This has been one of our dream goals, and we're finally seeing it become a reality. The Sourakabougou area of Sikoro was badly in need of a clinic. High up on the rocky hills, with no paved road access, it is an isolated spot. On several occasions, pregnant women were not able to make it to the Sikoro clinic to deliver, and those in need of urgent care for illness or accidents could not reach care when they needed it. The lack of a clinic was a serious geographical barrier to accessing care.

The Community Health Action Group decided that a clinic needed to be our next project, so we set to work. And now the Centre de Sante Communitaire de Sikoro-Sourakabougou is a reality!

It has been a long road to get this far, and there is still a ways to go. The government has promised to match our contribution by constructing the maternity ward and providing electricity and access to running water for both buildings. We also need your help to fully equip the clinic to get it ready to open as soon as possible.

The clinic is an integral part of all of our future plans. Under the Action for Health program, children and pregnant women in our target families will receive free care at this clinic. The clinic will host a pilot Frontline/SMS electronic medical records program which will provide valuable information on best-practices for both rural and urban clinics in resource poor settings.

In short, the clinic is a huge step for us, but just the first one. We are happy to be finished with construction so that it can start serving the community that requested its services. We hope that you, our donors, can help us reach this new goal.

Pictures:

• The exterior of the new clinic. (JPG)