Hi Fortu, let’s start off with an introduction of yourself! What do you do? My name is Fortunatus Mabina, co-founder of the Martus foundation. It is now the fourth year since Marin and I met Mikumi and later came up with the idea of setting up an organization to help the poor and needy.
I live in the region of Tabora, and I work as a doctor. I treat patients with love and dedication, I think it is very important that patients can see the value and results of the services I provide. My main goal despite treating patients is to contribute to an equal community. I love to see that poor and disadvantaged people are now receiving easy access to treatment due to the great work of our Martus Foundation.
We know that our dream is big and our goals huge. To achieve the goals, I set aside time after work and in weekends to commit myself to work for Martus Foundation and take care of my family. Honestly, I would really prefer to spend all my time doing tasks for Martus Foundation, but our organization is financially not there yet, haha! I can’t wait for the moment that Martus Foundation can make come true our dreams and bring the great results to the community.
What is your dream? My greatest hope and joy is to see the Martus Foundation providing medical care to more and more families. With three projects we are adapting to our capabilities of all stages of the foundation. The issuance of health insurance cards for the beginning phase. Later on, not even that long from now, we can start providing healthcare with our Mobile Clinic! And of course, the final dream of constructing Martus Healthcare Center where all people can come for help.
What makes you smiling? A lot of things, first of all my family! But I’m also very happy to see that the great effort of the whole team of Martus Foundation starts to pay off! We have been helping a lot of families with the insurance cards. We have changed the lives of 9 families (equivalent to 54 people), by providing the health insurance cards and facilitate access to free medical care. These families now live happily and with high hopes, as the cost of treatment reduced. These families can now use that money for other family needs, or even do fun stuff with it! And of course, their health seems to be improving which contributes to their ability to work.
We continue to express our sincere gratitude to all donors who enabled us to achieve these results! I can’t say it enough, thank you! We urge them to continue to work together and welcome others so that we can have greater results. As I always say … "Together we can", it is clear that only together we will achieve great goals.
How does the community response to Martus Foundation? Families who have received health insurance cards have already become aware of the Martus foundation, and feel that this organization is the savior of their lives. It is so rewarding to see their greatest gratitude towards our organization. I truly hope we can help a whole lot more families and raise the awareness in the community. That would be amazing!
What about Kahama? What is it like? Kahama is among the best cities to live in Tanzania, since there is access to basic social services such as electricity, roads, markets, industry and water. That is great and many people know that, so the city attracts a lot of people for better opportunities. One of the biggest challenges of Kahama Is the large population of indigenous and low-paid workers who live just outside the city. These people don’t get a fair chance in accessing healthcare facilities. It’s too far, too expensive and too risky.
I personally would love to live in Kahama so I can have a better bonding with the city and its inhabitants. It will help me to build relationships within the community and promote the Martus Foundation projects. Right now, it is not yet viable because of the financial aspect and the scope we can cover as an organization. This step is very exciting for me, but we need to be fully prepared before doing so!
How do you see the future? My happiness is my family when we live a happy and good life. But I would be even happier if I could see poor and forgotten people living a better and better life. I have had these dreams since I was a child. I hope and really believe if we all come together, we will make a difference for the disadvantages and in the bigger picture, for the whole community. I have high hopes that the Martus Foundation will be a relief!
