Support Hospice in Tanzania by Purchasing Handmade Jewelry, Art and More
Support Hospice in Tanzania by Purchasing Handmade Jewelry, Art and More
Shoulder to shoulder—or bega kwa bega, in Swahili—is how we at Gilchrist approach our partnership with Nkoaranga Lutheran Hospital’s Hospice and Palliative Care Program in Tanzania.
Since 2009, Gilchrist has worked “shoulder to shoulder” to support Nkoaranga as they serve the chronically ill and dying in the villages in northern Tanzania near Mount Kilimanjaro. With our financial support, their small staff of five and a handful of volunteers serve over 1,000 patients on their census.
The team in Tanzania provides medical home visits, medication, wound care supplies, food for the poorest of the families, support groups for adults with chronic illness, “Kids Club” gatherings for children with HIV, education for volunteers and staff, scholarships for children and more.
Through Gilchrist’s fundraising, we’ve been able to purchase laptop computers for the staff, personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep them safe, playground equipment for the Kids Club, and even an ambulance!
Our partners in Tanzania rely on us, and they need us now more than ever. They are coping with unimaginable hardships. Like us, they are battling COVID-19, and in addition, they are saddled with a poor health care system, the rainy season, mudslides and the resulting displacement of their citizens, locusts in their crops and famine.
Raising funds for our Tanzanian partner has always been a grassroots effort. In the past, we’ve raised a significant portion of our support budget from craft sales, “dining for donations” nights at local restaurants, bake sales, selling raffle tickets to Ravens games, Breakfast with Santa and other in-person events. But now in the face of COVID-19 and the need for “social distancing,” we’ve had to cancel most of these activities.
We Need Your Help
This year, we are falling short of raising the $74,000 we need to fund Tanzania’s bare-bones program.
So, we’re being creative. Instead of having in-person craft sales, we are offering catalog shopping! We’re selling hand-made jewelry, crafts, fabric creations, greeting cards, paintings, fair trade coffee and chocolate, and more. The money raised from these purchases will go far—a $25 purchase could feed a family of five for a month.
Available Catalogs:
- Fabric Creations from Africa
- Fair Trade Coffee and Chocolate
- Handmade Crafts from Tanzania and the United States
- Hand-crafted greeting cards
- Hand-crafted jewelry from Tanzania and the United States
- African Batik and Oil Paintings
- Pendant Stones from Africa and the United States
- African Bead Bracelets
- Breast Cancer Awareness Bracelets
Purchase a Catalog or Make a Donation
Catalogs are available by contacting Robin Stocksdale, Gilchrist Global Partnership Coordinator, at rstocksdale@gilchristcares.org or 443.841.6761.
Not a shopper? Consider making a tax-deductible donation (choose “Tanzania” under Gift Designation) to support this important work.
To learn more about Gilchrist’s partnership with Tanzania, visit gilchristcares.org/Tanzania.
Hand-made jewelry, crafts, fabric creations, greeting cards, paintings, fair trade coffee and chocolate, and more are now available by catalogue. Please consider a purchase to support hospice in Tanzania, Gilchrist’s partners who desperately need our help.