Letter from the President
Letter from president Lowell Bryan.
Dear Friends,
The past few months have seen dramatic growth for the Touch Foundation, as we get moving on our program to double Tanzania’s healthcare worker training capacity within ten years. Our strategy, built with the assistance of McKinsey & Company, is threefold: to build up the Bugando complex into a model African teaching facility at full student capacity; to assist the other medical schools in Tanzania to do likewise; and to build new schools where necessary.
Some of you may already know, but for those who do not, I’m delighted to announce that Father Peter Le Jacq will be returning to Bugando in January. Currently in Rome on a three month sabbatical, he will be working directly with Bishop Balina, chairman of both the medical school and the hospital, and will be invaluable on-the-ground support to us as we accelerate the first part of our strategy. We’ll all miss him here, though you can now keep in touch through his new blog on our website. I know that I am looking forward to reading about his experiences!
The Citigroup gift of $5 million in honor of Sandy Weill has now come through. It has been incredibly important to us both in terms of kickstarting a comprehensive Bugando redevelopment plan, and in helping to put us on the map as a serious organization committed to solving the healthcare worker crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.
This funding is in addition to the $1.5 million Citigroup Foundation has already committed. Moreover, the Weills have also made substantial contributions to Touch from their family foundation, and have volunteered to co-chair next year’s Asante Supper, to be held at Gotham Hall in New York. With their support, we look forward to the event being particularly special and a resounding success. We hope to see you all there.
Joan and Sandy Weill’s extraordinary backing has been honored in Tanzania also – the Tanzanian Episcopal Conference recently voted to rename the school as the ‘Weill Medical College of the Bugando University College of Health Sciences’, or, colloquially, ‘Weill Bugando’.
I’m also delighted to announce the election of Joan Weill to our Board of Directors, which she joined at our last meeting on September 12. The Weills have donated not only significant capital to assist our efforts, but also their insights and energy. We could not have come this far so fast without them, and we look forward to a long and positive future.
With this assistance we have accelerated our plans to develop Weill Bugando into the finest center of excellence for health-worker training in all of East Africa. To this end, the Board recently considered a five-year, $25 million redevelopment plan which, once complete, would transform the entire site into a best-in-class medical and teaching facility, serving the eight million people in the lake district in Tanzania with the potential to train 1,300 healthcare workers at any one time. In September, the Board resolved to kickstart the first phase – up to $8.3 million in construction, medical equipment, and hospital re-engineering and refurbishment – which will be implemented over the next two years.
One serious bottleneck that we are also working to address is Tanzania’s shortage of accredited professors in the health sciences. This academic year we are sponsoring five doctors to obtain their Masters in Science degrees, which will qualify them to teach. An additional five have already completed their Masters under Touch sponsorship and are now teaching students in anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pathology and microbiology.
Another challenge we face is building Tanzania’s management capacity. Indeed, our ambitious goals and accelerated growth now require significant on-the ground management, and I am pleased to announce that Anthony Attiogbe and Nzuki Waita will establish our new office in Mwanza to take the lead on our implementation efforts. Their unique blend of skills will surely take our program to the next level. We hope to enlarge that team with two Tanzanian employees in the near future.
We are expanding our team in New York, as well. Five million dollars from Citigroup is only 20% of our target for Bugando, let alone our target for Tanzania, so I’m personally delighted to welcome Jim Brasher to Touch. Jim comes with an exciting background, having worked with former president Jimmy Carter on raising awareness and commitments toward eradicating the debilitating Guinea worm disease, as well as many other achievements. Jim joins us in New York along with Sally Briggs, Tory Ervin, Eliza Golden, Meaghan Johnson, and Jacqui Perlman. These talented individuals join a great, growing team that is committed to making our vision a reality.
Thanks to you, we have grown so fast that we have reached my personal target for our fourth year in less than half that time. Our challenge will be to maintain this growth while continuing to be effective in building Tanzania’s healthcare capacity. We hope for your continued interest and support.
Warmest regards and the best for the upcoming season,
Lowell Bryan