Evergreen Rotary

Holy Love Lutheran Church Youth Group Raises $2,480 for Selian Hospital in Tanzania

About two to three years ago, a youth group from the Holy Love Lutheran Church in Aurora traveled to Tanzania, Africa. Through Rotary connections, the group had the opportunity to visit the Selian Lutheran Hospital, a semi-urban hospital located near the village of Ngaramtoni within the Arumeru District of the Arusha Region.

In last Friday’s meeting, Steve Cantrell, Rotary District 5450 Governor-nominee (to serve as District Governor in the year 2008-09), recounted, “They were impressed and so moved by what that hospital does that they came back to Aurora and said ‘We wanna do something. We can’t do anything in Aurora other than maybe raise money and give it to the hospital so they can continue to do the good work that they do.’”

And on that note, Steve continued, “And I have a check here today from these kids. This is not from the church, not from the adults. It’s actually a fundraiser that the kids did. Even though it’s not a lot of money in the scheme of things, it’s a lot of money to them. I have a check here for $2480.”

Evergreen Rotarian Curt Harris, champion of the Tanzania project, received the check in behalf of the hospital. Visibly amazed, he exclaimed, “All I can say, Steve, is thanks and wow! I was really surprised when I was told that you’re gonna give a presentation. I didn’t know what the amount was, but this is unbelievable! And I really do appreciate this. Thank you very much!”

Since its humble beginnings in the 1950’s, the Selian hospital has grown from a dispensary with a single building and ten beds into a 120 bed, full-service hospital offering outpatient and inpatient services. It currently serves an immediate catchment area consisting mainly of a government ward with a population of approximately 200,000 people. The hospital and its clinic, the Arusha Town Clinic, also serve as the main referral resources for the entire urban area of Arusha, a catchment area of over a million people.