MAF flew Ashe Love Project from Arusha to Haydom, where they joined Haydom Lutheran Hospital to reach a remote Tanzanian village and provide nutrition education during a monthly maternal health clinic.
Story by Annet Nabbanja
Martha Mshana has been standing for over four hours, weighing babies. A weighing scale is hanging on the tree which provides shade. Women line up in a long queue waiting for their turn.
There’s a tired but satisfactory look on Martha’s face because today she has seen a great improvement in children’s weights and overall health.
Martha works with the charity ‘Ashe Love Project’ where she serves as the Community Care and Follow-up Coordinator.
MAF helps Ashe Love Project reach areas that are virtually unreachable. The trip from Arusha to Gorimba takes more than eight hours by road, but the total flight time is just an hour and a half.
“Our services reach people at the right time and at the right moment,” said Martha. “I work without getting tired and remain very active because of MAF. Our roads are not friendly.
“The plane is like an alarm for the community. As soon as people hear it, they come running, knowing that the medical team has come.”
The plane is like an alarm for the community. As soon as people hear it, they come running, knowing that the medical team has come.
Martha works very closely with the community to help people identify their challenges and connect them with appropriate, accessible services, particularly hospital services. These services include nutrition support and nutrition education.
In remote communities like Gorimba, women often lack awareness of nutrition and balanced diets. Families survive on the same foods daily, like milk and ugali (posho or maize). Young infants, even at three to four months old, are sometimes fed rough foods like ugali that are not appropriate for their age. Nutrition education addresses this by teaching age-specific feeding and how to use locally available foods for a balanced diet.
“This work is not just a job to me; it is a passion and a source of joy,” said Martha. “I love doing this work because I work directly with people in the community. I love helping people and addressing their challenges in different ways.”
Struggling to provide for her family, Evalina Peter Njiku has come with four-month-old Diana. The mother of nine was abandoned by the children’s father and is without a source of income. While Evalina’s own nutritional needs are not being met, she still breastfeeds Diana.
A month ago, Diana was brought to the clinic weighing 3.0 kg after being born weighing 3.4 kg.
“It is very difficult for the baby to get milk,” said Martha. “So, the baby's poor health resulted from the different challenges the mother faces in her family.”
Martha provided the mother with nutrition education, helping her understand how to make better use of locally available foods to improve her own nutritional wellbeing and support her baby’s growth.
After one month, the baby was brought back to the clinic. She had gained 1.3 kg, and now showed the pleasing total of 4.3 kg on the scale.
Regina Gidarija Mahetuna is another grateful mother who has come to the clinic. At 26 years, she’s pregnant with her fifth child. She is very thankful for the clinic and the nutrition education she receives.
“This service helps me because if I do not go to the clinic, I do not know how the pregnancy is progressing, or whether the baby is alive or not,” she said. “There are many changes. You find that when you start feeding a child solid food too early, before they reach six months, you notice certain changes. The child will not be in good health.”