Mobile sonographer in Karatu (1): warm welcome for new project!

While our first project The Mobile Echoscopist is taking shape in Himo, we seem to be able to make a flying start with our second project in Karatu! This is all thanks to Dr. Zachariah Heriel, the very passionate head of the Lutheran Hospital there. What exactly will happen?

In our newsletter we already reported in February that there was a second application for the De Mobiel Echoscopist project. The question comes from Karatu, which many know as a safari hub, the last stop before entering the world-famous Serengeti Natural Park.

Karatu is located in a beautiful sloping, extinct volcanic area. It is fertile and green, but sometimes inhospitable, especially in the outer areas and during the rainy season. Pregnant women in the Karatu area are therefore often deprived of much-needed pregnancy checks.

The collaboration in Karatu started in 2019 when we met Dr. Simpa trained in pregnancy ultrasound and did an internship at the Lutheran Hospital. During a working visit in early 2020, Dr. Heriel asked us if we could help to better reach pregnant women in rural areas.

The idea quickly emerged to use the successful Mamabus concept here as well. Fortunately, the Driving Nurses Foundation was willing to work together, just like in Moshi. Driving Nurses shapes the logistics surrounding the Mamabus and pregnancy checks, while we set up the mobile ultrasound on the bus.

dr. Heriel is very involved in this project. The Lutheran Hospital has five dispensaries - local health posts - in the outlying areas. Despite his busy work as head of the hospital, he has personally visited it recently to speak with pregnant women and local leaders. The support for our project appears to be very large - the most frequently heard question was: when do we start? As for us and Dr. Heriel: as soon as possible!

Based on his field research, Dr. Heriel has prepared a report that gives us a good picture of the outlying areas, the needs that exist and the bottlenecks that need to be solved. A vehicle is already there and will be converted into Mamabus in the near future.

In the meantime, we are further developing the ultrasound part of the plan, because we want to get started as soon as possible: the Mamabus should be launched in Karatu after the summer! You can help with that too: find out here how you can support the work of the Mount Meru Foundation. Also on behalf of the pregnant women in Karatu and surroundings, thank you very much!