STEMM Hosts 10 Siouxland Area University Interns

On June 10th, ten area university students took off from Eppley Airfield in Omaha, bound for Tanzania to use their interest in medicine to help serve in a medically underserved area of the world, Pohama, Tanzania. The students hailed from universities such as Northwestern, Dordt, and Wayne State University.

The day after they landed, they loaded up in a bus to drive five hours to this remote location. In the process, they lived in tents for the next four days and braved challenging conditions, including chilly nights, and a different style of living than their norm— food, lodging, music, all very different.

At the Pohama outreach, the interns were busy taking vitals, organizing the pharmacy, observing doctors and surgeons going about their business, and running patients from one doctor to the next, to generally help things go smoother. When trying to organize 2500 people over the course of three days, logistics are, obviously, key. The students were excellent with the patients and especially ,the children, throughout the course of their visit.

Every day at the outreach started with a group prayer and we were able to give away 1000 Bibles and share the Gospel with 1400 people in the Evangelism tent…

Beyond the Pohama outreach, though, the students were gifted with the opportunity to serve others and experience life in Tanzania in a multitude of ways.

The students visited a leper colony and had the opportunity to interact with the lepers. Language was definitely a barrier, however smiles are the universal language and there were many smiles to go around.

The students commented on the fact that in spite of the fact that these people had a difficult life, with a tough diagnosis, and had to scratch out a living by begging, they were some of the happiest people they had ever encountered in their young lives. This experience definitely made a lasting impact.

Additionally, the interns had the opportunity to serve food at the Feeding Program that STEMM supports in our local community, Mbuguni. A few years ago, the village leaders came to STEMM saying that a big need in their community was school attendance. STEMM stepped up to partner with the community and the schools. The community provides the corn and beans; STEMM provides the cooks, oils, and utensils. What results is that every kid has the opportunity for a hot meal every day and that school attendance is no longer such a big problem. Most kids go to school and this program is a gamechanger in this community. When tripsters like the college interns go visit STEMM in Tanzania, they get to see the impact of those donations directed towards the Feeding Program.

The STEMM interns weren’t just in Tanzania to serve, however. Seeing God’s beauty in a very different part of the world was definitely on the agenda. As with many STEMM tripsters, these young men and women went on two safaris. The first day to Tarangire National Park, where they had some intimate wildlife experiences with animals such as giraffes and elephants, zebras and gazelles and a pair of sibling cheetahs. They also got the opportunity to see two iconic African trees, the Baobab and the Acacia.

Following the experience at Tarangire, they stayed overnight at beautiful Pamoja Coffee Lodge, and got up early the next day and traveled to Ngorungoro Crater— beautiful unto itself if there were no animals there, but got amazing views of lions, elephants, water buffalo, and hippos, and much, much more.

Beyond this, the interns got the opportunity to participate in the first annual STEMM Night of Hope Gala, which was a very successful first attempt at fundraising on the Tanzanian side of our organization. Additionally, we took half a day and hiked to the bottom of a long trail and were rewarded with a beautiful view of a spectacular waterfall.

The group also received an introduction into the Masai culture with a goat roast and the opportunity to throw spears, shoot bows and arrows, and take part in the traditional Adumu jumping dance that is so synonymous with the Masai culture.

The interns had the opportunity to serve, and gain medical experience at Mt. Meru Hospital in Arusha, serving in the NICU as well as watching various surgeries, and also serve at the medical clinic in the village of Mbuguni. As much as anything, though, what seemed to mean the most to these young people from the Midwest United States, was just interacting with the staff and orphans at the STEMM campus, and grew very close to them.

“Tanzanian culture is a gift. The ministry at STEMM is a perfect example of James talking about looking after orphans and widows and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world. I was incredibly blessed by the hearts of the staff- they desire to see the Lords work be fulfilled and have an intense love for each other and for their community. God taught me about being fully satisfied in him though the lives and ministry happening at STEMM.”— Kallie

“It was all great, this experience changed my life by opening my eyes more to Gods true beauty, glory, and will. I saw firsthand demonstration of how important it is to love thy neighbor through the attitude of the people in Tanzania.” ~ Bryn

“I found it amazing that even despite the language and cultural barriers it was still evident that we are all made in the image of God and had an innate connection that way. The trip helped to accentuate for me that we are all just one big family. I also learned that there are plenty of times in life and work where we seem to be under equipped for the tasks that lie ahead. However, trusting God and doing the absolute best with what we were given is extremely powerful and honoring to God.”— Sam

“The most meaningful part of this trip was the ability to learn about the TZ culture. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly to us. I also valued the time we got to grow with our team, learning more about each other and growing in faith. I have learned that no matter where we live and how we grow up, we all have many more similarities than we think, making clear our creation in the image of Christ.”—Kendyl

“I honestly believe this was the most meaningful experience I’ve ever had in my life.” — Ryan

“This experience has taught me so much about myself and my hope for my future. I foresee many more trips to Tanzania in my future. This trip was the most impactful 3 weeks of my entire life. There were so many different times where I saw God’s hands at work.” —Luke

We look forward to your return… Luke and all.