Eliawira (Eli) Tuati Ndetaiywa Ndosi, co-founder of the East Africa Medical Assistance Foundation, was born on April 14, 1937 in Meru, Tanzania. His father was a Lutheran minister and farmer. During elementary and high school years, Eli attended a private boarding school. During high school, Eli’s family hosted a group of college students in a Lutheran ministry from St. Olaf College, and Eli later said that connection facilitated his application to Carleton.
After graduating with a biology major in 1964, Eli began work on a master’s degree, initially in theatre, at the University of Minnesota. He later switched to economics with the goal of helping his native country, Tanzania. Eli had a varied and interesting working career. He was a research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank at Minneapolis, and worked in central administration at the University of Minnesota. In the mid-80s, he started and ran his own business that designed and installed automatic fire protection systems. He was also a university-level lecturer in economics, full and part-time, at the University of Minnesota, Carleton and Augsburg College. He also lobbied on behalf of minority contractors and affirmative action programs.
Eli met and married Barbara Lee Banton and together they had three children, Mankwe Monika Nkatuati Ndosi, Rebeka Annette Nkatareto Ndosi, and Nathaniel Eliawira Ndetaiywa Ndosi. All are active in the arts community in Minneapolis. Eli worked actively in and supported international organizations, among them the African Student Association, Minnesota International Student Association (where he was president), Minnesota International Center, and Operation Bootstrap Tanzania. He spent many years on the board and working with International Heart Relief (IHR) which sponsored children from Tanzania to come to the United States to get heart surgery. When IHR shifted its focus from helping international children to local U.S. children, Eli approached Dr. Helmut Diefenthal, who was teaching radiology at the University of Minnesota and who had years of experience in Tanzania practicing radiology. Seeking to assist Tanzania and other East African communities in the use of radiology, they formed the nonprofit East Africa Medical Assistance Foundation (EAMAF). Helmut was President and Eli served as Secretary/Treasurer of the organization.
Eli was instrumental in introducing EAMAF and Helmut to the Ministry of Health in Tanzania as well as to President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania. Through Eli’s good offices, EAMAF was authorized to start a School of Radiology in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, adjacent to the Kilimanjaro Hospital. Later, a dormitory and library were added to the school. By the time of Eli’s death, due to lung cancer, on October 10, 2002, EAMAF and Helmut & Rho Diefenthal had treated thousands of Tanzanian citizens, and the School of Radiology had graduated some 24 medical doctors and 120 Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs) now serving Tanzanians throughout the country. EAMAF continues its original mission today, providing ever-greater improvement in the health of Tanzanians and others in the East African community.
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Eliawira (Eli) Tuati Ndetaiywa Ndosi, co-founder of the East Africa Medical Assistance Foundation, was born on April 14, 1937 in Meru, Tanzania. His father was a Lutheran minister and farmer. During elementary and high school years, Eli attended a private boarding school. During high school, Eli’s family hosted a group of college students in a Lutheran ministry from St. Olaf College, and Eli later said that connection facilitated his application to Carleton. After graduating with a biology major in 1964, Eli began work on a master’s degree, initially in theatre, at the University of Minnesota. He later switched to economics with the goal of helping his native country, Tanzania. Eli had a varied and interesting working career. He was a research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank at Minneapolis, and worked in central administration at the University of Minnesota. In the mid-80s, he started and ran his own business that designed and installed automatic fire protection systems. He was also a university-level lecturer in economics, full and part-time, at the University of Minnesota, Carleton and Augsburg College. He also lobbied on behalf of minority contractors and affirmative action programs. Eli met and married Barbara Lee Banton and together they had three children, Mankwe Monika Nkatuati Ndosi, Rebeka Annette Nkatareto Ndosi, and Nathaniel Eliawira Ndetaiywa Ndosi. All are active in the arts community in Minneapolis. Eli worked actively in and supported international organizations, among them the African Student Association, Minnesota International Student Association (where he was president), Minnesota International Center, and Operation Bootstrap Tanzania. He spent many years on the board and working with International Heart Relief (IHR) which sponsored children from Tanzania to come to the United States to get heart surgery. When IHR shifted its focus from helping international children to local U.S. children, Eli approached Dr. Helmut Diefenthal, who was teaching radiology at the University of Minnesota and who had years of experience in Tanzania practicing radiology. Seeking to assist Tanzania and other East African communities in the use of radiology, they formed the nonprofit East Africa Medical Assistance Foundation (EAMAF). Helmut was President and Eli served as Secretary/Treasurer of the organization. Eli was instrumental in introducing EAMAF and Helmut to the Ministry of Health in Tanzania as well as to President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania. Through Eli’s good offices, EAMAF was authorized to start a School of Radiology in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, adjacent to the Kilimanjaro Hospital. Later, a dormitory and library were added to the school. By the time of Eli’s death, due to lung cancer, on October 10, 2002, EAMAF and Helmut & Rho Diefenthal had treated thousands of Tanzanian citizens, and the School of Radiology had graduated some 24 medical doctors and 120 Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs) now serving Tanzanians throughout the country. EAMAF continues its original mission today, providing ever-greater improvement in the health of Tanzanians and others in the East African community.