On August 2nd, a dedicated group of Kinetic Edge team members—Troy Vander Molen, Carol Kelderman, Derrick Simms, Marcy Jones, Whitney Vander Veen, Rachael Barnette, and Emily Eaton—departed the United States on a mission to Tanzania. After an overnight layover in Dubai, they arrived in Kigoma, Tanzania, on Sunday, August 4th.
The following day, the team set up a medical clinic within the church at the Hope of the Nations Bible College compound. With the help of interpreters, they provided care to local residents seeking treatment. In just five hours, they attended to approximately 100 patients before heading to Lake Tanganyika for a refreshing swim.
On Tuesday, August 6th, the Kinetic Edge medical team returned to the church in Businde for the second day of the clinic. They were warmly greeted by familiar faces, including patients from the previous day who had returned with family members and children in need of medical care.
“We treated a range of musculoskeletal issues, likely influenced by the heavy physical work and the habit of carrying heavy items on the head and back. I personally saw an extraordinary amount of ‘women’s health’ issues due to my expertise. We encountered many arthritic conditions and were commonly treating infections, worms, malaria, constipation, and dehydration. We worked hard to familiarize ourselves with the most common conditions and local medications. A local physician and pharmacist accompanied us and were invaluable resources. We regularly stopped at a local pharmacy to replenish medications. All medications are available for purchase without a prescription, but the poverty and lack of medical care made our evaluations, patient education, and medication rare and valuable for the people we served,” shared Dr. Carol Kelderman.
Unfortunately, the clinic was abruptly shut down at 1 p.m. that day due to a complaint from a local medical clinic director. Despite this setback, the team managed to help another 100 patients before the closure. That afternoon, they visited a local market filled with shops offering colorful cloth for making clothes, as well as a wide assortment of fruits and vegetables. The day ended with the team gathering for a meal, sharing highlights from the day, and worshiping together.
The next day, the Kinetic Edge medical team took a break from the clinic. This pause was timely, as a Hope of the Nations representative had to meet with local government officials to obtain permission to continue their work. The team spent the day at the Hope of the Nations Primary School helping with various tasks and later participated in door-to-door evangelism in an area where a new church had been launched a few months earlier.
On Thursday, August 8th, the team traveled an hour outside of Kigoma to a mountain village called Bubango. “In Businde, we organized the patient list and practiced without government oversight. After the drama on Tuesday and Wednesday, we now had to see patients according to a list provided by the local government. Though there were 52 men on the list with 250+ women and children, our first patients were men, following the customs of their culture. Making it more difficult to serve the large number of people was the fact that the government would only allow us to have three American doctors see patients, and there were a few government officials there the whole time observing everything we did,” recounted Dr. Troy Vander Molen in his Facebook recap of the trip (check out his page for more details, photos, and videos).
Friday marked the team’s final clinic day in Tanzania, as they returned to Bubango. Each day, they visited the pharmacy to purchase medications tailored to the ailments of each patient. Word had spread about the team’s presence, and a large crowd awaited them. Fortunately, more team members were able to see patients than the previous day. Over the course of 3.5 days, the team served approximately 525 patients.
Saturday, August 10th, was the team’s last day in Africa. They took a well-deserved break from clinics and spent the day exploring. Their journey took them to Ujiji, where they visited the Livingstone Museum and observed soap being made along the way. The day concluded with a dinner at the Hilltop Hotel.
The next morning, the team was up early to board a plane back to Dubai and then home. Each member returned with immense gratitude for the experience, the people of Tanzania, and everyone back home who made this impactful journey possible.
“My favorite part of our experience was definitely the relationships we were able to build in such a short time—within our Kinetic Edge team, with the people we served during our clinics, with our buddies, and at the primary school. Despite language barriers, major cultural differences, different spiritual beliefs, and socioeconomic disparities, we found common ground and shared so much joy with the people we met. It’s hard for me to describe this trip as ‘good’ or ‘great’ because, to be honest, it was heartbreaking, challenging, and at times exhausting. But this trip stretched me in ways I didn’t know I needed. To see people with so much less access and material wealth than us surpass us in spiritual and relational wealth was eye-opening and inspiring. It was the most visible example of God’s hands at work I have ever experienced,” reflected Dr. Rachael Barnette.