DENTAL CLINIC OPENS FOR BUSINESS
Dental Consultant, Dr. Wallace McKenzie and his wife spent several weeks in Dodoma working with the DCMC staff and coordinating the installation of the dental clinic. DCMC received the Ministry of Health registration certificate in January and opened its doors for business. The clinic has four operatories, a training room, and preparation center and is equipped with x-ray units, a panorex and a vacuum system. Since opening it has served over 1300 patients and has established a poor fund to expand outreach to the poor.
Left: Dr. Mdoe consults with amputee from neighboring village. Right: Dr. James Herrick, Austin Minnesota, spent two weeks last March teaching endodontic techniques to Dr. Rabemahefa and Dr. Francis Mdoe. DCMC's dental capabilities include simple to complex extraction, ordinary restorative filling, periodontal and endodontal procedures. Bleaching is also offered for those who have fluoridosis prevalent in some regions of country. The dentists recently treated a patient who rode forty miles on a bicycle with a baby on her back in search of treatment for an abcess.
Dental Clinic Prevention Program
Prevention is a key focus of DCMC Dental Clinic. Education programs have been established in three Dodoma schools. Teachers, parents and students all benefit from this dental health promotion and gain understanding of their oral health and the choices they have to improve it. Right: Students from the Canon Andreas Mwaka School toured the new dental clinic and received an oral health lesson fom Dr. Francis Mdoe. Below: students from Ntyuka village school get introduction to oral health and dental hygienest introduces school children to brushing techniques.
REPRODUCTIVE CHILD HEALTH BUILDING PROGRESSING
The construction of the Reproductive Child Health Building started in July and is scheduled to be complete by the end of May. This coincides with the arrival of the Global Health Ministries container loaded with supplies and furnishings for this building including an obstetrical ultrasound to assist in high risk pregnancy screening. In addition to interventions in mother and child health, the clinic will also house a full service HIV/AlDS service including counseling, diagnosis, and antiretroviral therapy.
Views of DCMC Compound
Aerial Views: Left: The dental building is on the far right; the reproductive child health facility is in the foreground. Generators are housed is the small building and "Container City" is the long narrow structure. It is being designed to hold sea containers which will be turned into shop and storage space. Right: Note the eight staff houses east of the road. Below: The staff house compound.
The Essentials: Water and Power
As part of the site infrastructure and in addition to piping in City water, DCMC dug a178 meter well and constructed a 160,000 liter reservoir storage tank. Reliable, consistent power is one of Tanzania's biggest challenges. The transformer (right) intercepts TANESCO's supply. Generators are needed as back up. Because stable and reliable power is critical to the next phase of the project, DCMC has formed a partnership with the Service Learning Engineering Program at the University of St. Thomas (Minneapolis, Minnesota) to investigate all possible alternative power sources.
COMMUNITY HEALTH: RURAL
DCMC manages three Lutheran dispensaries and one first aid station in rural areas. Programs carried out at these locations have an impact on rural lives; they are naturally challenged by their isolation. DCMC works to staff and supervise the workers at these sites as well as interface with the village for involvement and public health education. Mr. Dickson Chinunje and Mr. Mwanga Chigago, DCMC's community health team, travel regularly to each dispensary to meet with village committees, review records, bring supplies and mentor staff. The staff and DCMC Community team are pictured on the porch of the Kondoa dispensary.
Dr. Eunice Kentang'enyi and Lwihomelo Clinical Officer Anthony Matai Food Distribution
The dispensaries distributed donated Kids Against Hunger supplemental food packets to families in order to intervene in the effects of the three year drought. Picture left: Children under five were weighed and the weights were recorded. Picture right: Those families with underweight children received packets and instructions for preparation. The community health staff in their follow-up assessment noted definite improvement in the chilren's status. The final consignment of the supplement packets are expected in the May container. Thankfully this long drought in the Dodoma area was lifted by very good rains which promise bumper summer crops. Public Health Education: HIV/AIDS Awareness Community involvement is key to easing the HIV/AIDS stigma and promoting awareness among the village young people. Picture: Bicha village watches a scene from an HIV/AIDS awareness skit. Scene here warns against phony and unreliable testing.
A SIGNIFICANT EVENT: DCMC COMES OF AGEJakaya M. Kikwete, President of Tanzania Officiates in Foundation Stone Ceremony
Left: President Kikwete, with Bishop Peter Mwamasika at his side, accepts a gift from Dr. Maria Kamm, Chariman of the DCMC Board of Trustees. Right: He reviews the the DCMC Complex plans with project Director, John Toso and Aloyse Mushi of Co-Architecture. Trustees, DTHD president, church and government officials were present at the event.
Dodoma Tanzania Health DevelopmentSharing God's Gifts to Bring Health and Hope to the People of Central TanzaniaISAIAH 58:6-12
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Bicha village near the Kondoa dispensary is example of community involvement. Youth actors presented a series of skits with real life themes to educate about HIV/AIDS. A DCMC staff member mobilized the village youth as peer leaders. Components of this DCMC led HIV/AIDS project involved education, mobilization and participation of the community. 
