Providing Hope Through the Power of Solar

A thirty minute drive from STEMM over rough roads through thorny thickets you find yourself in a wide open plain surrounded by the quiet peace of grazing goats, mud homes, and acacia trees as; you will also find the wonderful and kind hearted Nakweni people. A rural scattering of homes of the Maasai tribe who have been settled there for over 40 years. Although their lives are marked by a tranquil and simple beauty, there are many challenges they face, especially access to essential services such as healthcare.

Tanzania is making strides to try to have everyone have access to healthcare, but it is a huge undertaking and largely underfunded. For the residents of Nakweni, the nearest clinic can be over a 15 mile walk away over roads often flooded and thorny. Imagine being sick or laboring and having to walk 15 miles! 

After many years of asking, praying, and fundraising finally Nakweni is so close to reaching their goal – the construction of a new clinic. This dispensary will serve over 4,000 Maasai people, who will no longer have to walk many miles to reach the nearest clinic for prenatal care, postnatal care, delivery, sample tests, injuries, and more. This has been an on-going effort that has taken the help of the community, government, and ngos. Davess from Briar Cliff Enactus visited in late February and right away he knew this was an undertaking they would be willing to take. They expressed a need for solar and he said he would make it happen. 

Solar panels are a small part of making this dispensary a reality, but it will play a huge role in the future of the clinic. It will provide a reliable power source, even as I write this the electricity has gone out every 30 minutes. A reliable source of power enables medical equipment such as refrigerators for storing vaccines and natal care to be able to continue to run despite the outages Nakweni faces. It will allow the clinic to have longer service hours and patients will know they have a safe place to go even after dark. It is also a sustainable and cost effective option compared to operating a generator.

STEMM is proud to work with Enactus and the people of Nakweni to get this clinic off the ground. We are passionate about community development and bringing enhanced medical care to those most in need. We are excited to see how the people of Nakweni use this gift to enhance their way of life and we will continue to see and appreciate the beauty of these amazing people.

If you too would like to help get this clinic off the ground they are still in need of funding to finish the windows and purchase some machinery. Send us a message to learn more about how you can partner with us.