We at C2C are thrilled to provide you with some updates on our progress, and let you know how your generous donations are allowing us to provide health care to an entire Namibian community.
Our Director of Operations, Allison Howard Berry, just returned from a productive trip to the site of the new clinic. Over the course of three weeks, she met with partner organizations, government officials, and residents of the DRC. All of these parties are working together to get the final clinic pieces into place- and we are anticipating that the clinic will open during the month of July! This clinic, thanks to your efforts, will serve a rapidly growing community of more than 6,000 residents.
In addition, C2C is working with local officials to create clinical and health education programming which will extend the service delivery of the clinic. We will be hiring a Clinic Coordinator and two Community Health Counselors, whose salaries will be directly supported by your contributions. These counselors will perform health education sessions on a variety of topics, and will conduct home visits for new mothers and women with high risk pregnancies. The impact they will have on this community cannot be overstated.
Finally, I'd like to share with you the story of Karina- a resident of the DRC that Allison met on her recent trip. Karina is seven months pregnant with her third child. She hasn't received any antenatal care during this pregnancy because it would take her all day with her children in tow to see a doctor in the clinic over 5km away. Karina and her husband are both HIV-positive, but have been taking anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for 5 years with positive results. Karina does not yet have a birth plan for this pregnancy nor a follow-up plan to ensure her infant is not at risk for HIV transmission, but she desperately wants to breastfeed her new baby for at least 6 months. She is worried about being HIV-positive and being able to continue to access ARTs when she has three children to care for given how far away the existing clinic is form her home in DRC.
Your contributions will help Karina and many women like her by removing the barrier of distance to health care. We are thrilled that we will soon be providing health services to this community, and look forward to keeping you updated on our progress!
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