engine 31 of the Pasadena Fire Department (several firefighters and paramedics have now been recruited for future Tanzania trips!) and had an opportunity to see care at The Phil Simon Clinic at Huntington Hospital as well as make his own home visits with Vitas Hospice and AIDS Project Los Angeles. Importantly, Lesikar helped host and headline our very successful fundraiser for Kisongo Clinic at The Raymond Restaurant. Owners, Leslie and Rob Levy generously donated their wonderful restaurant for the event where the delicious food was complimented by inspirational art from the South Pasadena Senior Art Class and Ghananian music from Skakraba Band. The event was topped off by a special video about the project and an amazing endorsement from the world renowned planet advocate and primatologist, Dame Jane Goodall.
2016 Trip
Team Tanzania 2016 is now poised to continue this amazing journey together. 28 talented professionals have generously donated their time, energy and resources to return once again to East Africa in February 2016. While there, we will continue our involvement at local hospitals and clinics. Plans for Kisongo Clinic construction will begin along with home visits, clinical care, ward rounds, and hours of teaching and shared experiences. Veterinary collaborative work will continue with two new small animal specialists. Point of care services will be provided with ultrasound, pharmacy and other technical support. Epidemiologic, cultural and global outreach projects will continue. All the while, lives will be saved, changed and inspired. Follow our trip, project and adventures on our website and Facebook page. We invite you to become a donor and supporter of The Phil Simon Clinic Tanzania Project.
Team Tanzania 2016 – US
Richard Bushnell – Physician, anesthesia – Attending Team Physician
Janice Davolio – Physician, dermatology – Attending Team Physician
Linda Dobie – Nurse, Attorney – Team Nurse, Team Attorney
Kathleen Eastwood – Critical Care Nurse – Team Nurse
Michael Eastwood – JPL Engineer – Team engineer
David Fischel – Physician, Internal Medicine – Resident Team Physician
Tina H Gozalians – Critical Care Nurse – Team Nurse
Janet Henderson – Emergency Room Nurse – Team Nurse
Shukri Iman – Ultrasonographer – Team Ultrasonographer
Linda Jackson – Administrator – Project Administrator
Lisa Kim – Pharmacist – Project Pharmacist
Cheryl Kuratomi – Microbiologist – Project Laboratorian,microbiologist
Rod Kuratomi – Microbiologist – Project Laboratorian microbiologist
Walter Le – Physician, Internal Medicine – Resident Team Physician
Laura McLennan – Nurse, Attorney – Team Nurse, Team Attorney
William Mejia – Social Worker – Team Social Worker
Mary Mendelsohn – Infection Control Nurse – Team Nurse
Mark Powell – Physician, Pediatrics – Attending Team Physician
Anne Riffenburgh – Social Worker – Team Social Worker
Sara Ryan – Surgical Nurse – Team Nurse
Michelle Sakamoto – Kinesiologist – Team physical therapy, pharmacy
Kimberly Shriner – Physician, Infectious Diseases – Project Director, Attending
David Silvey – Research Scientist – Team engineer, survey manager
Lisa Strickler – Social Worker – Team Social Worker
Diane Tang – Veterinarian – Team Veterinarian
Richard Vasak – Physician, Surgery – Resident Team Physician
Andrew Williams – Physician, Internal Medicine – Resident Team Physician
Michelle Zoryan Dan – Veterinarian – Team Veterinarian
Team Tanzania 2016 – Tanzania
Ezekiel Moirana – Physician , Internal Medicine – Project Coordinator, Tanzania
Lesikar Naalais Sabore – Safari Guide – Infrastructure Coordinator
Pascal Sirikwa – Safari Guide – Translator
Jonathan Jeremiah – Concierge Services – Translator
Livingston Alex – Concierge Services – Translator