Since 1998, MIS has been supporting the growth and development of both the Occupational Therapy (OT) Clinic and the teaching of Occupational Therapy at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre [KCMC] in Moshi, Tanzania. With the support of donations from the MIS community, KCMC established the first OT department in Tanzania. Since then, the department, under the direction of Professor Sarah Mkenda, has grown and has been treating and supporting children and adults suffering from chronic illnesses and disabilities or those that are recovering from injuries. For many years, MIS has supported the training of numerous students in the OT diploma programme by funding their tuition fees and other expenses of those who are financially disadvantaged. After completing a three-year course leading to a Diploma in Occupational Therapy, the graduates go on to work in hospitals or local clinics providing OT support to those in need.
Since the last academic year, KCMC is now offering a higher level of study, namely a BSc programme in OT (currently, the only one of its kind in East Africa). To enable this programme to develop fully, KCMC needs academic staff to teach the programme. To this end, over the last 2 – 3 years MIS has been supporting, again through donations from the MIS community, three very experienced OT practitioners to gain further qualifications in OT. Dominik Mshanga (pictured above) has been engaged in his doctoral studies which are due to be completed this year. The title of his thesis is The Origins and Evolution of Occupational Therapy Identities, Epistemologies and Practices in Tanzania- A Case Study (1998 - 2022) Bahati Hassan (pictured above) is now in his final year of a BSc progamme in South Africa and Josiah Ereneus, currently a tutor in the Diploma programme, started the BSC programme at KCMC last year. As well as being full-time students, all three work at KCMC and have families with young childeren.
During the MIS service trip in June, Tanzania Project Coordinators Sarah Manwaring, Mr. Kirti Joshi, Mr. Sheldon Collier, and 22 students from grades 10 and 11, had the opportunity to visit KCMC and spend time with Professor Sarah Mkenda, Dominik, Bahati and Josiah. "We learned more about the clinic's efforts and were inspired by their commitment and dedication to supporting the community in Moshi. It was clear that MIS is supporting three very worthy individuals who will have immeasurable impact in their communities."