After two years of forced break due to corona, Dr. Veronika Hofmann (Managing Director of Artemed Stiftung) was finally able to travel to Tanzania again to see the projects supported by the Foundation on site: It is unbelievable what has been achieved within these two years.
It almost seems surreal: after countless digital meetings in the past, they are actually back on Tanzanian soil in front of the St. Walburg’s Hospital in Nyangao (Tanzania). In addition to Ms. Hofmann, Dr. Kerstin Eisenbeiß (member of the Board of Directors of Artemed SE), Dr. Amir Bigdeli (radiologist from the Artemed Klinikum München Süd), Benedikt Lenz (physiotherapist) and Bernd Almus (photographer and filmmaker) are also taking part for the first time. Together with their Tanzanian colleagues and friends, they visit the clinic. They are proudly shown the progress made in radiology and the operating theater. And rightly so: the whole team is impressed by what has happened here in recent years. "It's hard to believe how the conditions have improved since my last visit," says the Managing Director. And Mr. Laiser, Commercial Director of the hospital on site, confirms: "Above all, the renovations that we were able to carry out with the help of the technology deployment of Artemed Stiftung at the end of 2021 have taken the processes here in the hospital to a whole new level. It simplifies daily work enormously and you can really see how it has also given our staff a new boost!"
Motivated by this positive development, everyone went about their specific tasks with even more energy: Dr Bigdeli took care of the C-arm for interoperative imaging, the X-ray machine and the ultrasound department. He also held a training session on radiation protection. Mr Lenz took stock of the already well-functioning physiotherapy department. Everything was documented and recorded photographically by Mr. Almus, while Dr. Hofmann and Dr. Eisenbeiß were able to get an idea of the current status of the community health project and attended several official meetings with government representatives and the church sponsors.
"To see that our support and help is accepted and implemented in a sustainable way not only makes us happy, but is of course very motivating," says Dr Hofmann. Not least because of this, a comprehensive three-year plan was finally drafted together with the local team. It includes various projects in the field of sustainable development, such as hygiene, strengthening the role of women and further improvements in health care - especially through training and special education programmes for the staff. The goals are ambitious, but the past has shown that together, an extreme amount can be moved and achieved. "We want to build on the current momentum; then nothing will stand in the way of the successful implementation of our goals ', Dr Hofmann affirms the plan.
Overwhelmed by what they had experienced and seen and full of enthusiasm to implement their plans, the German mission team said goodbye again. A little wistfully, of course, but with the well-founded hope that they would not meet their colleagues in Nyangao again two years later.
