Archive for the ‘Activities’ Category

Autoclave up and running at Muvonde Mission Hospital

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

Last year, Better Healthcare for Africa purchased a large, refurbished autoclave for Muvonde Mission Hospital in Zimabwe. The autoclave was shipped to Muvonde by Brother’s Brother Foundation as part of a container shipment. We’d like to again thank Brother’s Brother for giving BHA the opportunity to meet this important need for Muvonde. Recently, a physician at Muvonde wrote:

I would like to inform you that the new autoclave is now fully working since 3 days. The nurses are very happy and grateful. It saves us a lot of time. I wish you – a little bit late – happy easter days.

All the best and once more THANK YOU.

 

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BHA 2011 Year-End Review

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Dear Friends,

As the year comes to a close we are excited to share the accomplishments of Better Healthcare for Africa with you. BHA had a very successful year in 2011, and we hope you will consider making a tax-deductible donation to enable us to continue our efforts. We often worked in partnership with other nonprofits in ways that were mutually beneficial and that enabled us to stretch our precious dollars. We look forward to continuing those relationships. Here is a brief recap of BHA’s main activities in 2011:

  • BHA helped Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF) and Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach supply and support a 40-foot container of donated medical supplies that BBF shipped to St. Albert’s Mission Hospital this summer.
  •  BHA purchased a large refurbished autoclave for Muvonde Mission Hospital, which BBF shipped to Muvonde as part of another container shipment this autumn. Muvonde performs an impressive number of surgeries daily, including mastectomies and prostatectomies for cancer, and cataract and glaucoma surgery. They had been without a large autoclave since 1990.
  •  Muvonde was one of five hospitals visited in early 2011. During this trip, BHA hand-carried medical supplies that were shared among these hospitals. The supplies were provided by Columbus area hospitals and by Brother’s Brother. Read about the overall visit here.
  • Through BBF, BHA worked with International Orthodox Christian Charities to provide five pediatric wheelchairs for St. Albert’s and for Mutemwa Leprosy and Care Centre in Zimbabwe.
  •  Global Links Suture Program provided hundreds of sutures that BHA shipped to St. Albert’s, which shared many of them with other mission hospitals.
  •  Through the generosity of individual donors, BHA provided several teaching models for a new midwifery training program at St. Albert’s.
  •  BHA began accepting donations on behalf of Maipelo Trust, a charity registered in Gaborone, Botswana, that provides medical care to Zimbabwean and other migrant and refugee families with AIDS in Botswana.

In 2012, we will work to improve cancer care at St Albert’s and other hospitals in Zimbabwe. Our focus will be cervical- and breast-cancer early detection, treatment and education. Donations to help support this effort are needed.

BHA is an all-volunteer organization with minimal expenses, so 98-99% of donations go toward improving healthcare and reducing suffering in southern Africa. Please make a donation using PayPal on our website or by mailing a check, payable to Better Healthcare for Africa, to our postal address:

Better Healthcare for Africa
P.O. Box 361132
Columbus, OH 43236-1132

Thank you, and all of us at Better Healthcare for Africa hope you have a New Year of peace, contentment and good health.

Sincerely…Darrell

Darrell E. Ward
President
Better Healthcare for Africa

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Autoclave purchased for Muvonde Mission Hospital

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Better Healthcare for Africa (BHA) has purchased a large autoclavethat has been desperately needed by Muvonde Hospital (also called Driefontein Mission Hospital) to sterilize surgical instruments and other items needed for surgery. Muvonde Hospital is located 120 miles south of Harare.

Refurbished autoclave of the type purchased by BHA for Muvonde Hospital.

The refurbished, $7,500 autoclave measures 24” x 36” x 60”. It was rebuilt by and purchased from CHOSEN Mission Project and included in a container of donated medical supplies assembled for Muvonde Hospital and Nyadire Hospital by Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF). BBF shipped the container to Zimbabwe Oct. 17.

Muvonde Hospital has 190 beds and a School of Nursing. It has been without a large autoclave since 1990, says administrator Mr. Musvolen Zhou. “We have been relying on two small [autoclaves], which have to work almost the whole day due to the number of items which need to be autoclaved,” he said by email. “The new autoclave will mean saving electrical power, saving manpower [because workers must] attend the autoclave everyday and the whole day, and it will prompt provision of sterile material to user departments.”

Muvonde was one of five hospitals visited by BHA in March 2011. The hospital performs a high number of surgeries (528 major and 469 minor surgeries in 2009), including prostatectomies, mastectomies and emergencies, three or more per day. Two days a week are reserved for eye surgeries for cataracts and glaucoma.

The crated autoclave in the Brother's Brother warehouse ready for loading into the container and shipment to Muvonde Mission Hospital.

Please send a donation to BHA today to help improve healthcare access, treatment and education for underserved people in southern Africa. Your contribution will support care and education programs at St Albert’s Mission Hospital,  targeted equipment purchases such as a large autoclave for Muvonde Mission Hospital, and treatment programs such as Maipelo Trust.

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A Container of Medical Supplies for St. Albert’s

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
In early July, the 590’ cargo ship Maersky Visby left Baltimore’s Seagirt Terminal carrying a 40-foot container destined for St. Albert’s Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe. The container was shipped by Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF), with a support from Better Healthcare for Africa (BHA). The container was filled with donated medical supplies requested by St. Albert’s and provided by Hospital Sister’s Mission Outreach (HSMO), BBF and BHA. Here is a map tracking the course of that container, and a description of the key events in its preparation and travels. 

By Darrell E. Ward


View Tracking the St. Albert’s Container in a larger map

2010

BBF begins planning to ship donated medical supplies to three African countries, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Liberia. Luke Hingson, president of BBF, contacted BHA for help in reaching Dr Elizabeth Tarira, director of the Zimbabwe Catholic Health Commission, which oversees Zimbabwe’s network of Catholic mission hospitals. BBF then works with Dr. Tarira, who also directs St. Albert’s Mission Hospital, to identify the Catholic mission hospitals in Zimbabwe most in need of aid.  

December: BBF Medical Director Dr. Chip Lambert makes a reconnaissance trip to visit the hospitals identified for possible shipments. The list for Zimbabwe list includes Catholic and Methodist hospitals, and a Salvation Army hospital.   (more…)

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The Story of the Pediatric Wheelchairs

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

Occasionally we are in the right place at the right time with the right people. This time, that place for me was on the phone with Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF). The opportunity resulted in a donation of five specialized pediatric wheelchairs for St. Albert’s Mission Hospital. For me, it also led to a renewed appreciation for the work that so many individuals and organizations are doing to improve healthcare in underserved areas of the world. Here is how events unfolded. (more…)

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St. Albert’s Mission Hospital Requests Help Purchasing Midwifery Teaching Aids

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

St. Albert’s Mission Hospital director Dr. Elizabeth Tarira has requested help obtaining teaching aids for a new midwifery training program for nurses. Dr. Tarira notes that most of the needed items are unavailable in Zimbabwe and must be purchased abroad and shipped to the hospital.

Background on the hospital and the needs of the midwifery program

By Elizabeth Tarira, MD, MPH

St Albert’s Mission Hospital (Catholic) has been founded in 1962 by the Jesuit Fathers who have since left this mission in 1999. Now the mission is in the hands of the local priests. The International Medical Association a lay missionary group is running the Hospital on behalf of the Bishop of Chinhoyi. Today, the Hospital and clinics conduct over 4,000 deliveries in a year while expected pregnancies are 5,252 in a year. (more…)

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Put Those Free World Maps to Use

Sunday, December 12th, 2010

Melania Nyamukuwa, director of the St. Albert's home-based care program, with students at Chikwira Primary School.

   

Do you, like us, occasionally receive free world maps in the mail as part of a donation drive by Doctors Without Borders and other NGOs? If you are looking for a use for these little gems, here’s a thought: Put them in an envelope and mail them to Better Healthcare for Africa at the address below. We will get them to  St. Albert’s Mission Hospital where they will be distributed to teachers in schools surrounding the hospital and in Muzarabani in the Zambezi valley, all of whom have few classroom materials and resources.      

   

A classroom at Chikwira Primary School. Zimbabwe's economic crisis has hit schools so hard that some principals ration chalk to teachers.

   

A world map like the one shown here, mailed out as part of a fund-raising effort by Doctors Without Borders, can find use in classrooms like those at Chikwira Primary School.  

Chikwira is one of many primary and secondary schools in the district served by St. Albert’s Mission Hospital. These are attended by orphans who come under the care of the St. Albert’s home-based care program. These orphans are adopted by foster parents who pay for a child’s school, books and uniform. In addition, the director of this program, Melania Nyamukuwa, follows up with the schools each year to be sure each child is attending school and doing well. With so few teaching aids, this small effort could pay big dividends.  

Please send world maps that are in new or like-new condition to:    

Maps
Better Healthcare for Africa
PO Box 361132
Columbus, OH 43236-1132      

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St. Albert’s Mission Hospital Travels to the St. Louis College of Pharmacy

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

On Nov. 4th and 5th 2009, Darrell Ward gave two presentations about St. Albert’s Mission Hospital to students at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in St. Louis, Mo.

The talk and slide presentation, “Zimbabwe in Crisis: St. Albert’s Mission Hospital copes with a collapsed national economy and healthcare system,” was sponsored by the college’s International Student Organization and was part of the college’s convocation lecture series. The talk was presented at the invitation of Carol Oliver, PhD, associate professor of English.

The second talk, about Zimbabwe’s economic crisis and its effects on the hospital, was presented to a class of economics students at the invitation of Kenneth Schafermeyer, PhD, professor and director of the Division of Liberal Arts and Administrative Sciences.

These talks illustrate how the problems of Zimbabwe affect one rural mission hospital, its doctors, and the 120,000 people who live in its health district. My goals are to raise awareness of the problems facing St. Albert’s Mission Hospital, to encourage material and moral support for its doctors and staff, and to promote helping the underserved as a way to make a difference, have an adventure, and meet interesting people.

Darrell Ward (dward@betterhealthcareforafrica.org)

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