Children with Special Needs: Medical Care Updates
On our latest trip to Tanzania children were screened for hearing loss and fit for hearing aids. Additionally nine other children received specialized medical care thanks to medical staff, collaborators, and donors!
by Sue Abrams, Living Water Children's Fund BOD Member
Spring 2024
The board’s latest trip to Tanzania featured a new collaboration with the volunteer audiology group, Hearing the Call https://hearingthecall.org/. The group travels to underserved areas around the world, screening children and adults for hearing loss, and fitting hearing aids for those who can benefit from them.
With the help of the headmaster and several faculty members and students from St. Augustine University, Bishop Kamayo Campus in Tabora, the audiologists screened 123 children and fit 40 of them with hearing devices at Mitindo and Buhangija.
Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ildephonce Mkama, the head of the Special Education program at the University, and the generosity of an LWCF donor, five deaf students were able to be transferred from Buhangija to the school for the deaf at the university in Tabora. In addition, another student at Buhangija was transferred to Living Water Children’s Center to continue her education, thanks to the sponsorship from a board member.
In yet more accomplishments, 9 children from Buhangija and Mitindo have received medical care that would not have happened without the collaboration of LWCF and Dr. Mkama. Several children with albinism were treated by a dermatologist, one child with CP and another with possible hydrocephalus were evaluated, and a young boy with severe physical deformities was seen by an orthopedist to evaluate what could be done to give him the use of his hands and arms.
The number of children touched by this trip, and the collaborations with Hearing the Call and the University, made this in extremely productive trip to Mitindo and Buhangija. LWCF has made a difference in yet more children’s lives.
Every child deserves a chance ❤️
Thanks to generous donations Living Water Children’s Fund has been able to help children in difficult circumstances receive the medical care and education they need.
We are glad to have been able to help children in Tanzania on our recent trip, but we still have a lot of work to do! Please consider donating as any gift, big or small, helps us on our mission to make sure children have their basic needs met so that they may flourish and grow.