Mission Aviation Fellowship flew The One New Heart to the remote village of Chidudu, where they carried out a feasibility study to better understand access to heart care services for pregnant mothers and newborns.
Story by Annet Nabbanja
MAF’s new partner The One New Heart joined the monthly mother and child clinic flight to Chidudu village, a community where access to healthcare remains a major challenge.
The journey from the city of Dodoma to remote Chidudu normally takes around eight hours by road.
With the MAF aeroplane, it took only 35 minutes.
“The partnership enables us to reach communities that would otherwise remain inaccessible by other means of transport,” said Godfrey Maro, Co-Founder and Director of Communication at The One New Heart Tanzania.
“Community members told us that accessing healthcare means walking up to 12 hours or riding a bodaboda (motorcycle taxi) for about 1.5 hours – a journey that becomes impossible during the rainy season.”
In areas like Chidudu, where MAF already conducts medical outreach services, this collaboration allows The One New Heart to add heart screening, diabetes and hypertension checks that have not been previously available. The vision of The One New Heart is to ensure that no one dies from treatable heart conditions due to lack of access, awareness, or timely care.
“These services are critical because remote communities often lack access to specialised care, early diagnosis, and clear referral pathways, leading to delayed treatment and preventable complications,” Godfrey said.
The organisation was founded following a deeply personal experience. Nearly eight years ago, Godfrey’s mother passed away after living for over 20 years with an undiagnosed heart condition.
It was only a few days after her death that they learned from a doctor that she had suffered from an enlarged heart.
Together, we are Flying for Life. Flying for the hearts.
In Tanzania, approximately 17,000 babies are born each year with congenital heart defects, which are a leading cause of early childhood mortality. Subclinical rheumatic heart disease affects an estimated 2.1 to 3% of school-aged children and often goes undetected.
More than one million adults live with rheumatic heart disease. Many pregnant women also face significant risks without proper heart screening.
“The most significant challenges include lack of early diagnosis and absence of structured referral pathways for specialised treatment,” Godfrey said.
“As a result, many conditions are detected late, leading to higher rates of morbidity and mortality. Limited awareness and lack of enough resources further increase the problem.”
Early screening, diagnosis and sustainable management of heart conditions are very important. When they are available, treatment is more effective, costs are lower, recovery is faster and mortality rates are highly reduced.
Godfrey is hopeful that the new partnership with MAF can bring this kind of change.
“Together, we can combine resources and expertise to better serve underserved communities,” he said. “Together, we are Flying for Life. Flying for the hearts.”