Kinesi Village

Primary Water

Organic Gardening and Trees

Alternative Health

Malaria Control

Sustainable Technology

Microfinance

Education

FGM Prevention

AIDS Orphans Support

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 has been promoting the use of neem and moringa oleifera and increasing the resources available to volunteer midwives struggling under very difficult circumstances to assist women in rural areas give birth at home.

For several years, we have also been providing financial support to the AIC Clinic, one of the regions only health clinics growing, preparing and prescribing natural remedies to prevent and cure many of the diseases endemic to the area. Much of AIC's inspiration and practical knowledge comes form the German NGO, anamed (Action for Natural Medicine), which presents week long intensives each year at the clinic.

Moringa Oleifera
Moringa Oleifera, a fast growing, drought resistant local tree, is said by practioners 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.

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 is training small groups to produce the homeopathic neem tincture to offer for sale within their communities. We are also supporting studies in the region conducted by a local MD, Dr. Makuke, to determine the preparation's effectiveness. The region's top public health officer has also expressed interest in the use of neem drops and would like to involve the government in further studies. Preliminary data suggests that the neem tincture is highly effective for malaria prevention, as well as in treating patients with chronic malaria.

Home Birth
Most women living in rural villages in the Lake Victoria region give birth at home, with the help of other women that have received some training and basically work for free. On our last visit to Tanzania, we became aware of the difficult conditions under which they operate and the scant resources available to support this important event in a human being's life. GRA has responded to the need of making home birth safer, providing grants for basic tools like pots to boil water, scissors to cut the umbilical cord, clean cloths and bicycles to facilitate fast transportation for midwives.

Holographic Healers for Humanity with AIC clinic staff

Harvesting moringa leaves

Neem tree seedling

Healthy mother with baby