Luton teenager campaigns to help Tanzanian hospital
The hospital lacks basic supplies like pillows
A Luton teenager volunteering in Tanzania is fundraising to help a hospital buy supplies.
Tyra Origbe, 18, has been volunteering at the Meru district hospital along with friend Lisa van Dijk, from the Netherlands,
They are hoping to raise more than €1,500 for the hospital.
Tyra, a former pupil of Cardinal Newman and Harlington Upper school, met Lisa, 23, when they volunteered at the same hospital. She is due home this week after a month in Tanzania.
Tyra said: “We both want to go into the healthcare sector, I'm planning to do a nursing degree and Lisa is planning to become a doctor. Furthermore, we both plan to spend some time in the humanitarian sector working for companies like Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross and Mercy Ships and we wanted to gain some experience working in a developing country and see just how different the healthcare system is.
“The hospital lacks very basic supplies such as pillows, incubators, blood pressure monitors and much more. Furthermore, challenging work conditions such as constant power cuts, and poor hygiene practices are unfortunately very frequent occurrences, which then leads to a poorer quality of care, high infection rates and unnecessary pain and deaths.
“We've decided to start a fundraiser with a goal of €1,500, which would be a huge step into getting this hospital some vitally needed equipment.
"We’ll focus on equipment for minor surgery, paediatric ward, maternity ward and neonatal care. For instance, supplies like flowmeters and RBG machines for paediatrics; blood pressure monitors and pulse oximeters for minor surgery; nasogastric tubes and incubators for the neonatal ward.”