Dorothy Mboya, RN, Founder

Tujenge Maisha means “let’s build lives.” This is at the core of Dorothy Mboya’s mission in Narumu.

Dorothy was born into a poor family in Narumu on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. With her father’s encouragement and faith in her she defeated this poverty by becoming a nurse. Now a registered nurse in the United States, Dorothy travels back to Narumu frequently not just to visit but also to help improve the lives of women and babies in her country of birth.

Dorothy says, “I’ve seen the difference between the care of women here [US] and women in Tanzania.” Dorothy founded Tujenge Maisha in 2012, aiming to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates by improving accessibility to prenatal and postpartum care and hygienic delivery for women in her place of birth. Currently mother and child healthcare is dispensed from a tiny two-room clinic that lacks electricity and running water. The clinic does not have anything more than basic equipment – it operates without an ultrasound machine or refrigerator for medication.

Regardless, the vast majority of women in the village do not attend the hospital when giving birth. They will seek the services of traditional birth attendants. Many of these women are elderly and do not have formal training in midwifery, they use unsanitary equipment such as razor blades or knives to cut the umbilical cords, they have little knowledge of modern hygiene practices and do not provide prenatal and antenatal services.

The consequences of this lack of healthcare are lifelong. Children born under such conditions have lower survival rates and are more likely to suffer developmentally as they grow. Moreover, with the death of a mother a family suffers emotionally and economically. Studies show that without a mother in the household children are less likely to complete schooling and more likely to suffer from malnutrition.

This situation is what Dorothy is trying to address. With Tujenge Maisha, Dorothy hopes to bring modern sanitary health services to Namuru and its surrounding areas.

Your support will help Dorothy construct a hospital with electricity and water and provide it with staff. The project will reduce the number of families that are forced to deal with the pain and consequences of losing their mothers wives and children.