Help build a medical clinic in Luxmanda, Tanzania!

We are a group of archaeologists who have been doing research in the small farming town of Luxmanda in Tanzania, for over ten years. The Luxmanda community has welcomed our team of scholars and students from the US, Tanzania, and Europe with open arms as, year after year, we’ve returned to excavate an important archaeological site.

This community needs our assistance in constructing a medical clinic, and we have an opportunity to help. Currently the nearest medical services to Luxmanda are nearly an hour away, using a public bus that only runs twice a day (the vast majority of people do not have motorbikes or cars). Pregnant women in labor and others needing emergency care are thus in serious hardship.

The Luxmanda community has banded together to begin construction of their own local clinic which will include a maternity ward, emergency care, offices for routine visits, and a lab for basic tests (such as malaria) and pharmacy. The government has agreed to provide medical staff (doctors, nurses, etc.), equipment, and medicines, but the community must construct the facility itself.

A local committee, with funding contributed by local residents who recognize the importance of the project, has made good progress already: the foundation and walls are intact, but construction has stopped until more funds are available.

In July 2023, archaeologists Dr. Mary Prendergast, Dr. Kate Grillo, and Dr. Agness Gidna toured the partially-completed building. We saw that the community needs our help to purchase basic construction supplies (concrete, rebar, paint, etc.) to finish the clinic. Their goal is to finish the building by the end of this year, and we're seeking donations by October 31 so that they have enough time to do the job.

Our team provided a small initial donation this summer, which was received with gratitude and immediately used to purchase bags of concrete. We now hope that our own friends, family, and colleagues can provide funding to help complete the dream of a local clinic at Luxmanda.

Funds will be received and tracked by Mary Prendergast and transferred to Agness Gidna, a co-director of our project who is from Luxmanda. Her extended family has taken care of our team for many years (we excavated on their farm!), and she can easily coordinate on the ground with the local building committee. Their accounting is meticulous and a full record of all spending will be maintained for transparency as required by law.

Thank you so much for considering a donation. We strongly believe that this is a wonderful cause - this clinic will make an immediate and tangible impact in bettering people’s lives.

This is one half of the partially-constructed dispensary: the maternity ward area.

Officials receive our team's first donation in the village office.

It's cement delivery day!

Village officials provided us with a tour of the facility.