By Felicia Smith | Managing Director
Dear Team,
Doctor Shemaghembe is doing very well, and continues to hold 49 mobile medical clinics per month, both within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and outside of it. At these clinics he provides essential vaccinations to children under 2 years old, girls aged 9 to 14 years and pregnant mothers. He also provides growth monitoring for children under 5 years, antenatal care services, treatment of common conditions, and health education sessions on topics including nutrition, disease prevention, and environmental sanitation. Dr. Shemaghembe vaccinated 3,467 children in April alone, distributing 5,371 doses of various antigens including measles, rubella, HPV, tuberculosis and more. We have roughly 250 pregnant mothers attending our mobile clinics for antenatal care services each month who come for ultrasounds, iron supplements, malaria prophylaxis, mosquito nets and more. Since the government has recognized how necessary his services are (and since there would likely be disease outbreaks without his vaccinations), they gave him a second vehicle to use for his programs. We are grateful for their cooperation in this way, which allows us to expand our mobile medical clinics into previously restricted areas.
Leshengay, the mobile clinic volunteer for the past four years whom we sent back to medical school to finish his degree, is doing well in his second year of school. He signed a contract with Community Health Access & Environmental Conservation (aka CHAEC - Dr. S’s nonprofit) to work for at least 5 years once he finishes his degree. Dr. Shemaghembe also recently introduced us to Dr. Godson Olekasio, another retired doctor like himself, who is interested in helping us to expand the areas served by the mobile clinics. We all went on a road trip together to the Lake Natron area in February, where we spent two nights. Here, we all observed as Dr. Shemaghembe conducted three mobile clinics. We got to see one of the most remote clinics he operates, and Dr. Godson got an idea of what running the mobile clinics entails before agreeing to help us expand them to the Monduli district. Two important qualifications he brings with him are that he can drive (so both vehicles can be in operation and conducting mobile clinics at once), and that he is Maasai, which allows him to communicate easily with the people attending the mobile clinics. He is also a really wonderful guy, as we learned on our three-day road trip together! We are excited to watch the expansion of the mobile medical clinics before our very eyes; once Leshengay finishes school, we will have three trained professionals delivering mobile medical clinics, which is amazing.
We are a bit behind on meeting our GlobalGiving goal for the mobile clinic, especially with our increased needs as we expand our outreach to include two vehicles. But we have a great donation matching opportunity coming up on July 15th, 2026! If you plan on donating later this year, consider this a chance for Christmas in July and send your donation in between 10:00:00 EDT on July 15th and 10:00:00 EDT on July 16th to have your donation proportionally matched. Your dollar will go further, and we (and the Maasai) will thank you for your generosity.
Our last piece of good news is that we have a great new addition to our team. Meet Jeffrey Sherman, a philanthropic anesthesiologist and Maasai Partners’ newest board member!
"Long before I became a board member of Maasai Partners, I had an intense interest in the Maasai culture. As a physician, I helped deliver medical care to the Maasai in Kenya and in Tanzania. I have a solid grasp of the challenges they face in our rapidly changing world. Those challenges are too many to elucidate here. Suffice it to say that of all the NGO’s I am familiar with, Maasai Partners is small but mighty, making a tremendous impact for its size. Thanks to low overhead costs your donation is efficiently utilized and strategically directed. A lot of bang for the buck! Help to expand our work by donating generously to help the Maasai protect their culture while getting a piece of the modern world pie." -Jeffrey Sherman, Maasai Partners Board Member
We thank you again for being a valued member of our Maasai Partners team, as there would be no work to do without funding. Donors are such a crucial part of our program, and we could not do it without you! Thanks again for sharing this rewarding journey with us.
With hearts full of gratitude,
Judy Lane and Felicia Smith of Maasai Partners
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