It was Friday afternoon. 48 patients had already been attended at the FAME Outpatient Clinic in Karatu, Tanzania (just outside the world famous Ngorongoro Crater). Four were still being monitored, on IV drips. Our Medical Receptionist, Jacob, received a call from a neighbor. His little boy had fallen into a sharp piece of wood and was bleeding from the head. Jacob arranged for little Baltazari to be transported up to FAME .

He arrived with his mother, bleeding, scared and in pain. Jacob carried him into the Clinic, where Dr. Mwaluko examined the injury, a puncture wound to the scalp just above his right ear. The source of the bleeding was unclear but indicative of a laceration of the temporal artery. After sedating him, he was taken to the procedure room where teams suspicions were confirmed. Dr. Mwaluko successfully ligated the artery and stopped the bleeding much to the relief of everyone.

In rural Tanzania, it is not uncommon at all for neighbors to become ambulance drivers, for doctors and nurses to find themselves providing emergency medical care to family, friends, colleagues and, in this case, the child of a colleague. In locations like ours, there are no other options. It is truly the human spirit at work.

Africa Dream Safaris will match dollar for dollar any $50 donation thus turning your contribution into $100, which has real significant purchasing power in Tanzania. Please click here to contribute to FAME and to learn more about the organization. Make sure to enter ‘Africa Dream Safaris’ in the designation field to ensure that your $50 donation is matched correctly.

A little girl stole our hearts five months ago. Here name is Jackline. Her father carried her into FAME Medical in a ketoasidotic coma, probably triggered by a severe infection. With the emergency care she received from the FAME team and our telemedicine communication with a volunteer consultant and Endrocrinologist in the U.S, Jackline survived that day.

Very weak, but finally stable, she was able to go home with her parents the following day. Unfortunately, her parents are among the poorest of the poor in rural Tanzania. Just putting food on the table each night is a challenge, let alone covering the costs of her twice a day insulin. We all wondered when the next crisis would hit. But then we were reminded……there are, indeed, “earth angels” in our midst. Someone in the community agreed to cover her medication costs on an ongoing basis, and one of our long-term supporters and volunteer doctors made the offer of a lifetime.

Dr. Duane Koenig, thought little Jackline might fare better in a neighborhood Boarding School, a place where she would receive three good meals a day, the necessary dietary supplements to keep her diabetes well controlled, and close monitoring by the School Nurse. He suggested making this proposal to her parents and offered to be her Sponsor. The family was ecstatic, as was Jackline.

For a motivated, capable child, like Jackline, this was a dream come true. Our team rallied. Siana Nkya, our head nurse and William Mhapa, our Community Health Facilitator, met with the school Head Master and nurse to discuss Jackline’s medical condition and needs. Dr. Duane donated the money to cover her school fees and school supplies, and Jackline began attending Tumaini Junior School. She came in for a check-up last week. She was smiling, laughing, quite literally glowing, and she left those of us at FAME Medical glowing too.

Africa Dream Safaris will match dollar for dollar any $50 donation thus turning your contribution into $100, which has real significant purchasing power in Tanzania. Please click here to contribute to FAME and to learn more about the organization. Make sure to enter ‘Africa Dream Safaris’ in the designation field to ensure that your $50 donation is matched correctly.

Catherine Duwe and Safi Mwambo spent their school break working at FAME Medical in Karatu, Tanzania.  They both are in their final year of Nursing School in Tanzania, and we look so forward to them joining the FAME Team when they graduate next September. These two lovely young women are fulfilling their dreams.

Catherine is from a very poor family in Karatu.  She began her time at FAME Medical as a Housekeeper.  Safi was studying to be a Clinical Officer but had to drop out when her family ran out of money.  She subsequently came to work at FAME Medical as a Nurse Assistant.

Recognizing their potential, both young women were selected for FAME scholarships –- a program FAME started in an effort to address the staggering shortages of healthcare workers in rural Tanzania.  According to one report, the overall nurse to population ratio in Tanzania is estimated to be 160:100,000.  In rural Districts, like ours, estimates suggest a ratio of 6:100,000.  Having experience, firsthand, these stark realities, Safi and Catherine understand how desperately Tanzania needs skilled and compassionate nurses.  They have dedicated their lives to making a difference where they are needed most, in rural Tanzania, the place of their birth.

Africa Dream Safaris will match dollar for dollar any $50 donation thus turning your contribution into $100, which has real significant purchasing power in Tanzania. Please click here to contribute to FAME and to learn more about the organization. Make sure to enter ‘Africa Dream Safaris’ in the designation field to ensure that your $50 donation is matched correctly.

I got a call from my dear friend Joseph. He is my communication connection to many Maasai friends. My little friend, Yasi, was very sick and repeatedly vomiting up the medicine she had been given for malaria and giardia. I had Joseph tell the mother to bring her to the FAME Clinic where I was confident she would be provided the resources to get well.

Severely dehydrated and malnourished upon her arrival, Dr. Frank explained that she needed to be put on an IV drip immediately. Unfortunately, she was so dehydrated and her veins so small, they could not get the line in. After many attempts all over her body they finally got the IV into a vein in her head. She stayed in the observation room at FAME throughout the day, receiving fluids and medication to treat the malaria and giardia.

I checked in on them from time to time and Yasi was resting peacefully, with her mother sitting on the bed next to her. Monica, a FAME Nurse Assistant who is also Maasai, went to great lengths to explain everything that was happening to the Mother in her tribal language. After returning a second day for IV fluids and medicine, Yasi looked so much better.

It was time to discuss what should be done about her malnutrition. You see, Yasi is almost 4 years old and her weight is just over 17 lbs. Pooling our resources, we learned of a program in a city roughly two hours away, where she could be placed on a special feeding program over a 10-day period. With FAME offering to finance her stay, the next step was returning to her boma, explaining the situation to Norkoranga’s father, and securing his permission to enroll mother and child in the program. He agreed and thanked me for my help.

Ten days later we received news that mother and child were doing well and could be discharged from the program. Babu, the head security guard at FAME Medical, who is also Maasai, agreed to accompany me to the boma to translate. As a Maasai male, I felt his voice would be helpful. When we arrived all the women and children came out to greet us. We were invited for food in Norkorianga’s mothers home, where Babu explained each and every thing he learned about good nutrition and Yasi’s needs to Norkorianga’s mother and Yasi’s two uncles. Using their Mother Tongue, he talked about the importance of good nutrition in making children strong so their body can fight illnesses, and they thanked us for helping Yasi to get well. I

In Tanzania, as in most of the world, it takes a network of people to make things happen. Family, friends, coworkers and medical personnel all worked together for the good of Yasi. She is back home now and doing great!

– Pam McClendon, FAME Volunteer Coordinator

Africa Dream Safaris will match dollar for dollar any $50 donation thus turning your contribution into $100, which has real significant purchasing power in Tanzania. Please click here to contribute to FAME and to learn more about the organization. Make sure to enter ‘Africa Dream Safaris’ in the designation field to ensure that your $50 donation is matched correctly.

Five-year-old Beatrice arrived at the Clinic in visible discomfort. Covered in a bright red kanga, she shuffled down the clinic hallway like a much older and frailer person. When FAME doctors removed the kanga and examined her, she was covered from head to toe with scaly, bleeding, infected scabs. Her body exuded a strong odor from a severe skin infection. The original skin condition was likely caused by an allergic reaction to medicine of some type.

Before arriving at FAME Medical, she had been languishing in a village with her mother for over six months. Frustrated and overwhelmed by her ongoing problem, her mother left her in the care of two incredibly loving grandmothers who knew about the Clinic and brought Beatrice in to see our team. On the day she arrived, we happened to have two Nurses volunteering with us. Erica and Janet proceeded to soak little Beatrice in a warm tub. The doctor then sedated her and the nurses gently and painstakingly scrubbed, debrided and sanitized every inch of her body, later coating her skin with Vaseline and olive oil. She was sent home on medication and told to return the next day for the same treatment.

By the third visit she showed marked improvement over most of her body, and as you see in this photo, was able to smile again. “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.” This quote came to mind as I watched this story unfold. Two very special grandmothers, two amazingly compassionate nurses, and an accessible and well-equipped medical facility converging in the African bush to make a profound difference in a child’s life.

Africa Dream Safaris is proud to be a major sponsor of FAME and Dr. Frank Artress since 2008 and was honored with the Tanzanian Humanitarian Award specifically because of our work with FAME. Our ongoing monthly donations help FAME fund their mobile medical clinic bringing medical care to children living in remote areas. Many medical conditions can be treated correctly with proper healthcare including respiratory infections, waterborne diseases and diabetes. We suspect many children with juvenile diabetes simply die in rural Tanzania due to limited access and resources.

You may be asking yourself “How can I help?” The good news is that it doesn’t take much to make a real positive impact. Please consider a $50 donation to help Dr. Frank and Susan meet operational expenses for their Mobile Medical Service, purchasing laboratory equipment to provide more comprehensive diagnostic services, and completing the next phase of the medical project which involves expanding the existing Outpatient Clinic into a small hospital. The facility will include 12 inpatient beds and a major and minor Operating Room.

Africa Dream Safaris will match dollar for dollar any $50 donation thus turning your contribution into $100, which has real significant purchasing power in Tanzania. Please click here to contribute to FAME and to learn more about the organization. Make sure to enter ‘Africa Dream Safaris’ in the designation field to ensure that your $50 donation is matched correctly.

Tanzania is a country of striking contrasts. Endowed with spectacular natural resources and home to the greatest wildlife viewing areas in Africa, Tanzania is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Poverty is critically severe and access to medical care is limited particularly in rural areas. Did you know that an estimated 1 out of 9 children in Tanzania die before their 5th birthday?  Sadly their deaths are often the result of preventable or treatable diseases, including malaria, diarrheal disease, acute respiratory infections, low-birth weight and AIDS.

But, there is HOPE! There are truly great people doing wonderful things in Tanzania. Meet Dr. Frank Artress and Susan Gustafson. They are the founders of FAME, The Foundation for African Medicine and Education. Their mobile medical clinic is penetrating deeper and deeper in the bush to provide medical care to children that have never been vaccinated before or let alone seen a doctor! This is the real deal…real people having a real impact on the lives of children in Africa. Please take a few minutes of your time to watch this amazing short documentary video, which chronicles Dr. Frank and his wife Susan’s journey in Tanzania. You won’t believe it! This is truly extraordinary!

Africa Dream Safaris is proud to be a major sponsor of FAME and Dr. Frank Artress since 2008 and was honored with the Tanzanian Humanitarian Award specifically because of our work with FAME. Our ongoing monthly donations help FAME fund their mobile medical clinic bringing medical care to children living in remote areas. Many medical conditions can be treated correctly with proper healthcare including respiratory infections, waterborne diseases and diabetes. We suspect many children with juvenile diabetes simply die in rural Tanzania due to limited access and resources.

You may be asking yourself “How can I help?” The good news is that it doesn’t take much to make a real positive impact. Please consider a $50 donation to help Dr. Frank and Susan meet operational expenses for their Mobile Medical Service, purchasing laboratory equipment to provide more comprehensive diagnostic services, and completing the next phase of the medical project which involves expanding the existing Outpatient Clinic into a small hospital. The facility will include 12 inpatient beds and a major and minor Operating Room.

Africa Dream Safaris will match dollar for dollar any $50 donation thus turning your contribution into $100, which has real significant purchasing power in Tanzania. Please click here to contribute to FAME and to learn more about the organization. Make sure to enter ‘Africa Dream Safaris’ in the designation field to ensure that your $50 donation is matched correctly.