For many years now, the AKO has supported the Catholic Diocese of Moshi in running Kibosho Hospital. Since the beginning of this support program, the yearly number of patients has risen from around 30,000 to 80,000 patients per year. Material donations of technical tools regularly arrive at the hospital. A recurring problem, however, is that there are no specialists in the country specifically educated in medical technology. A dentist’s chair complete with all its functions or an x-ray machine cannot be repaired by an electrician. There are no service networks from the manufacturer available in the country. Even replacement parts are often hard to come by, and when they are available, they are very expensive. A solution has now arisen with help from the AGEH. The ‘Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Entwicklungshilfe e.V.‘ (AGEH) connects skilled workers in development cooperation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. As a governmentally-recognised personnel service provider, the employees of the AGEH help distribute qualified staff with Christian values from Germany and the European Union across projects in Africa, Asia, Latin American and in countries in mid- and eastern Europe. At the same time, they support the employer in finding the finances to fund such an investment.
Since July 2017, we have had a medical technician from Germany in Kibosho. Frank Weithöner will stay there for three years. The goal of his deployment is to improve the technical capabilities of medical equipment in Kibosho Hospital and other establishments of the Catholic Diocese of Moshi. In addition, he should train technicians in medical technology and this, in turn, in a workshop he will build for this very purpose. In the beginning, he will be able to use the facilities of the buildings recently built by the AKO. With Frank on-site, we will be able to see if we could even establish an official training course for medical technicians, which we would organisationally be able to connect with the existing Nursing School. At this moment in time there are no opportunities to train medical technicians.
The engagement of Frank was two-thirds financed by a foundation. In the coming years, AKO will have to raise an individual share of €75,000 to be paid in stages. Donations are necessary and welcome. https://www.aktionskreis-ostafrika.de/en/support-us/online-donation/
