Knitting, knitting and knitting again. The knitting brigade from Assen is busy with it. The ladies make woolen crafts for newborn babies in Africa. They thus continue the work of the deceased Asser general practitioner Frans Senff.
Hats, socks and patches in all kinds of cheerful colors are scattered on the table. At the table are five members of the Asser knitting brigade, busy with their yarn and needles. “It’s a lot of fun. We love getting together and knitting together,” says knitter Gerda Talsma.
Opposite them is tropical doctor Sieuwke Hartmans. She will be in Assen this week to pick up the knitting projects and then take them to a hospital in Tanzania.
“Newborn children lose a lot of heat from their heads. That’s why we give them hats so that they can keep the heat with them,” explains Hartmans. “In addition, we see a lot of malnutrition among the babies. Even then it is difficult to keep warm. So we also give those children hats, blankets and body warmers.”
For the past seven months, the doctor has been working at the small African Endulen Hospital. At the beginning of September she will travel to the north of Tanzania again to work there for two years.
The 110-bed hospital provides care to more than 80,000 people of the Masai tribe. “The Masai are nomads. They don’t have much financial reserves. So if someone gets sick, they don’t have the financial means to pay for the care,” the doctor explains. “And the hospital is at an altitude of 1,900 meters. So it is quite cold there, so they can use the warm hats.”
The knitting brigade and tropical doctor are thus continuing the work of the deceased Asser general practitioner Frans Senff. He did volunteer work for the hospital in Tanzania for many years. Twice a year he went to Africa for seven weeks to help the poor people. He also donated money to the hospital and staff. These donations made it possible to improve the operating room and train the hospital staff, among other things.
In 2021 he made his last trip to Africa. He died of corona a month after returning. The Asser GP left part of his inheritance to the hospital.