One of the greatest gifts we can give to the students and staff at New Life Foundation is the gift of service by an individual or team visiting and serving the school. This summer, Ashley Kochis, a nursing student, volunteered for a month serving the school with nursing services to the students and staff. The following is Ashley’s report of her time.
I truly had the most amazing experience serving in Tanzania. When I first arrived, I was unaware that I would be starting the school clinic. But what a blessing it was! Fortunately, the school had many medical supplies donated to them, and there is a perfect space for the clinic at the school. Some of the students helped me organize the supplies and we opened the next day. The second the doors were open to the moment I left, I had a long line of patients. Thankfully, most of them were not ill, and they just needed Band-Aids (some just came in to say hi, which I appreciated). Overall, the clinic space is effective. There are spaces to store medicines, a bench for the students to sit on, a chair for examinations, and a bed that is in a more private space for examinations that require the removal of clothing.
At Fountain of Hope, most of the children were relatively in amazing health, just having cuts or scrapes from playing football a little too roughly. The more serious illnesses I witnessed were trickier to prevent. Students came in frequently with parasitic and fungal infections on their feet. The parasites had to be manually removed from their feet and then cleaned, but they could return easily. I believe the name of the parasites are jiggers; they live in soil and can imbed in the feet of the students if they do not keep their feet clean or do not have shoes on. I would also recommend better footwear for the children if possible. The students all have shoes, but the younger students get the old shoes from the older students, so they are quite worn down. I believe this allowed for the parasites to easily imbed in the soles of their feet.
While the school is working on hiring a full-time nurse, there is much opportunity for volunteers to serve in this needed area as well as serving in others areas, either individually or as a team. If you are interested in serving, let us know through our Mission Project information link on the New Life International website and we will help you plan your time with the school’s students & staff.
Thank you, Ashley, for your service!!!