I first visited St. Albert’s in 2000 as part of a Fulbright grant. My respect and admiration for the doctors and staff there lead to the founding of BHA in 2009, thanks to a $30,000 gift for the hospital that had two stipulations: the donor had to remain anonymous and the gift had to be tax deductible. That gift became the seed grant for BHA, which was founded with invaluable assistance from a small group of friends who became the founding board. Now, 10 years later, BHA has achieved a considerable record of accomplishment.
![President's Message](https://betterhealthcareforafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/presidentsmessage.jpg)
We owe those accomplishments to the many contributors who believed in and supported our efforts to help St. Albert’s Mission Hospital. Many of them donated dollars; others donated time and expertise. We would not be here without them.
I will leave you with a few photographs that for me represent the challenges faced by St. Albert’s and the people who come for care, and the hope offered by donations to BHA.
![](https://betterhealthcareforafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GlovesDrying_01b-1024x671.jpg)
![](https://betterhealthcareforafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2016_WaterRationingMaleWard-815x1024.jpg)
Photo courtesy of St. Albert’s Mission Hospital.
![](https://betterhealthcareforafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Lamp_Jar_2001.02.10_02-839x1024.jpg)
St. Albert’s and Karanda mission hospitals care for people who are desperately poor. I once spent a day with a family that lived a few miles from St. Albert’s. That night, they provided a paraffin lantern that symbolizes for me the level of poverty in the area.
![Photo of Zimbabwean woman Rosa Sande and her husband Samuel Mateo. Rosa visited the St. Albert's cervical cancer prevention clinic for screening. Serious precancerous changes were found. A St. Albert's surgeon performed a hysterectomy that prevented the cancer. Rosa encourages other women to be screened, especially those in remote areas. “It can save a woman’s life,” she says.](https://betterhealthcareforafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2015_MateoRosa15_604.6002.jpg)
Thank you and keep well…Darrell