Plans are underway for a major campaign to fund the return trip to Liberia in the early part of 2010. The team will return with medical supplies, malaria test kits, agricultural supplies, material for latrines, and with the help of donators, finalize the purchase of land that will house the future Malaria Life Center and serve the villagers through the distribution of HIP (Health Improvement Packages) in each of the six major villages. The money will also pay for the travel team expenses. None of the team members are taking salaries and many of them are using their own vacation time to serve.
The Florence Nightingale Institute of Health Sciences is collaborating with Nurses for the Nations and identified village leaders who will be working with both partners to establish the first malaria free-zones. The identified project leaders will help facilitate the program work with us in the targeted villages.
Pictured here, the Florence Nightingale Institute of Health Sciences with identified village leaders for the N4N Malaria project. Standing on the left, Nora Mangou, Administrator for the FNIHS and far right Sayr Joseph Numa RN, Medical Coordinator
Training for community health leaders in Kayma town in lower Margibi county through the Florence Nightingale Institute of Heath Sciences in preparation for N4N’s project is being coordinated by Nora Mangou, Program Director for the FNIHS and Sahr Joseph Nyuma, RN, Medical Coordinator for the Institute. The training day provided the community leaders with their roles and responsibilities in providing basic community services, while also building their leadership and management abilities. Community leaders were informed about communicable diseases and basic preventative measures. There were 31 participants from the villages. Methodology for the workshop included:
1. Presentation on flip chart
2. Group Discussion
3. Collaboration
4. Demonstration and return demonstration of knowledge and training materials
Liberian families who live far from the local hospitals in Monrovia are without transportation and have to rely on self-help clinics for medical treatment; especially for malaria. Drugs are sparse and mortality rates from malaria are very high. In addition, maternal death rates are off the charts. Mothers acquire infection; experience postpartum bleeding and often have serious complications during labor that cannot be adequately taken care of with the few health care workers and physicians in the country. Liberia has only 60 (sixty) physicians to care for 3.3 million people and eight nurses to care for every 100,000 patients in the population. Self-help clinics have few teaching and training programs, especially in the areas of midwifery and malaria control; efforts are on-going but the needs are still great. Liberia needs the continued support of NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) to assist them. The villagers shared with N4N, that many NGOs promised their help, but never returned.
Nurses for the Nations with the Florence Nightingale Institute toured many of the rural clinics in Liberia.
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This is a birthing chair in the local clinic. Maternal death rates are off the charts for women. |
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This local clinic is the choice place of treatment for children and adults in the Paynesville City area outside of Monrovia. |
N4N is collaborating with Water of Life, a non profit organization in the United States dedicated to drilling water wells in remote villages in Liberia in order to provide the villagers with clean drinking water. They have identified three out of the six villages for installation of wells and have now installed the first water well for the FNIHS school and church compound.
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