Health care workers are well-versed in serving their community, even if that community happens to be an ocean away.

“I’m from Tanzania, east Africa. In a rural village called Taloha,” said Daniel Makoko, behavioral health team member at ECU Health.

After settling in eastern North Carolina, Makoko continued to help improve living conditions in his home village.

“The village has one primary school,” Makoko said. “So these kids use like four classrooms but there are like 270 kids. They share the classroom because it’s not enough. But also the main problem was that the room was leaking when it’s raining.”

So Makoko set about raising money through donations and events like yard sales to put a new roof on the primary school.

“They asked me, ‘What can we do?’ So I told them that if we can get a roof for them, It will be much transformation for the school,” said Makoko.

A transformation in more ways than one, made possible with the help of friends, family and colleagues.

“He’s a great inspiration to me just to see all the things that he has accomplished”, said Tony Dixon, a behavioral health team member at ECU Health. “Between four yard sales and donations from behavioral health services, we were able to raise the four-thousand dollars to get the roof done.”

“I was able to go there and implement the project and we finished the roof and the kids were so happy,” said Makoko.

It’s joy no roof can contain and an example of ECU Health values making a difference half a world away.

“This shows the greatness of the people here and how they are able to respond to the needs of other people across the world,” said Makoko. “I really appreciate it so much.”

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