Pande is a small village in Tanzania (Africa, South East) located near the Indian Ocean, a poor cluster of huts, whose inhabitants have a life expectancy that exceeds 49 years of age and a high infant mortality. Principal causes of death are especially tuberculosis and malaria, malnutrition and gastrointestinal diseases. Their only means of livelihood is fishing together with a very impoverished and stunted agriculture. Tanzania faces a "mature", generalized HIV epidemics. Among the 1.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS, 70.5 percent are 25 to 49 years old, and 15 percent are 15-24. In young women aged 15 to 24, there is an HIV prevalence rate of 3.8 percent, which is significantly higher than the 2.8 percent prevalence rate among young men in the same age group.

More than half of available hospital beds are occupied by HIV-infected people. The only masonry existing buildings are a very small and dilapidated government school ( built in the seventies by prof. Neireire, 1st President of the Republic, to commemorate the conquest of independence from British colonialism, obtained without violence and victims) and a small mosque, which was donated by a wealthy Arab.

There is neither electricity nor water. In this area, at the moment, only the rain may help to survive. At Pande, about three years ago, Italian volunteers (among them, Dr. Giuseppe Valente, Rotary Club Capua Antica & Nuova) started the construction of a small hospital, designed as a medical facility for immunization of children, the distribution of some life-saving drugs and the mother-child care, including also a delivery room and a small operating room. Anyhow, to face the emergencies in this area, severely lacking and devoid of any form of health assistance, volunteers are very few, so living is much harder than dying.

Currently, despite the hospital being completed in its structural part, and furniture being fit for its healthcare function, there are mostly outpatients, for lack of adequate diagnostic instrumentation and operational specialists.

A few weeks ago some new equipment (an electric solar/ wind generator ) started to function.

They also received the unexpected and welcomed visit of the ships S. Marco and Zephyr, two naval army units of our Italian Navy, stationed in the Indian Ocean under NATO for patrolling actions against piracy. They have generously offered their skill in order to help with charity work.

This project should provide the following medical equipment and material:

• 1 Cardiotocograph, 1 Digital Electrocardiograph,
• 1 Defibrillator, Diagnostic Tests for auto-control,
• 1 Autoclave, 1 Frigidaire for drugs,
• 1 Frigidaire for blood bank, 1 Gynecological Chair,
• 1 Surgery Lamp, 1 Electro bistoury,
• 1 Column Mechanical Balance.
• Generating Set with Diesel Engine
• Standard equipment + Optionals (Automatic panel; Alternator with automatic voltage regulator; Supplementary tank)



    

    

    


The goal of volunteers, and our goal, is not only to help, but also empower and improve the realities they meet. That means training for doctors and paramedics, improvements for the local management, structures for local political and religious institutions, education directed to people especially on the issues of prevention. But there is some challenge for the group of Dr. Giuseppe Valente: the recruitment of Italian surgeons and gynaecologists, ensuring a turnover in the three health realities realized. Although African universities of medicine every year prepare excellent doctors and specialists, requests coming from public hospitals of the city are greater than the supply. For the volunteers association, which already uses the generosity of donations in order to realize health facilities in poor and isolated areas from large arteries, gratuity performance is the sine qua non condition of identity.

In this page you can download a movie. From it you can see the real need but you can also understand the power of these people and the love of these children who are grateful for what we can give, even if little.

» Download video

Our goal is to bring health and social development to the poorest African people through the active participation in the local communities.

Now we must continue to work together with the new African Directors. In the above-mentioned movie we can see the Mayor of Pande, still without facilities and specialized people, but with a lot of will and hopes in the future, thanks to their initiatives. Our goal is to help African population to build its autonomy and to use its own structures autonomously.