Dear Friends,
We are truly grateful for your support, which has allowed us to offer vital primary care services for women and children living in the DRC Settlement. Now patients can access preventative care and simple treatments quickly and easily, helping ensure they stay healthy and freeing up the public health system to focus on more complex care. Thanks to your donations, the C2C clinic has provided care for approximately 900 women and children in just a few months, proving an incredible need exists in the area.
While our programming in Namibia continues, we have decided to process online donations exclusively through our website, www.containers2clinics.org, through Network for Good, and through CrowdRise. We hope you will visit any of these sites to continue to support our programs.
Marie Elago, our Community Health Coordinator, continues to serve as a critical bridge between the community and the clinic. She is looking forward to extending the reach of C2C’s clinic through community education, referrals for high-risk pregnancies, new mother support groups, and other community activities.
Thank you so much for sharing with us and allowing us to continue our journey!
With Gratitude,
Jessica Thompson Somol
Executive Director
Friends & Supporters,
We are delighted to share with you some updates from Namibia!
Our newest clinic opened in February, 2013, and to date, we are excited to be able to report that we have served approximately 900 women and children.
Marie Elago, our Community Health Coordinator, whom we were able to hire due to your generous contributions, has continued to serve as a critical bridge between the community and the clinic. A nurse-midwife by training, Marie is working to identify the community’s greatest health needs. She is looking forward to extending the reach of C2C’s clinic through community education, referrals for high-risk pregnancies, new mother support groups, and other community activities.
Marie is working alongside the doctors and nurses from the local Ministry of Health, and the C2C clinic is operating in close partnership with other public health facilities in the area. C2C offers vital primary care services for women and children living in the DRC settlement, including HIV testing and child vaccinations, allowing patients to access preventative care and simple treatments quickly and easily and freeing up the public health system to focus on more complex care.
We can’t wait to share measurable results from our Community Health Education program with you – and the Ministry of Health – in the coming months!
Thank you for sharing in our journey!
With Gratitude,
Jessica Thompson Somol
Executive Director
Friends & Supporters,
As we begin to wrap up the first quarter of 2013, we are delighted to share with you some exciting updates from Namibia!
First, thanks to your generous contributions, C2C has hired Marie Elago, a Community Health Coordinator, to serve as a critical link between the clinic and the community. A nurse-midwife by training, Marie began working in February to identify the community’s greatest health needs. She is excited to lead a staff of Community Health Workers (CHWs), who will extend the reach of C2C’s clinic through community education, referrals for high-risk pregnancies, new mother support groups, and other community activities.
We are also proud of our continued collaboration with the local Ministry of Health. Our clinic will operate in close partnership with other public health facilities in the area. C2C will offer vital primary care services for women and children living in the DRC settlement, including HIV testing and child vaccinations, allowing patients to access preventative care and simple treatments quickly and easily and freeing up the public health system to focus on more complex care.
We can’t wait to share measurable results from our Community Health Education program with you – and the Ministry of Health – in the coming months! Namibia currently has no public facilities that employ CHWs, and the Ministry of Health is eagerly following our progress in order to inform their decisions about regional and national roll-out of similar programs. We’re delighted to bring this best practice to Namibia – a well-proven program that brings essential health services to the people who need them the most.
Thank you for sharing in our journey!
With Gratitude,
Jessica Thompson Somol
Executive Director
Greetings supporters and friends,
As 2012 comes to a close and we look forward to 2013, Containers 2 Clinics wishes you and your families a happy, healthy holiday season and New Year!
We'd like to share with you a story about C2C's impact on Kamaria* and her two daughters.
Kamaria lives in Namibia’s Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC) – a community in western Namibia built mostly from scavenged materials. Her day begins early, as she gets her two daughters dressed, washed, fed, and ready for school, cares for her infant son, collects water and hauls it home, and works to keep her home clean and her family fed in the dusty Namib Desert. Her husband, a truck driver, is away much of the time, so it is often just Kamaria and her three children at home.
After her mother's death when she was just 16, Kamaria's life changed forever; she was no longer able to attend school, and was forced to begin supporting herself.
She had her first daughter, Thulile, in 2001, but soon fled Thulile's father, whom she feared would kill her and her daughter. Following her escape, Kamaria married a kind man. While pregnant with her second daughter, Lerato, she discovered she was HIV-positive and received the medications necessary to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. “I was so scared for my baby, but she is healthy” Kamaria said.
Despite her HIV status and history of babies with low birth weight, Kamaria received no prenatal care while pregnant with her son. The nearest clinic was hours away and impossible for Abena to access due to the distance and her family responsibilities. Luckily, amidst fears of complications, Kamaria delivered a healthy baby boy.
With the opening of Containers 2 Clinics’ new clinic in Namibia, Kamaria and other women in her community will no longer have to worry about accessing high-quality, affordable health care for themselves and their children. Kamaria's son will receive essential vaccinations, and her daughters will receive specialized care for young women. Kamaria will have access to post-natal care now as well as prenatal care for future babies.
“To keep my children well is the most important thing, and I am so happy the clinic will help me do that,” Kamaria said. We're grateful to be able to serve Kamaria, and many women like her, and thank you for your support which makes our health services possible.
Warmly,
Jessica
*names changed to protect anonymity
Links:
C2C Supporters and Friends,
It's been a busy summer at C2C in our efforts to open our Namibian clinic. Two of our staff members, Ellen and Allison, recently arrived home from Swakopmund as part of the final push toward opening the clinic. During their productive trip they met with our partners at the Namibian Ministry of Health, as well as completed on-site preparations (fencing, seating, etc). In just a few short weeks, we'll begin treating patients at the clinic. Residents of this community currently walk many hours to seek care, and they all seem very excited to have a well-equipped clinic so close to home. A major goal of the clinic is to ensure access to high quality pre-natal care for pregnant women in the community, and we're proud that this care will reduce the fear surrounding childbirth for many new mothers.
Another initiative we're excited about is our Community Health Program. As we speak, a volunteer is conducting a "community needs assessment" to determine what the primary health concerns are for local families. The results of this assessment will help to shape our community health program- for example, we may focus more on post-natal care, HIV testing and treatment, or childhood nutrition. With the help of your generous donations, we'll be hiring experienced community health counselors to carry out these vital programs. We're so grateful for your support, which has a tangible impact on more than 10,000 Namibians.
We look forward to sending you messages and photographs after the official opening of the clinic!
With gratitude,
Elizabeth Sheehan
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