By Nanci Cole | Board Member - GlobalGiving Project Manager
GlobalGiving Open Challenge Success
The GlobalGiving Open Challenge in April was our first attempt at online fundraising. Our goal was to just be successful - meet the challenge objectives. Through the support of 66 donors we raised $6165, exceeding the $5000 target. In fact in this one campaign we exceeded our total number of individual donors for the year 2012.
As you know one of our donors from St. Louis matched the first $5000, doubling what you contributed, bringing the total to $11,165. While we have promoted and advocated for our work in Liberia in the past, many board members and other volunteers had never used social media or asked friends and family directly for financial support for our work. It was a learning experience for all of us in many, many ways. Thank you for making our first campaign such a tremendous success.
Rainy Season Challenges
It’s rainy season now in Liberia, lasting from May until October. The unpaved roads turn into rivers of thick, sticky red mud. The car Dr. Chris drives can’t get to many of the villages where we work. Some villages are totally cut off. We are working with several churches and other groups in the US to raise money to purchase a high clearance 4X4 truck with a lockable shell. We are opening a new project at GlobalGiving to raise the funds needed to ship this new vehicle to Liberia in August.
In June a second project will be opened to fund the expansion of our program for health education. Last month information on how to identify and treat diabetes and high blood pressure was provided to 953 people. We also teach on nutrition and sanitation. In addition during April Dr. Chris treated 496 people in the villages, 112 in the clinic, and distributed worm medication to 2339. She also was invited to serve as one of 3 physicians in a clinic at the Healing Jesus Crusade held May 1st and 2nd in Kakata.
Update on Construction
After a meeting last month with Margibi County Senator Scott Cooper, agreement was reached for the construction of a new road to the land where we will construct the Kakata Acute Care Clinic and Health Education Center. We thought we might have to fund and manage the road construction project ourselves. Funding and project management by the county will be a blessing - one less thing for Dr. Chris to do. The road contractor has already been hired and project planning is underway. One of Dr. Chris’ long time supporters in Texas donated $20,000 last month and we have officially opened the capital project fund for construction of the new permanent clinic facility. We don’t have the final construction estimates yet, but the land has been purchased and we are well on our way to start work when the rainy season ends in October
A representative from New Life Church in Colorado Springs is traveling to Liberia in June to meet Dr Chris, to see the land and local operations, and to discuss possible future projects for church mission teams. Dr. Chris will be traveling in the US speaking at over 35 churches in 10 states later this summer. We expect several mission teams during the next dry season beginning in November. .
Thank you again for your continuing support.
Sincerely,
Nanci Cole
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