Restoring Healthcare to Women and Girls in Liberia

Meet Lucy, the newest HWHL construction team member.  She is the breadwinner for her family, a mother to seven children.  Lucy pursued construction training in her home community in the North, and is one of only a handful of women trained for this type of work. Lucy's husband, like so many in Liberia, has not been able to find a job. She and her family recently moved to Kakata after she heard about our Medical Center construction project. Having her on our team serves as a great example of what is possible for the other women in our community. The foundation is now finished.  For the next two months we are working to raise the roof. 

Chris and her team are still seeing patients in the temporary space constructed in the yard of Dr. Chris’ home or out in the 34 communities in Margibi County that surround Kakata. During the ebola crisis we remained focused on our mission. We continued to take care of the people in Margibi County, but we also completely reassessed our priorities and revalidated our longer term goals, on being ready for what comes after - when foreign resources pull out, when markets and schools reopen, when goods begin to flow through the community, when people focus on living and working again. Ebola revealed that we needed to be much more self-reliant and that we needed to dramatically accelerate completion of our medical facility already under construction. Essentially we are working to compress our 10 year plan into 6 1/2 years.

We continue to be very concerned about the impact on the economy. When ebola hit the country, the toll was immediate.  A recent World Bank report said that "nearly half of the working population of Liberia is no longer working since the crisis began." Wealthy Liberians with dual citizenship and foreign nationals fled the country, taking their purchasing power with them. When the state of emergency was declared, the government closed. Restaurants and bars had to close at 6 pm. Schools closed, gatherings were prohibited. People avoided public places and public transportation. Fearing infection, people stopped visiting hairdressers and clothing shops. Kakata, being centrally located, lies at a crossroads between the capital and distant rural, farming communities, 43 miles northwest of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.  It is a place of commerce, markets and distribution centers, all shutdown. The new crops didn't get planted. Mining companies slowed or stopped operations, and suppliers across the board lost their incomes. Small businesses around the country went out of business.  Hundreds of thousands of people are still out of work. Tax revenues are down significantly and funds were expended on ebola, not development. Liberia was one of the fastest growing economies in the world last year, but recent projections show that the country’s growth could be going backwards in 2015. It is a huge setback and will take time for the economy to recover.  

During the crisis many children were put to work since there was no school. Families are still dependent on their income, desperate for money from every source. Many schools were used to quarantine potential ebola patients. Now that the schools have reopened, many parents are still reluctant to send their children there. We are working to catch up on deworming, nutrition, sanitation, and vaccination programs, severely affected by the school closings.  We are also initiating a dedicated community effort to get all children back in school.  Ten new Community Health Workers are being trained to help with these programs. Your support with directly assist these efforts.  

Links:

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The news from Liberia just gets better and better. Hospitals and clinics have reopened, the government is back to work, schools are reopening this week and next.  There have been no new cases of ebola for several weeks.  Our work continues, seeing patients in the temporary clinic and out in the communities every day.  Last month we were awarded a second grant from Global Giving for our work during the ebola crisis - keeping our communities safe and healthy.  The first grant provided funding for ebola education and purchase of materials to build hand washing stations.  This latest grant provides funding to hire and train ten new community health workers, including funds for uniforms, health kits, and bicycles.  Dr. Chris has already started the search for these next ten trainees.  

A Ground Breaking Ceremony held on January 7 has been followed by rapid progress on the foundation walls for our new Medical Center.  All of the workers are local, from the communities we serve.  Cement and soil blocks are being build on site and all the materials for this construction phase are being purchased locally.  Half of the blocks required for the foundation and walls are complete. In ten days this phase should be fully complete.  

So many young men have been put to work, new construction jobs created, new skills being learned.  Our construction management consultant, Building Goodness Foundation in Virginia, continues to watch over the construction team. Every phase of the construction has been improved with their assistance -  overall design, site planning, drainage, roof ventilation, solar power.  This building will be like no other in Kakata.  Detailed photos of each step are sent being sent, sometimes daily.  They are reviewed, discussed, and frequent conference calls are providing guidance at every step. Plans are being made for mission teams to come and teach the skills needed for the more challenging construction phases. 

The goal is to have the walls build and the roof completed before the raining season begins in May/June.  About 80% of the required capital has been raised, we still need to raise over $100,000.  The first Global Giving Bonus Day this year is Wednesday, March 18th at 9am EDT!  Matching at 30% up to $1,000 per donor per project. There is $60,000 available with two $1,000 bonus awards -  for the highest number of individual donors and $1,000 for the most money raised.   This is a great opportunity to double your donation.  

Links:

• Website