Dear friends – When I first visited St. Albert’s Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe in December 2000, I noticed a sign written in Shona that greeted the desperately poor families as they arrived at the hospital. It was a passage from Matthew: “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” I remain deeply impressed by that message of compassion care. We established Better Healthcare for Africa (BHA) to help ease the pressing need for healthcare and compassion in this under-served area of Zimbabwe.
From its start in 2009, BHA for me has been an expression of American empathy, caring and compassion. Over time, our small nonprofit has had an outsized influence, thanks to your donations and to our board members, in particular Lowell Schnipper, MD, a breast oncologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Meaningful accomplishments through 2025 include:
- Screening 28,000 women between 2014-2025 and identifying more than 1,000 cervical cancers;
- Starting a prostate cancer education and screening program at Karanda Mission Hospital;
- Purchasing equipment for completing a second operating theater at St. Albert’s;
- Enabling required upgrades to the X-ray department, allowing it to reopen;
- Procuring reliable internet for St. Albert’s Hospital, improving administration and patient care;
- Procuring reliable internet for the St. Albert’s School of Nursing, enabling students to access online courses and information for the first time;
- Purchasing new planting and fertilizing equipment for the hospital farm, which provides maize and other crops for feeding patients;
- Enabling 20 orphans to remain in school by covering tuition, uniforms, and providing lunch, which may be the child’s only meal of the day;
- Funding food hampers for hungry families (food scarcity is widespread due to drought and poverty).
Much has been done, but more needs doing. We have already helped the hospital in 2026 meet urgent needs that include air conditioning for the hospital recovery room ($1,320) and four additional solar batteries for the hospital’s electrical system (total $7,200).
None of this can happen without contributions from those who share the instinct to lend a helping hand. Please join our efforts to provide better healthcare for this impoverished area of Africa. A small amount goes a long way. All funds go directly to the projects we support; we take no overhead or salaries, and we don’t sell or share our donor list with others. If you are able, please make a donation to Better Healthcare for Africa at betterhealthcareforafrica.org/donate.
Thank you for you interest and caring!
…Darrell
Darrell E. Ward, President
Better Healthcare for Africa
Matt. 11:28