Mending Kids 14-Person Medical Mission Team Head to Mwanza, Tanzania for our 4th annual ARM Mission.

Why is Mending Kids heading to Mwanza for its fourth year? Sadly, healthcare in Tanzania is not accessible to the entire population. It is only available to those who have income. Health insurance has only been recently introduced, but it is very limited and does not attend to the needs of the majority of Tanzanians, particularly those outside of urban areas. The patient to doctor ratio is among the worst in all of Africa. According to UNICEF, the under-five mortality rate in Tanzania is strikingly high at 81 deaths per 1,000 live births. The infant mortality rate is 51 per 1,000 live births.  Many Tanzanians live on less than a dollar a day.


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Due to cultural beliefs that ARM (anorectal malformations) are a curse, children are forced to live in shame and do not attend school The opportunity for these children to have their congenital conditions repaired, gives them hope of leading healthy, happier lives ​and the chance to attend school in the future.

For its fourth year, Dr. Jason Frischer, Director of the Colorectal Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, will impart his critical surgical training skills to nun-surgeon, Sister Alicia Massenga, a general surgeon with interest in pediatric general surgery and to help the hundreds of children from Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya who are currently on a waitlist to receive complex & life-changing surgeries. There are 14 volunteers (2 non-medical and 12 medical volunteers). The majority of the medical team is from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and they are part of the Colorectal Center. We are estimating upwards toward 30 children will be treated. And with each trip, the Mending Kids team makes greater strides in training local nurses.

Since its inception, Dr. Frischers’ team has mended more than 60 children and aided in diagnosing more than a hundred to receive the correct treatment.

The Mission is funded through individual donors, modest foundation grants and medical partnerships such as Scanlan® Life Programs,.™ who donated surgical instruments, Medshare/MAPS, Ethicon and Americares who donated medical supplies.

​Please consider donating to Dr. Frischer and his efforts in Tanzania. Our goal is to deploy he and his team annually for the next 5 years. 

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