Full Dimension Ministry USA 
Sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our brothers and sisters in Tanzania

Educating Preschoolers  *    Caring for the Sick   *    Nourishing the Children of the Yulansoni Valley

 
FDM eNews
 
Welcome to our Summer eNews update from FDM USA. Thank you for looking this over and don't hesitate to share with friends and tell us how we can continue to improve communication.
Dr. Daniel Gidabaghe and Family

Meet Dr. Daniel


 

Dr. Daniel Gidabaghe has been our medical doctor at the Yulansoni Dispensary since October 19, 2010 when he replaced the late Dr. Makala.  He is originally from Iambi Village.

 

Dr. Daniel's medical education included a year each at Nkoaranga Hospital Medical School and the Addis Ababa Ethiopia Physiotherapy Department.  After finishing his studies he worked at Iambi Hospital for 29 years before coming to Full Dimension Ministry.

 

He became a doctor because he was interested in saving people's lives. His work day normally runs from 7:30 AM until 3 PM Monday through Saturday and is on call for emergencies around the clock.  He receives 28 days of paid vacation every year.  This is normally taken all at one time for two reasons: the first is because of the length of time it takes to get anywhere in Tanzania. The second is because fill-in doctors will not normally come out for less than a month commitment.

 

Dr. Daniel is married to Sara Nathau Simwauga.  They have five children:  Elisha Daniel; 47 years old, Dina Daniel; 45 years old, Devota Daniel; 43 years old, Catharine Daniel; 34 years old and Zakaria Daniel; who at 6 years of age currently attends our pre-school.  Dr. Daniel, Sara and Zakaria live about 2 kilometers from the site where the doctor and Zakaria walk to work/pre-school.  Like most people in the valley they also farm and have a garden of maize, nuts, sunflowers and sweet potatoes.

 

Dr. Daniel encourages us to plant flowers around the dispensary and engage the community with outreach programs.  He especially would like to visit local schools and speak with children about prevention for some of the more common diseases. He says his favorite time in the valley is during the rainy season of December through April.

 

Crops at FDM

 

The Crop Cycle

 

Almost everyone in the valley plants crops like maize, sorghum, millet, sunflowers and peanuts.  They normally start plowing the land in November and early December using hand plows pulled by bulls or donkeys.  Work begins early in the morning as the children help before going to school.

 

Planting in mid-December coincides with the typical rains that offer the much-needed sustenance for the crops to grow.  For the rest of the rainy season, the family will tend their crops daily by going out in the fields to work the rows with hoes and cull out all of the weeds trying to steal the vital water from their crops. 

 

June is normally considered the main harvest month, and the schools close to allow the children to help with the harvest and attend to smaller siblings while parents work sun up to sun down in the fields.  Then comes the decision that will affect the family for the rest of their year: How much to store for personal use?  This is often decided by how much can they keep safe from rodents and mold.  Unfortunately the portion they don't store for personal use will be sold at the same time everyone else is selling their harvest and prices will be very low.

 

Throughout July, August and September, the family enjoys the food set aside.  As the stored goods run low the family will purchase food, often from the same people that purchased their earlier harvest.  Unfortunately, economics are unfavorable again as more people are buying and the price has escalated.  The cycle concludes with the family trying to save money for the next crop season seeds.

 

As all farmers understand, cycles don't always go as planned.  This year the rains in the Valley didn't come in abundance and the majority of seeds died in the blistering dry sun.  There will be minimal crops to store and sell and little to no money for food and other expenses.  Next year's crop will be smaller and their children will likely miss school and become weak due to hunger.  Even those who have managed to save money will feel the crunch before June rolls around.  They will have been hungry now for months and faced with the prospect of a whole year before another potential harvest.

 

One of our core programs is rainwater harvesting - storing rainwater in large vats to grow food year round.  We are currently growing about half of an acre of corn on our site with harvested water.

 

 

 

In This Issue
 
Annual Medical Inspection 

 

We have recently completed our annual medical inspection by district and regional authorities.  They were very pleased to see the newly completed bath house and latrine at our overnight ward and the new ambulance availability.  This is a yearly inspection conducted at the time we renew our license to operate the dispensary. 


 

William Makali, founder of Full Dimension Ministry, and the inspection officers.


Asante kwa Mchanga (Asante means thank youkwa is forand Mchanga means sand)

 

We are grateful for several loads of sand donated from by the church group worshiping in our School building Sundays and Wednesday nights.  We say thank you for the sand to be used in repairing the concrete floors. 

The current church volunteered to donate the materials as we explained the building would have to be closed for one month during the school break for the repairs.  In addition to the floor we will be repairing the blackboard, walls, painting and working on the playground area.  The sand is dug up from the bottom of riverbeds and then transported by cart usually pulled by donkeys. 

Donated Sand
 
Ambulance in Action
 

New Truck in Action

 

The newly acquired Toyota Landcruiser is proving to be vital to normal site operations and our medical services.  Since obtaining the vehicle almost three months ago, we have been able to deliver eyeglasses donated by the USA to more locations in the valley, transport patients inside the valley to our facility and into areas with larger more capable medical hospitals.  We also believe we can use the vehicle to increase outreach in the community with classes on disease prevention, infant checkups and wellness checks on expecting mothers.  Our Valley staff offers a big thank you to everyone that donated and made the vehicle a reality.

 


 

 
 
 
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Full Dimension Ministry
PO Box 572
Mauldin, South Carolina 29662