Support Liberian Family Health Care and Education

Dear Friends of Imani House!

Welcome to our third quarterly update which gives you the latest developments of our Liberian Family Health Care and Education Program.  In a country where the adult literacy rate is 47% and there are only 320 medical doctors responsible for a population of 4.5 million (doctor per patient ratio is 1:14,000), together, we are making a difference through our clinic, adult literacy classes, and  digital community health education forums.   We are glad to provide safe, competent, and affordable healthcare, health education and adulty literacy classes to marginalized communities.  We cannot sustain this without your support.

• COVID-19:  We are happy to report there have been no new cases of Covid 19  nationwide since our last update. With this, our national health authorities no longer mandate wearing masks in public places.  However, we continue with full covid protocol at our clinic.

• Clinic: A little over ten thousand persons have benefitted from our clinic services (January to August). Our clinic (and all our programs) is staffed by an all Liberian staff, and provides laboratory, immunization, pre and postnatal care, deliveries, emergency care, and general health screening and treatment.

• Literacy Program: Our Adult Literacy Program school year ended with a grand closing program in July, celebrating the achievement of 42 learners. Our two literacy sites (provided by the communities) are located in marginalized neighborhoods. Some of our long time graduates attended our closing program and gave testimonies/words of encouragement to our learners.  One graduate shared she is enrolled as a junior student in the university.  Another spoke of his ability to acquire and maintain a stable job.  Others shared about their ability to improve their markets from subsistence to profit making.  Everyone, including the current learners, shared how empowering it is to write your name, to read and write, add, subtract, divide and multiply.  Many shared they are now part of their local community leadership structure. All boasted of the ability to sustain the enrollment of their children/grandchildren in school.  Acquiring financial resources to sustain our literacy program is a critical need for our upcoming school year (October 2022 through June 2023).

• Bridge Pi:  Our Bridge Pi program, sponsored by the US-Africa Children’s Fellowship, is on course.  The project revolves around the Bridge Pi, a solar powered device that allows interactive digital sharing of information on a variety of relevant topics to large audiences. We share with our patients during twice weekly health talks and we are finalizing modalities to also share at our literacy sites.  

• Scholarship Program:  Our scholarship program is in its fourth year and currently supports three students in grade school.  The program, supported by international sponsors, provides tuition, uniforms, shoes, materials and supplies.  On a quarterly basis, the scholarship provide food for the students’ families who are struggling to make ends meet.  The students’ parents worked at our clinic and died of Ebola (contracted outside of our clinic setting). They were the main bread winners and their deaths caused financial instability among households that were already finding it difficult to make ends meet.  Our scholarship students are partnered with donors in America and other countries who sponsor the child's education. Affordability and access to education is a challenge for many Liberian families.  Liberia’s youth (age 9-17) literacy rate is  just 54.5% with 64.7% for males and only 44% for females.   We invite you to consider contributing towards the gift of education for students eager to go to school but live in households that cannot afford tuition and other fees.  

•  Clinic Outreach Program: This program allows our clinic staff to go to remote, underserved communities to provide free general health screening and treatment as well as health education. We were forced to halt this program a few months ago  because our vehicle could no longer navigate the roads; especially during the six month rainy season. A four wheel drive vehicle will help to revitalize this program.

• Our Executive Director honored!!!!: Our Executive Director of Imani House Inc, Mrs. Bisi Ideraabdullah, was selected by her state senator’s office as “2022 Woman of Distinction”.  This is a well deserved honor for someone who has kept Imani House Liberia Inc. for almost four decades.  Imani House clinic never closed during Liberia’s civil war, Ebola, nor Covid 19.    

• Our Wishlist.. 1.  Support for purchasing drugs and medical supplies to help keep our fees affordable, and oftentimes, free;  2.  Support for the continuity of our Literacy Program; 3.  Support to purchase a good, used, four wheel drive vehicle to revitalize our Clinic Outreach Program. 

We thank you for caring about and supporting our Liberian Family Health Care and Education Program. 

Links:

• Imani House Inc. Website
• Imani House Facebook Page