Hello everyone! Over the past month, I’ve been working as a clinical nutritionist at Meru District Hospital in Arusha, Tanzania. Meru is a small government-operated hospital situated in the foothills of Mount Meru. Patients travel (usually by foot) from the surrounding rural area to receive a wide range of health care procedures. Oftentimes these individuals wait until the last possible moment to come to the hospital because healthcare is so expensive for them. Because of this, the condition of the patients we see is usually quite severe.

As you may guess, working in a hospital like this has proven to be very different from what we are used to in the States. For the past few weeks, I have primarily cared for patients who suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition, Diabetes, and Anemic Pregnancy. Because of limited resources and funding, oftentimes we have to think creatively to come up with a sustainable solution for our patients. Although it has been very difficult to witness, I’ve grown a lot and the work is extremely rewarding. Patients are so grateful for even the smallest act of kindness.

Over the past few weeks, one of our primary responsibilities was caring for severely malnourished infants and children. One patient, Daniel, is 12 years old and came to us weighing only 12 kg (26.5 pounds). Because he is too weak to ingest food orally, he is receiving nutrition slowly through a nasogastric tube. Although his condition is still very severe, over the past few weeks the team and I have been able to increase his weight to 18 kg (39 pounds)!

Unfortunately, the nutrition department here has little to no funding for standard F75 and F100 therapeutic formulas that are typically used for treating severe malnutrition in infants and children. Because of this, I’ve decided to start a small fundraiser before I leave. I believe the most impactful and direct way to donate to the hospital is by supplying the ingredients needed to make the therapeutic formula, nutritional supplements, baby bottles/thermos', and other kitchen equipment. I’ve calculated that it costs approximately $0.68 to make a day's worth of infant formula, so even a small donation can make a huge difference! Thank you so much!