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Landslide Disaster Response
- In response to the flooding and landslide disaster in Freetown in August 2017, we provided financial support to 115 families to assist with food, clothing, and relocation expenses. We also purchased 30 mattresses for families sleeping on the floor in one of the school shelters and purchased pots, pans, and other cooking utensils for one of the community shelters. We will continue to work to support affected families.
Responding to The Ebola Epidemic
- The foundation purchased bleach, soap, gloves and other necessary supplies for our clinics. It conducted trainings for all the health workers at the clinics we support, to give them tools to help protect themselves from Ebola. It held community sensitization and education sessions at each of the four clinics to teach the communities about keeping themselves and their families safe from Ebola and to help decrease stigma and fear so that community members know how to protect themselves and know what to do if a family member gets sick. The foundation also partnered with the group – Sierra Leoneans in Georgia United to Fight Ebola, to raise funds which have been used to air freight medical supplies and to support health care workers and other people affected by the Ebola outbreak.
Ongoing Activities
- Supporting clinics in rural Sierra Leone with programs that help improve maternal and child health.
- Since 2011, the organization has conducted annual medical mission trips where we provide support to the following clinics:[singlepic id=84 w=260 h=240 float=right]
- Penlap and Masongbo peripheral health units which are located close to the town of Makeni in Northern Sierra Leone
- Lengekoro and Senekedugu peripheral health units which are located close to the town of Kabala in Northern Sierra Leone
- A team of doctors travel to clinics and provide free medications and medical treatment to hundreds of patients[singlepic id=88 w=260 h=240 float=right]
- Conditions treated included malaria, anemia, hypertension, gynecological infections, skin infections and minor surgical treatment of wounds and boils[singlepic id=83 w=260 h=240 float=right]
- Most clinics in rural Sierra Leone are staffed by nurses. For many patients, this is the first time they have ever been treated by a doctor
- Our core public health interventions include:
- Providing a delivery bucket to every woman who delivers a baby at our supported clinics. Each bucket contains a sheet of plastic to provide a clean surface area for delivery, a Lappa (cloth) to wrap the baby, and soap. Each kit costs $5 and we have distributed over 5000 buckets so far. The buckets have been very successful in decreasing maternal and neonatal infections, and in providing an incentive for women to come to the clinics to deliver. Dangerous home deliveries have been decreased substantially in the areas served by the Mama-Pikin Foundation-supported clinics.
- Providing transportation assistance so women don’t have to walk many miles when in labor. The foundation reimburses motorcycle taxis who bring women in labor to the clinics.
- Providing nutrition support for pregnant women in birth waiting homes.
- Providing support for Community Health Officers to promote delivery in clinics, breastfeeding, and identification of sick and at risk pregnant women and children.
- In 2010, the government of Sierra Leone decided to provide free medical care to pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children under five years old[singlepic id=86 w=260 h=240 float=right]
- Clinics, however, often run out of critical medicines and supplies, and many patients die because they do not have money to purchase life-saving medications
- The foundation provides life-saving medications and necessary medical supplies like gloves, gauze, needles, and syringes, to clinics. They also provide training and mentoring programs to the health professionals in these clinics [singlepic id=85 w=260 h=240 float=right]
- Since 2011, the organization has conducted annual medical mission trips where we provide support to the following clinics:[singlepic id=84 w=260 h=240 float=right]
- Supporting Hospitals in Sierra Leone
[singlepic id=90 w=260 h=350 float=right]- The foundation supports the main maternity and pediatric referral hospitals in Freetown Sierra Leone by collecting and donating needed medical supplies. Organizations like Kaiser Permanente and Piedmont Hospital based in Atlanta have donated supplies to help support these hospitals[singlepic id=48 w=260 h=240 float=right]
- The Princess Christian Maternity Hospital is the primary hospital that takes care of pregnant women from around the country[singlepic id=50 w=260 h=240 float=right]
- The Ola During Children’s Hospital is the primary pediatric hospital in the country[singlepic id=45 w=260 h=240 float=right]
Future Activities:
- The foundation plans on providing its core public health interventions to their clinics and to expand and provide support to clinics in all twelve districts in Sierra Leone
- The foundation plans to ensure that these clinics have a regular access of critical medications and supplies to help maintain the health and wellbeing of the women, children, and families that they serve
- The foundation plans to partner with doctors and nurses in Sierra Leone to get them involved in providing medical care to patients, and training and mentorship of staff at clinics in rural areas
- The foundation plans to partner with an agricultural organization to develop community farms in areas surrounding their clinics to help provide income for and improve the nutritional status of the families served by the clinics
- The foundation ultimately plans to operate a mobile health clinic that can provide medications and care to patients in remote areas of Sierra Leone
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