Tanzania program "teaches them forward."
Tanzania’s troubles are many, but a group from South Carolina hopes to “teach them forward” By Tony Bartelme Mwanza, Tanzania – Coffin makers line the winding road to Bugando Hospital, the main medical center for this teeming metropolis on the boulder-strewn shores of Lake Victoria. “I make about three a day,” said George, with an easy smile. “It depends on how many people die.” I’m here with a group from the Medical University of South Carolina that for several years has been helping Tanzanians improve their health system. The group is called Madaktari, plural for the Swahili word for doctor. Its focus is different than many other global health nonprofits. Instead of swooping in with Western doctors to treat patients and then leaving, Madaktari’s approach is to train existing medical workers to be more efficient, or as D. Word, the group’s director, said: “We want to teach them forward.” Tanzania is a beautiful country of about 40 million people on the eastern side of Africa, south ...