Wings of Hope has been working with Flying Medical Service (FMS) in Tanzania supporting fly-in medical clinics — currently using two Cessna 206 planes — for Maasai communities for some 37 years. The clinics focus on pre- and post-natal health, and they vaccinated nearly 24,000 children in 2020. When the mothers bring their babies to the clinics for vaccinations, doctors sometimes discover other health issues that require medical attention. Here is the story of Nai and her daughter, Rehema, relayed by FMS Director Pat Patten.
“Nai is a stunningly beautiful 28-year-old Maasai woman. In her traditional dress, she looks like royalty. She lives in an extremely remote village on the shores of the soda lake, Natron, a 99-mile flight from here. We do clinics in her tiny village every two weeks. Nai brought her 9-month-old child for her first measles vaccination. We noticed that her child, a little girl named Rehema, had one lazy eye which didn’t track with her other eye. Uncorrected, the lazy eye would eventually ‘disconnect’ from the brain so that she could focus and at least see properly with her good eye. The ‘bad’ eye would never recover on its own. Three weeks ago, Rehema had surgery on her ‘bad’ eye. But it is now good. It tracks beautifully. She will grow up with perfect vision in both eyes. Rehema and Nai needed four trips to the hospital for this surgery. It cost a total of $780, not counting the flight expenses. All possible again, with generous donors for whom we are most grateful.”