Thursday, June 1st
Hi everyone! Foster here. Today was our first day of the trip, as well as my first full day in Tanzania! I’ve been so incredibly fortunate to learn so much about the culture and people here, and I can’t wait to get to know more and meet many new people as the trip progresses. Today, we visited a home for special needs children called Share Tanzania. I got the opportunity to tour the different buildings with Steve and Abiba and see many of the children currently living there. I felt incredibly welcomed with many surprise hugs from the kids, and it was wonderful to get to spend some time with them outside of the clinic environment.
After the tour, I assisted with checkups for many of the children there. An overwhelming majority of children we saw had cerebral palsy, but each of child we saw still had unique and specific needs that the people working at Share Tanzania dutifully attended to. The love that the caregivers, nurses, and physical therapists working there have for the children they care for was evident in the constant smiles and laughter that echoed through the clinic all day long. There were some tough cases, but everyone we spoke with about next steps for those kids was attentive and ready to do whatever was needed to give the kids the best quality of life attainable.
Today was both amazing and challenging, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the many different healthcare environments here. I also want to thank all of the donors who contributed to make the work that Hope Ministries does possible. Even after just the first day, it’s clear to see just how large the outreach network extends into the communities we serve and how so many lives have been influenced and bettered because of it.
Sending Prayers and Love, Foster
