“In 1934, Mennonite
missionaries arrived in Tanganyika (now Tanzania), East Africa, and settled in
the Shirati area.
At that time, local residents were suffering from malaria, dysentery, and
tropical fevers, which created an urgent need to deploy a medical team to the
area. The local chief supported these efforts by constructing the first huts to
care for patients. Simple structures were built, and health services began to
be provided.
Nineteen years later, in 1953, the first permanent hospital buildings were constructed, and seven years after that, in 1960, a nursing training school was opened. Following the opening of an airstrip in 1960, Shirati’s connection with the medical services of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) in Nairobi improved greatly. As a result, the health of the people of Shirati, Rorya, and the entire Mara region improved significantly, with a Mobile Clinic serving the local population up to six times a year.”
Dear reader, these are explanations from the Mennonite Church of Tanzania, the Shirati Diocese led by Bishop John Ojalla, where Mwanakwetu visited on January 31, 2026, at this hospital which provides services to approximately 354,490 people, according to the 2022 population figures—184,572 women and 169,913 men. Meanwhile, Rorya District, led by Dr. Khalifan Haule, is estimated to have experienced a large population increase of nearly 100,000 people between the 2012 and 2022 censuses.
Here in Shirati, an event was held to hand over various medical equipment donated by NMB Bank. The event was opened with a prayer by the Presiding Bishop of the Mennonite Church of Tanzania, Nelson Kisare, who congratulated NMB for being a bank that is friendly to Tanzanians and thanked NMB for its spirit of love toward Shirati Hospital by donating ventilators, infant warmers for premature babies, and several incubators:
“On behalf of our Church, I say that NMB has planted a seed so that it may bear good fruit, and we who have received these items will take good care of them.”
Speaking about church-owned hospitals around the world, Bishop Kisare said they are filled with LOVE and COMPASSION for patients.
“A patient encounters Jesus Christ from the gate—with the guards, at reception, with the doctor, with the nurse, in the ward while admitted, and until the day they leave the hospital.”
Concluding his remarks, Bishop Nelson Kisare said that he was the very first founder of the Treasury Department of NMB Bank, which is now the best-performing bank in Tanzania.
The event continued with the welcoming of the Director and Chief Financial Officer of NMB Tanzania, Juma Kimori, who stated:
“Our bank earns significant profits, and we remember to return those profits to Tanzanians through education, health, and other sectors across the country. The Mara Region is among the first beneficiaries, and today I have handed over eight incubators, 20 bedsheets, 20 beds, 20 mattresses, and 400 sheets, desks, timber, and several roofing sheets. The Mara Region has received equipment worth approximately 230 million shillings, which is part of the bank’s total profit of 23 billion shillings.”
Receiving the equipment on behalf of the Regional Commissioner of Mara, Col. Evans Alfred Mtambi, the Rorya District Commissioner, Dr. Khalifan Haule, said he highly commended NMB for this generosity and urged other institutions to emulate NMB’s example.
“The Government thanks NMB very much for this goodwill. I also congratulate the Mennonite Church of Tanzania for providing various services to the community and for continuing to cooperate with the Government in serving citizens.”
Dr. Haule said that Col. Mtambi had instructed him to say that he had received the equipment with both hands.”
As these events were taking place here in Rorya District, Mara Region, the weather in Shirati Town was 27 degrees Celsius, humidity was 10 percent, the chance of rain was 68 percent, and winds were blowing at 11 km per hour.
Mwanakwetu, are you there?
Remember:
“We receive assistance from NMB with both hands.”
I wish you a good day.
makwadeladius@gmail.com
0717649257
Post a Comment