CONGRATULATIONS TNSP: 10 YEARS OF SUPPORTING NURSING STUDENTS IN TANZANIA

Hello Friends,

This fall we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Tanzania Nursing Scholarship Program (TNSP). To date, 115 young women have graduated thanks to your support! In addition, we currently sponsor 22 students at four schools across Tanzania.

In addition to celebrating one decade together, we are also very excited to announce that TNSP has been awarded a Ministry Partnership Grant from the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, allowing us to sponsor an additional eight students for two years!

Since we started the program 10 years ago, we have shared many stories with you from both current and graduated students. Graduates are usually very busy working at their chosen profession, raising children and assisting their parents, siblings and others in many ways. This help comes in various forms, including paying school fees for their siblings, providing money for basic needs and medical care and in some instances building a new house for their parents. When you help one student, you improve the lives of many within her family and community!

We recently spoke to Tegemea, (2011 graduate), about the impact the scholarship program has had in her life. She has just finished a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing (with Honors) at St. John’s University in Dodoma and hopes to enter a MS/Ph.D. program in the fall of 2018.

Tegemea shares a bit about her background, her experiences and the impact TNSP has had on her life:

“My name is Tegemea Patrick Mwalingo, am thirty years old, married to Shega Kubetta and a mother of one child named Brighton. I am currently a nurse officer at Dodoma regional referral hospital working in Obstetrics and gynecology department.

I am the seventh (last) born in a family of the late Mr. and Mrs. Patrick. I grew within my family with both father and mother till 1995 when my father died and that was when I was eight years old. After the death of my beloved father I have been cared by our late beloved mother who also died in 2015. My father’s death became the first crisis faced within our family, and since his death our family depended on our mother who was a small farms peasant. I studied in public schools throughout the period of my study and I completed my secondary education in 2007 at Loleza girl’s secondary school -one of the public secondary schools in Tanzania.

After completion of my A-level secondary education studies, I joined with the college of nursing at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College-School of nursing in 2007. In 2008 while a second year student at Kilimanjaro Christian medical centre –school of nursing I met Tony, Linda and friends who came in our school for the purpose of assisting in need students in covering for their study costs. I was glad being among the sponsored students in their second intake of sponsorship program in Tanzania. Getting study sponsorship opened a new chapter of my dreams that started fading away due to difficulties faced in covering the study costs. From the day that I was assured of study costs coverage I experienced new feelings, I felt indebted of doing the best in my studies and this made me a hard worker than I was before the sponsorship. The hard work done had always brought the positive academic outcomes because being assured of my study costs, made me have the full concentration in my studies.
 
Among the positive outcomes experienced was being the academic outstanding student during my third year of study and this made me a representative of my school in an exchange programme in Sweden in 2010. Furthermore I graduated with a diploma award from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre-Nursing College Tanzania in 2011 whereby I was awarded a certificate for being the best academic performer throughout my study period and I graduated with a GPA of 4.5 points in a scale of 5.

With this diploma I earned the designation of registered nurse and registered midwife. I got employed in Dodoma Regional Referral Hospital one of the public hospitals in Tanzania. Now that I started earning money I have been able to assist my mother in catering for some of her needs and in 2015 when she became seek I was able to contribute to her medical expenses costs and also to give her the nursing care required in most of her sick time. Together with my husband, we have been able to pay for study costs to our three close relatives in private secondary schools.

In 2014, I continued my studies at St John’s University of Tanzania and am due for graduation with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in December 12, this year. I am glad that this time I will graduate with a degree of honor of a 4.0 GPA in a scale of 5. My future plan is to become a university lecturer in nursing so that I can contribute my expertise in educating nursing students. I want to continue my nursing studies and enroll in a Master’s or PhD program.

Lastly I would like to say that the light that I am seeing in my future is because of the tireless efforts of friends in Tanzania Nurses Scholarship Program (TNSP) devoted to the ladies in Tanzania. Your contribution has helped me this far and gives me a reason to strive for a better me at every stage towards my career goal.

The spirit of giving within you has impacted the lives of many Tanzania ladies who could otherwise fail to cover the nursing study costs. You served our nation at large by increasing the number of nurses who are currently serving the lives of many Tanzanians in different areas. Your contribution has become an alarm in our heart that reminds us the importance of helping those who are in need hence you did not made mere nurses but you made nurses with a spirit of serving others.”

Thank you SO much for helping Tegemea and so many others realize their dreams. She has become an incredible role model for other young women seeking to improve their lives!

Looking forward:
Tony will be returning to Tanzania January 2018 to visit the nursing schools and choose new students. He also hopes to visit some of our graduated students and their families.

We (Tony and Linda) will be having a 10th anniversary party at our house in Blandford, MA. April 28, 2018. You are invited, so please mark your calendar! More information will come in the next newsletter.

Donations:
We are now coming to another holiday season. If you are thinking about what gift to buy for a certain someone, please consider making a donation in their honor. If you choose, we will send an acknowledgment card.

Here is another option to consider: the stock market has risen significantly over the past few years. Donation of appreciated shares is also an option. Please contact us for details.

Finally, we want to thank all of you who have joined us on this journey over the past decade. TNSP could not have done this without you.

Please feel free to leave a comment or question below.

Asante Sana (thank you very much),

Linda van Werkhooven RN, President