The Bumbuli Hospice team (including nurse Betty Hoza, second from right, and chaplain Joyce Temu, standing at left) treats 85 patients annually
At HospiceCare, we think everyone should have the opportunity to live their final days with dignity, in comfort, and at home while surrounded by their loved ones. Yet the sad fact is, in many countries hospice either doesn’t exist or the organizations are so new and under-funded that they can’t possibly meet even the most basic needs of those who seek their care.
Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in Africa, where AIDS claims nearly 6,000 lives daily. Despite the heroic efforts of health agencies to start hospice and palliative care programs there, limited access to pain medication, widespread poverty, and rampant malnourishment combine to make the situation bleak.
HospiceCare would like to help change this. So when an opportunity to assist an African hospice through the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA) arose, we became the proud and committed partner of Bumbuli Lutheran Hospital Home Care and Palliative Care Program in Bumbuli, Tanzania.
This is an important, and challenging, opportunity. Though Tanzania boasts Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, and Gombe National park, it remains among the poorest countries in the world. In fact, the average income in this beautiful land is just $250 per year. With food expenses at $16 per month for a family of five and monthly medication costs of $25 per patient, it’s clear that in order to ease the suffering of the 85 patients they care for annually, Bumbuli Hospice desperately needs additional financial resources.
If you would like to help, or if you’re interested in learning more about our Bumbuli Hospice Partnership, please call Carol De Priest at 303.604.5271.
