Our very first project, the construction of a paediatric wing. In 2009 the first funds were collected to start the planning phase of the construction of a paediatric ward at the hospital. The original plans made by the hospital before 2008 were looked at, discussed and modified. Architects, contractors and doctors from Belgium and Tanzania gave their opinions and advice. During two years, 2009 and 2010, the plans travelled between Belgium and Tanzania and extra funds were collected.
At the end of 2010 the final drawing was ready and signed by the Tanzanian partners and the Belgian non-profit organisation.
Beginning of March 2011 the first construction works started at the hospital. Only 5 months later a whole new paediatric wing gave a new colour to the hospital. In attendance of a Belgian and Tanzanian delegation of sponsors and friends, the Lutheran Bishop opened the new wing. Since September 2011 children at Nkoaranga have their own ward where they can recover in a child friendly environment.
In 2012 NW, in cooperation with Paul Spaepen (BLE company) and with the support of Rabo Bank, brought a generator to the hospital to secure a constant electricity supply during the regular power cuts in the area.
After a long travel between the ports of Antwerp and Mombasa (Kenya), the generator arrived in November 2012 at its final destination, NLH. A Belgian engineer assisted in the first set up of the generator and gave some practical information about the generator to the local Tanzanian engineer. The BLE company is still following up on the use and maintenance of the generator to ensure an optimal use and lifespan of the machine.
In 2012, the hospital had two Land Cruiser cars available on the grounds. However, one car belongs to the palliative care team and is gone most the days, while the other car is used to pick up drugs from pharmacies, to go to meetings,…
As a result, patients who needed an urgent referral had to take public transport, wait for one of the cars to come back or wait for a taxi. In many cases, patients had to wait too long, their condition deteriorated,…. and even if transport was available, it was not at all adapted to transport people on a stretcher in a comfortable and safe way.
So in 2013, NW decided to buy a Land Cruiser in Tanzania and decided to change the complete interior design of the car. Seats were taken out, attachment’s for an oxygen tank were installed and a simple stretcher could be safely put into the back of the car.
From December 2013 onwards, our patients are transported in a fully adapted ambulance, less time is wasted and their trip is safe while a nurse can give them basic medical support.
In November 2014, a friend and qualified lab technician, came to Nkoaranga for three weeks to work together with the local staff in the hospital laboratory. Through funds, in collaboration with the hospital, our lab technician bought locally new but necessary equipment and restored some of the older equipment in the laboratory to expand the lab services in the future and make the test more accurate. The Tanzanian lab technicians are still in contact with our Belgian lab technician and we hope that this might be the start of a regular exchange and support between the laboratory personal.
Our project for 2015, extra educational sessions for the health care staff. Many of the nurses and other workers in the hospital cannot speak English. Almost all extra diploma’s or session organised by local schools or Universities are given in English, causing a barrier for our staff to understand and interpret the received information. By offering English lessons on the hospital grounds, we hope to enable the hospital staff to attend more further education in order to improve their own capacities and knowledge.
We hope to expand our small library at the hospital, make it more accessible for all staff and to arouse their interest for information.
Maintenance and renovations are a part of improving health care services. As an organisation we want to assist the hospital in some highly needed construction and renovations. With the funding and help of other donors and with the basket fund money from Tanzania, some renovations are already successfully made, such as the repair of the theatre roof, construction of a day care palliative care centre,… (for more info see the quarterly newsletters)
But the vzw. NW would like to financially assist this year in one particular renovation project, being the renovation of the hospital roofs and the installation of a water collection system. Many roofs are from the ’50 ties and ’60 ties and need urgent replacement. Currently we are looking at the possibilities on how to plan and fund this project.