THURSDAY September 1, 2022
By Adam Ihucha
The Tranquility News Correspondent, Tanzania
Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC) plans to establish a state-of-the-art medical university at Ekenywa precinct in Arusha to offer a much-needed bachelor degree in nursing, midwifery, and other specialised medical courses in Tanzania.
The ALMC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Elisha Twisa, said the master plan that would spearhead the mission of establishing the medical university had already been developed.
Mr Twisa was delivering a keynote address at the 7th graduation ceremony for Ekenywa-based Arusha Lutheran Medical Training Centre (ALMTC) to bid a farewell to 57 diploma graduands in nursing and midwifery.
“After a brief working stint at ALMC, our flagship health institution, the need for well-trained nurses became very apparent — nurses that would efficiently heal the body but also the soul of the patients,” he said.
At the moment, the Ekenywa nursing school offers diploma in nursing and midwifery for pre-service and in-service students, Mr Twisa explained, adding that in the forthcoming semester beginning in October 2022, they would roll out a new course on social work.
“Social work is an exceptional profession rich with action and power to make a difference in various communities. This is why we saw the need for introducing the course at Ekenywa nursing school,” the ALMC Chief explained.
He added: “Social workers pull communities together, help individuals and families to find solutions, relieve suffering, advance changes in social policy, promote social justice, and foster human and global well-being.”
No wonder social workers are the most sought cadre in public agencies, local governments, non-profit organisations, private businesses, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, police departments, courts, and in private practices.
He extended gratitude to the US-based Operation Bootstrap of Africa (OBA) that has been bankrolling the nursing school.
“We’re grateful to the president and two board members of our key partner — OBA— who recently paid a courtesy call on the ALMTC to get a glimpse of operations,” Mr Twisa said.
OBA is a Minnesota-based, non-profit, inter-denominational organisation dedicated to helping people to help themselves in a variety of educational programmes in Africa.
Officiating at the graduation ceremony, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) North Central Diocese, Assistant Bishop Dr Godson Abel Mashauri, counseled the graduands to serve patients with dignity whilst keeping their privacy as per their professional vows.
“God has deployed us in the world to serve humanity with dignity, so nurses and midwives are duty bound to treat patients fairly. Use a sympathetic language regardless of their status quo while observing their privacy,” Dr. Mashauri said.
The college Principal, Ms Lilian Shuma, said the nurse’s course did not only cover medicinal dispensation, but also customer care services to patients.
In a speech read on their behalf by Ngewani Richard, the graduates pledged to be a good example among their peers by working diligently in serving patients with love and dignity while observing the nurses’ code of conduct.
The graduands also requested the ELCT to offer them an opportunity for volunteering in its hospitals and dispensaries for them to gain experience, rather than waiting for employment at home.
The ALMTC Board Member, the ELECT renowned Reverend Zakaria Matinda, was grateful to all who had realised the college’s dream, imploring the graduates to bring hope to the despaired patients as it was the case with the biblical good SamaritanΩ
