An urgent request from Tariro

Tariro student Noleen C.

Dear readers-

I normally try to use the blog in order to keep you updated as to Tariro’s progress on the ground.  This week, however, I’m going to do something I rarely do on the blog, which is to make a direct appeal for special donations intended for a particular purpose.

Right now, one of Tariro’s students is hospitalized with a serious medical condition that requires urgent care.  This student is Noleen C., who has been profiled in a previous post.  Affected with spina bifida, Noleen attends the Jairos Jiri school for the disabled.  This term, however, Noleen has been suffering from an ongoing medical condition, which began with a kidney infection last month.  The doctors now believe that Noleen has a blockage of her internal organs that will require surgery.

Thanks to the assistance of Dr. Nyasha Maboreke, who provides his services to Tariro on a voluntary basis in Zimbabwe, Noleen has been referred to and admitted at Parirenyatwa hospital, where she is now under medical supervision.  Her widowed mother reports that she is in almost constant pain.  Tariro’s program coordinator Fadzi sent us this latest report yesterday:

Noleen needs $200 to complete the series of tests she requires before the operation. So far her bill has been $360 from Tariro’s end, and she will probably need another $500, for the operation, hospital stay and other medication. She will be operated at Parirenyatwa, where she does not necessarily need to pay upfront, but urgently she requires $200.

We are estimating that Noleen’s total medical expenses may run as high as $1,000.  While Tariro’s general policy is not to cover medical expenses for our students and their families, the board has agreed that Noleen has an exceptional emergency need for medical care, and we have committed to assisting her family by raising the funds to cover her medical needs in this acute emergency.

I am therefore writing with a special appeal for donations to help us cover Noleen’s medical costs.  Please consider donating today, whether online, or by mailing a check in to our mailing address, which is up on our website.  Please indicate in the subject line of your check or online donation that the funds are for Noleen’s care.  I don’t suspect that we’ll raise more than the amount she requires, but if we do, any additional funds will go toward paying her boarding school fees for the remainder of the year, as the special school she attends is comparatively more expensive than our other students’ tuition.

Once again, I’m happy that Tariro’s small size and flexibility gives us the ability to address the special needs of individual students such as Noleen, and I thank you for your donations, concern, and interest in Noleen’s care.

Please check back next week for an update not only on Noleen’s health, but also on two subjects I have raised in previous posts.  First, I will be giving you an update on Mai Chipira and her daughter Ashleen, whose story I have discussed in some detail in a few posts.  And finally, I have some exciting news relating to the story of Tariro’s beginning.

Thanks for reading, and thank you for your donations to assist us with Noleen’s emergency medical care. ~Jennifer