The Ilula Health Center Task Force works both
in Minnesota and in Tanzania
to support and upgrade Lutheran medical
facilities in the Iringa Diocese of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Tanzania.
2008  Medical Mission
Several groups of Minnesota health care professionals travel to
Ilula for several weeks of work shoulder to shoulder with the
Tanzanian staff.  Read about the medical mission here:

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson
Visits Ilula
June 2008--Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and President of the Lutheran World Federation,
visited the Ilula Lutheran Hospital.  


Click here to read more...


Shoulder to Shoulder achieves nonprofit status
What began as a small task force in 2002 has grown into an
organization registered as a 501(c)3 tax exempt, nonprofit
organization.  "Shoulder to Shoulder" is our new name, and your
donations to support life and health in rural Tanzania are now
fully tax deductible.  

A New DVD Tells Ilula Hospital Story
A new ten minute DVD tells the story of the Ilula Hospital and its
partners in Minnesota.  Watch it
online now!  Get a free copy of
the DVD to show to your own congregation.  To order, contact
Kirsten.  Help us spread the word!

Milestone:  Ilula Health Center Achieves Hospital Status

District Designated Hospital Status is Next
In April of this year, the Ilula Lutheran Health Center was
granted "hospital status" by the Tanzanian government's
Ministry of Health.  The facility, which is owned and operated by
the Iringa Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Tanzania, had functioned as a health center for many years,
providing charity care to all in the region.   Through the vision of
the Iringa Diocese and the financial support of the Minnesota
Ilula Task Force and Clinton HIV/AIDS Foundation, the
infrastructure at Ilula has been upgraded sufficiently for the
health center to qualify for "hospital status".  Since it is currently
the only hospital in the Kilolo District, plans are underway to
name Ilula the "district designated hospital" for the region –the
equivalent of a county hospital in this country.  Both the
hospital status and district designation are a key to sustaining
the medical mission at Ilula since the government will now
provide salary support and money for drugs and supplies.


Remedying Ilula's Shortage of Health Care Workers
The Minnesota Ilula Task Force, in conjunction with Global Health
Ministries (GHM) is attempting to remedy the shortage of health
care workers at the Ilula Hospital.  
Read more....


$10,000 Raised for Medical Mission
One hundred and forty people attended the fourth annual Ilula
Hospital Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction held in April at
Gethsemane Lutheran Church in St Paul.   The evening featured
updates by Ilula Hospital Task Force Coordinators, Dr Gary
Moody and Dr Randy Hurley.  The dinner event, coordinated by
Kari Hurley, and silent auction, coordinated by Tracy Pfeifer and
Rowie Hansberger, raised $10,000 for ongoing projects at Ilula.


A meditation
Nurse anesthetist Kathy White traveled to Ilula in January 2006
as part of a group of 16 Minnesota healthcare workers.  In this
devotional piece, she writes of Africafe, a woman named Sarah,
differences in our daily lives, and of having enough.  
Read more...


History:  "If they want to treat my people, let them treat
my donkey first."
So declared Chief Chongoma in 1938 when a Swedish missionary
nurse first came to the Ilula area of Tanzania to practice
medicine.  To read more about the growth of the facility, now a
modern 70 bed hospital,
click here.


Join us at our next meeting
The Ilula Health Center Task Force meets monthly.  Our next
meeting will be held at 7 PM Thursday, December 4, at Gustavus
Adolphus Lutheran Church in St. Paul.  For directions,
click here.

Task force members read and share articles from medical
journals in order to keep abreast of medical issues in the
region.  Click here to see
what we're reading now.  

Contact us
Dr. Randy Hurley
Dr. Gary Moody
Eye Project

New!  View the new Ilula
Hospital DVD

Current Needs List

Update: Travel Info for
Visiting Healthcare
Professionals
Ilula Health Center Task Force
improving life and health in rural Tanzania
Donations to
Shoulder to Shoulder  
support  ongoing work
at the Ilula Hospital and
at the seven rural clinics
owned by the Iringa
Diocese of the
Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Tanzania.
Questions
about our website?
Contact
Kirsten