We believe that natural, affordable, locally grown herbs and trees provide an important, and often overlooked, solution to the many health challenges facing residents of Tanzania's Lake Victoria region. Our main efforts in this area have been promoting the use of a variety of herbal remedies, including neem and Moringa oleifera.

During the last two years we have developed our own herbal department at the GRA-Tanzania office in Musoma town. The GRA-TZ hebal department is composed of a certified herbalist, trainers and members of the staff specialized in production of the herbal remedies that are sold at markets and at the GRA-TZ office, as well as given for free in training settings and to groups with special needs like orphans, elderly, very poor populations, etc.

We are pleased to announce that in the summer of 2011 we were able to register and certify three of our herbal remedies at the FDA Tanzanian office:  neem drops to prevent and cure malaria, neem cream for fungal infections and a superfood (multivitamins and minerals) composed of Moringa oleifera and amaranth.

About Moringa Oleifera

Moringa oleifera, a fast growing, drought resistant local tree, is said by practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine to prevent over 300 diseases. The leaves of the Moringa tree also have extraordinary nutritional value - 7 times the Vitamin C of oranges, 4 times the Calcium of milk, 4 times the Vitamin A of carrots, 3 times the Potassium of bananas and twice the protein of yogurt. They make a perfect and economical supplement to the diet of people in the region that both strengthens the body and prevents many common diseases.

Because of Moringa's amazing health benefits, GRA subsidizes its purchase for the daily use by hundreds of orphans in the programs we fund.

Moringa seeds are also well known for their ability to purify water. Most people in the area don't have access to clean water, and can't afford charcoal to boil water from polluted sources before drinking it. Typhoid fever, cholera, and parasitic infections are the all too familiar consequences. GRA has funded several programs by local non-profits that include instruction in the use of Moringa seeds for water purification.

About Neem

In natural medicine, the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) is recognized as an effective treatment for many diseases. The first records of its use date from about 4,500 years ago. And although neem has been used in India for thousands of years, this natural treatment was not introduced to the Western world until recently. The uses of neem are many and varied - crop protection, insect repellent, treatment of various skin disorders as well as systemic bacterial, viral and fungal infections and for the prevention and treatment of malaria, among others.

In 2005, GRA introduced a homeopathic neem tincture in the Lake Victoria region that was originally developed by the Abha Light Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya for the prevention and cure of malaria. This homeopathic remedy is an ethanol based tincture carrying the medicinal properties of neem leaves. The tincture is easily produced, and a six-month supply for one individual in Tanzania costs only about 40 cents US.

GRA has been producing and promoting the use of neem drops in the Mara region as well as distributed for free to participants in the orphans’ programs.Preliminary data suggests that the neem tincture is highly effective for malaria prevention, as well as in treating patients with chronic malaria.