“In 2024, we made our first trip back to Tanzania after a six-year hiatus due to COVID. This trip was a strategic planning event focused on our scholars and their future, as well as establishing research and career opportunities. We connected with several academic centers in Northern Tanzania, including Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) and Mbwa Wa Africa Animal Rescue, a nonprofit organization that is starting a veterinary clinic and rescue facility for abandoned animals in Arusha. Our goal is to develop future venues for our medical-surgical and veterinary team members to create a unique international project focusing on One Health Initiatives and human-animal interrelatedness. Team Tanzania 2024 consisted of highly experienced and dedicated individuals, including previous trip members, board members, and new team members. They will undoubtedly lead this important and deeply moving project into the future. While in Tanzania, we witnessed firsthand the impact of our donors’ support. Their partnerships, continued generosity, and contributions to the Phil Simon Clinic Tanzania Project are making a significant difference in East Africa.”

– Dr. Kimberly Shriner, PSCTP founder & team TZ leader

“During the 2018 trip, I spent time in the operating rooms, assisting the anesthesiologists. The trip’s primary purpose was to evaluate a prototype device for non-invasive detection of cardiac pressures and function in the field, knowing that such a device was important to develop for low-resource environments. A few months after the trip, I visited the University of Dodoma to assemble a team, which included PSCTP’s first medical scholar, Dr. Ezekiel Moirana, to apply for an NIH SBIR grant with the company, developing the cardiac diagnostic device (Avicena). Eventually, the grant was written and received a very high score. The project would have been funded if I had remained with the company. Nonetheless, this experience shows that it will be possible to generate funding for research studies with PSCTP collaborators—given the right project and leadership—as the network of PSCTP-affiliated physicians and collaborators grows.”

– Marie Ceste, Team TZ Volunteer

“PSCTP’s ninth trip to Tanzania was in 2014 and consisted of thirty-eight diverse individuals, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, gastroenterologists, infectious disease specialists, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals. During the first week, the surgical team operated at St. Elizabeth’s in Arusha, where they performed orthopedic and plastic surgeries to treat fractures, burns, and cleft palates. The medical team attended to hundreds of people at the Kisongo clinic, treating infectious diseases, acute injuries, and chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and dementia. In week two, the medical team worked in Endulen where hundreds of Maasai villagers patiently waited to be seen each day. Team members conducted home visits in the Rift Valley, meeting people from the Tonga and Bushman tribes. The trip concluded with a safari in the Ngorongoro Crater, providing an unforgettable experience for everyone.”

– Mary Mendelsohn, PSCTP Board member & team TZ volunteer.

“The highlight of the 2012 trip was the team’s participation in celebrating Ezekiel Moirana’s graduation from medical school. The pride his community and family showed in this accomplishment was truly joyous. As the first PSCTP scholar, Ezekiel has paved the way for the many who have come along since. Along with celebrating Ezekiel’s graduation, the team provided patient care for both youngsters at the orphanage where he had worked and the greater community at large through several days of clinical work and consultation with resident clinical staff in both the village of Kisongo and out in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.”

– Mickey Singer, PSCTP Board member & Team TZ Volunteer

“The 2009 trip marked a significant turning point for the project. It was the first to include a substantial surgical presence as part of the team. Home visits continued, and another multi-disciplinary seminar was held. It was a truly multi-generational year, as students and instructors from Creative Planet School for the Arts participated. The junior high and high school students interacted with children and staff from the orphanage, many of whom were there as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. While Team TZ members conducted rounds and performed surgeries at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and Upone Clinic, the Creative Planet kids put on a performance with the orphanage children. Later, both young and old were taken on an unforgettable safari experience.”

– Mickey Singer, PSCTP Board member & Team TZ Volunteer

“The 2007 trip was significant and necessary for several reasons. It furthered PSCTP’s educational goals through an expanded symposium with multiple seminars conducted by team members. It laid the groundwork for the project’s expansion to involve surgical teams. Additionally, our connection with Dr. Ezekiel Moirana and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Arusha was reinforced.”

– Mickey Singer, PSCTP Board member & Team TZ Volunteer

“To me, this trip was most significant for the fact that it was when we all met Ezekiel Moirana. He was working as a clinical officer at the Upone Clinic of Dr. Solomon. It was a trip that helped cement our relationship with Upone and, by extension, Arusha. We not only came to know Ezekiel but also his village of Kisongo for the first time. The team furthered the home visit program, as well as the HIV group counseling program. My impression is that this was something of a watershed trip, as our relationships with both the people and the area were deepened. Not only did Ezekiel become the seed that blossomed into our current scholarship program, but Kisongo became one of the focal points for many trips to come.”

– Mickey Singer, PSCTP Board member & team Tanzania volunteer