Cote d’Ivoire

• 11 villages in Bouake and 14 in Bouna have been certified as Open Defecation Free (ODF) due to MAP’s encouragement and training in Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) initiatives. Ceremonies were held for the villages attended by representatives from the Ministry of Health and UNICEF Cote d’Ivoire.
• Tensions were reported at the Lberaian border after 70 people were arrested and suspected of preparing an attack against Cote d’Ivoire.

Kenya

• 300 community members from the Burangi Total Health Village gathered to break ground and begin construction of the Burangi health facility. All shared a meal after foundations had been dug. The community is very excited to be a part of this process.
• Community health workers in the Esonorua Total Health Village were trained on the use and maintenance of the lab equipment that was supplied to their ealth facility because of the efforts of Susan Nalepo, Community Heroes finalist.

Indonesia

• The Tello Mobile Clinic provided medical treatment for 254 patients, and health education for 304 villagers on Marid Island.
• Several livelihood security projects are successfully underway at the Tello Island Total Health Village, including fishing, small business, agriculture, and animal husbandry.
• Received new funding for THV Lahusa (locally arranged) through AME Brasil after their team visited.

Ecuador

• A health promoter in Ecuador noticed that fatigue was affecting many of the people in his community, and especially women and children. Recognizing that the fatigue was due to anemia, health promoters in the Napo region are now working to reduce anemia through education and home gardens.
• 19 water filters were distributed in the Apatug school. Now each classroom has a filter and can provide clean water for their students throughout the day.

Ghana

• It was clear through Buruli Ulcer follow-up visits that BU patients were recovering well, that nurses and community volunteers had been well-trained, and that MAP Ghana’s BU programs are making a significant difference.

Honduras

• Dr. Ravi Jayakaran visited the MAP Honduras programs and conducted training in data collection, and planning of a THV for MAP Honduras and MAP partners Growers First. MAP Honduras also explored the opportunity of working, in partnership with Growers First, with a coffee-growing community in Honduras, called La Germania-Uno.

Bolivia

• The Chilimarca clinic provided health services to 212 patients last month. 40 women received reproductive health services and 86 children received regular check-ups and health monitoring.
• Children in the Chilimarca school received dental health services and participated in a workshop about the importance of maintenance and care of teeth.

Uganda

• 156 malnourished children were enrolled in a new project as part of the Drought Crisis response program, which includes intensive health education at feeding centers so that mothers and children can have a better understanding of a child’s nutritional needs.
• In the Kacheri program community members are engaged in access road construction, building efficient stoves, microwatershed development, and watering 28,000 trees planted with World Food Programme support.

International Health Programs

• Utilized 212 volunteer hours, valued at $4,293, to pack or prepare product.
• Shipped 6 containers, 11 CAM large volume orders, 186 prepacks, and 121 custom orders.
• Accepted and received GEMS-donated antibiotics from EC-EU, London-based manufacturer Durbin Pharmaceuticals; received into Foreign Trade Zone.
• Prospected and developed new IHP partnerships, including Breast Cancer Relief.

Program Development

• A letter of intent was submitted to the Gates Foundation for an Integrated Buruli Control & Leprosy Elimination in West Africa Project.
• A proposal was submitted to USAID for Promoting Health Timing & Spacing of Pregnancies in Northern Uganda through an Integrated Development Approach.
• Three additional grant proposal opportunities for Global Programs are under review.

Transformational Missions

• The Transformational Missions program was promoted this month through an eblast sent out to 2,500 people.

Medicines Program

If you’re reading this, you probably know about MAP’s medicines program, the one that has allowed us to ship $4 billion worth of lifesaving medicines to 2 billion people in need. But what you probably don’t know is that this program went through some pretty significant changes in 2011. Chief among these is that our global distribution center is now a Foreign Trade Zone, which allows MAP to supplement medicines shipments with critically needed drugs from overseas suppliers. All these changes were in the midst of MAP securing one of the top 3 medicines donations in the organization’s history – 6 million tablets of de-worming medicines that were distributed throughout Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Disaster Relief

If you’re reading this, you also probably know that MAP typically responds to natural disasters with crucial medicines and supplies. Unlike in previous years, disasters in 2011 hit close to home for many MAP staff. In Cote d’Ivoire, post-election violence created a humanitarian disaster that saw a shipment of MAP medicines to the capital of Abidjan, as well as a water and sanitation program facilitated by staff from MAP Cote d’Ivoire.

The conflict in Libya also resulted in an urgent humanitarian crisis, and MAP shipped $3.1 million worth of medicines and supplies to the heart of the conflict in Benghazi. Lastly, the Horn of Africa drought and resulting famine prompted emergency shipments of medicines to affected MAP programs and surrounding villages.

Transformational Missions

MAP has long offered the MAP Medical Fellowship, a sponsored mission trip for fourth year medical students to experience medicine in the context of a developing country. And recognizing that many people in the US have a desire to give back in the form of similar mission trips, MAP created the transformational missions program to enable individuals and teams to create lasting change for people in need. The program connects those interested in mission work with meaningful opportunities to have an impact within communities where MAP works.

Community Heroes

The second year of our Community Heroes contest was our most successful, with 991,091 votes! The winner was Ina Rawati from Indonesia, who used her award to create better hygiene and sanitation in her community. Susan Nalepo from Kenya used her award to better her local health clinic, as well as to train community health workers. Washington Chacha from Ecuador is using his award to create vegetable gardens in his community so that families can have access to wholesome food, as well as a potential income source.

Country Programs

Of course, no mention of MAP program highlights would be complete without our country programs! While there are too many to mention them all here, (and you really should download the entire report and read it) here is a choice sampling:

• In Bolivia, the Community Health Service Clinic saw 3,218 patients, 39 Health promoters and 92 Health Guardians were trained
• In Cote d’Ivoire, 1,825,300 children from age 5 to 14 were treated for Soil Transmitted Helminthes to prevent anemia and low physical and cognitive growth
• In Ecuador, 95 health promoters were trained to serve the needs of over 6,250 people in surrounding regions
• In Ghana, 169 health care professionals were trained to properly deal with Buruli Ulcer
• In Honduras, 60 health promoters were trained to serve 16 communities
• In Indonesia, the Tello Mobile Clinic provided health care services to 1,457 people, and educated 1,736 more in basic health care
• In Kenya, MAP hosted a two week medical camp for Maternal and Child Health Services and saw a total of 1,763 patients
• In Uganda, addressed food security of 2,000 households by facilitating the production of important crops

Needless to say, 2011 was an exciting year, and here’s to hoping that 2012 is just as exciting! Help us thank our program staff for the wonderful work they do by reading this report, and sharing it with your friends and family. Only with your help can we bring awareness to the serious issues faced by the less fortunate, and only with your help can we hope to solve them.

Perhaps what I love most about traveling in Latin America (and in poorer less developed countries in general) is the strange and interesting people you meet and weird things you see along the road. I have a slight advantage in Spanish speaking countries since I can talk to them in their native tongue.

In warmer climates people are out and about more; on the streets, walking, riding bikes, hanging out in front of homes and stores, parks and plazas. Very few have cars, and no matter where you are, the roads are always full of people walking, riding bikes, or on horse or donkey. Night or day. Anytime of day.

Years ago a friend told me she was in a small village in Guatemala and saw a woman in a night gown and high heels walking a pig on a leash. At the time it sounded like something from a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel or a Fellini film. But now, having travelled extensively in many Latin American countries, I have seen equally bizarre and wonderful things countless times.

My recent trip to Honduras was no exception. Beside an expensive SUV with tinted windows will be a guy pulling a donkey loaded down with sugar cane. Or a man on a bike in the pouring rain with 100 pounds of bananas on his back. In Nueva Armenia (a 99% Black village) we met a little barefoot white guy with a big curly beard named Guillermo who learned English in London, England. With a little bottle of rum in the pocket of his ragged shorts, he withdrew the bottle, unscrewed the cap, drank it down, and in perfect English said, “Empty!” Not 100 paces beyond our adios with Guillermo was a circus-trapeze artist set up that looked like something out of a 1940s carnival. A man emerges out of nowhere with 4 or 5 young boys behind him and also speaks to us in English. “Come tonight for the big show!” Sadly, we had to leave…… How these guys ended up in Nueva Armenia is beyond improbable.

Then there was the retired engineer in Comayagua who proudly showed us his 3 sleek and impressive electric scooters he designed himself. I have a great photo of me on the back of his 2 seater design. Or the men at the gas station drinking beer at a picnic table(Salva Vida, Burst of Life or Life Saver!) who invited me to come over and chat with them and have a beer. Happy strong looking men with time on their hands and eager to make a new friend. Cheers to friendship! Cheers to a simpler more laid back life more spontaneous and less driven by calendars and the clock……

On a hill at the end of a dirt road in a tiny mountain village sitting on a plastic chair eating beans and tortillas cooked over a wood fire, the house with no running water or electricity, I suddenly receive a text from Greensboro from my friend Michael wondering about lunch on Wednesday. I text back. “You won’t believe where I am right now. Ok, lunch Wednesday at the Aztec Dragon on Lawndale.” A rooster crows. Hens cluck. Dogs bark and slink around hoping for a scrap of tortilla. A guy named Marco (el presidente of the village) hands me a note with his cell phone number on it. “Keep in touch.” I will.

It is a wonderful life, and the earth is a wonderful place full of wonderful people.

-Neil Dunnavant

Krupa mingles at the Atlanta CFC event

Are you or any of your family members federal employees? Do you have friends who are federal employees? If so, read on!

The employees of the US Federal Government run the largest and most successful workplace giving campaign in history, raising $281 million in 2010 alone! This campaign, called the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), is a voluntary program designed to promote philanthropy among federal employees by providing a cost-efficient way for employees to give to deserving charities. The campaign is made up of 100 local campaigns, beginning each year on September 1st, and ending on December 15th. It is the only authorized solicitation of federal employees in their workplaces on behalf of approved charitable organizations.

MAP has been a part of the Combined Federal Campaign since the late 1990s. Through the generosity of federal employees and armed forces personnel, MAP has received well over $500,000 in total contributions from CFC! This year, we’re proud to say that MAP is one of only 27 nonprofits in the CFC category of ‘Charities Under 1% Overhead’, echoing similar rankings by Forbes.com, Charity Navigator, and the Better Business Bureau.

So if you participate in CFC or know someone who does, look for MAP under code # 11491, or find us in the Charities Under 1% Overhead section of the CFC brochure. Or if you know of a CFC event in your area, let us know!

Cote d’Ivoire

I love reading partner stories because they are always a powerful reminder of how much something small, like a simple bottle of Tylenol, can make such a big difference in a person’s life. In reading this story, I hope you will be inspired by the impact your contribution has made, no matter how small it seems.

July 12, 2011  Margibi County, Liberia

In Liberia, there are some good, paved roads. There is one very good road—RIA Highway—usually crowded with taxi cars, overloaded pickup trucks, sand trucks, and jeeps. This road runs to the capital of Liberia—Monrovia—a bottleneck of traffic and busting at the seams with people living in abject poverty. It was on this road, RIA, that we started, then we drove through miles and miles of rubber trees in the Firestone plantation on a semi-good road (which means a road that is paved, but narrow, no dotted yellow lines or white lines on the side, with deep potholes at any random spot.) Then, we travel on an entirely different road. In America, we might call it a bad lane in the country, like something you would find in the Ozarks of Arkansas (nothing against Arkansas, but you catch my meaning!). But to the Africans, this is a road. We left the coal tar (their term for paved road) and traveled for miles on this lane-road, so narrow that the rare occurrence of oncoming traffic necessitated a process of our Toyota Hilux and their little Nissan Sunny slowly edging past each other, with both our right tires off the road. We pass through mud holes, between miles of dense jungle forest, and clusters of stick-and-mud huts. In Liberia, a few huts equal a village. More than just a few, like maybe 8 or 10, make it a town. We arrive at just such a town—Zeewhorr—our destination.

CAM began sponsoring the Zeewhorr Community Clinic in 2006. The OIC and Doctor Gbarweah Toe gave us a warm welcome. We call him Doctor Toe, but in reality, his training is equivalent to an RN or LPN. But this is Africa, and he most likely is the highest medically educated man for miles and miles, and the only ‘doctor’ for hundreds of Liberians in the area. Dr. Toe gives us a tour of the clinic while their monthly supply of CAM medicine is unloaded. The clinic consisted of a waiting room, with about 10-15 people waiting to be seen,  a dispensary with a small window to the waiting room, a medicine store room, a tiny doctor’s office, a delivery room, short stay room, and examining room.

We were obviously a huge distraction while we were there—white people don’t often visit Zeewhorr—but clinic business went on even amidst the distractions. I saw a little girl limping her way to the examining room, her foot wrapped in a dirty bandage. She came for treatment, a cassava snake had bitten her a month ago. A mother with swollen feet lay in the short-stay room, an IV hanging close to her bed. Her tiny baby girl lay on the bed beside her.

We sat in the delivery room to interview the epilepsy patients. The only light in the room was through the windows…obviously a far cry from brightly lit doctor’s offices in America. Brown and blue curtains made of lapa (traditional African cloth) hang at the windows, and posters sporting slogans such as “No Woman Should Die While Giving Birth” and “Visit the Big Belly Clinic at Least Four Times Before Delivery” adorn the block walls.

After taking pictures and hearing the epilepsy patients’ stories and results, we left the clinic…with added riders to the back of the Hilux. Now they would not have to walk back to the coal tar! As we passed villages, they rapped on the window when they needed off, and we stopped to let them hop down from the truck.

“Thank you, may God bless you!” are words we often hear from patients, OIC’s, doctors, and nurses.

We pass this thanks on to you—our donors who make it possible for clinics like this to even exist. Many would be forced to shut down if they wouldn’t receive their monthly supply of medicine from CAM.

Ms. Piron is a senior vice president of APCO Worldwide, where she works with clients in the health case sector on policy development, government relations, strategic, and crisis communications. Prior to joining APCO, Ms. Piron served as a director in the economic & policy research group, a division of corporate affairs at Pfizer Inc. Ms. Piron has extensive knowledge about pharmaceutical and biotech policy issues, health care reform, Medicare coverage and reimbursement, disease management, and Food and Drug Administration regulatory policy. She was a frequent speaker on public policy issues facing the pharmaceutical industry and served as a source to the media on issues related to the field. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dickinson College and a Master of Public Administration in Public Policy from the University of Pittsburgh.

“I’m delighted to join MAP as it celebrates the milestone of having provided more than $4 billion in medical supplies around the world and embarks on a new strategic plan to expand the organization’s innovative health delivery programs around the globe,” Ms. Piron said.

Ms. Piron’s insights into the U.S. pharmaceutical industry will be extremely helpful as MAP continues to build its global programs. “We are blessed at MAP to have a board comprised of very talented people who give their time to guide our global organization,” Michael, our CEO, said. “Courtney has already made an impact and we are grateful for her willingness to serve.”

It is truly an honor to have individuals such as Ms. Piron willing to volunteer her time and talents. We’re grateful to her and all of our board members for such dedicated and loyal service!

We will be taking pictures and video of the event, but in the meantime, see the official flyer below! You can also donate here to help us celebrate this milestone.

ATLANTA (Summer of 2011) – MAP International, the global Christian health organization (map.org), announced that it is celebrating a major milestone this summer by shipping enough medicines for 500,000 treatments to Liberia, valued at $2 million USD. The milestone being recognized is MAP’s distribution of $4 billion USD in medicines and medical equipment since its founding in 1954 which have helped improve the health of 2 billion people. The medicines are sent to some of the world’s least developed countries. For more than 20 years, MAP International has maintained its commitment to meeting the health needs of the people of Liberia. Since 1999, MAP has distributed $83.4 million USD in essential medicines and medical supplies to its partners on the ground in Liberia. In partnership with Christian Aid Ministries, the medicines will be distributed to 39 medical clinics in the counties of Nimba, Rivercess, Bassa, Montserrado, Margibi, Lofa, Grand Bassa, Bong, Gbarpolu and Cape Mount. The shipment will contain a wide assortment of medicines, including pain relievers, antibiotics, anti-fungals, vitamins and infant formula and medicines to address upper respiratory ailments, among others. The 20-foot container will leave MAP International’s distribution center located in Brunswick, GA and arrive in Liberia by October.

In recognition of this achievement and in anticipation of helping even more Liberians, MAP is encouraging Liberian-Americans to donate funds to the program. Funds raised will be used specifically to purchase low cost generic medicines as part of the Global Essential Medicines & Supplies program (GEMS).

MAP International is a global Christian health organization that partners with people living in conditions of poverty to save lives and develop healthier families and communities. Recognized for its 99% efficiency rating, MAP responds to the needs of those it serves by providing medicines, preventing disease, and promoting health to create real hope and lasting change.

“MAP International is excited to partner with the Liberian Diaspora to send millions of dollars worth of essential medicines there. Over the years, Liberia has found a special place in our heart as we have partnered with international and local NGOs, as well as critical access health facilities and short-term medical teams. We ask our friends who wish to join in our efforts in Liberia to donate to our campaign,” says Michael Nyenhuis, President and Chief Executive of MAP International.

“The Government of Liberia is very pleased and excited to partner with MAP International on this important occasion. We will work with MAP International’s leadership to help ensure a speedy and efficient process in the delivery of critical medicines to the various clinics throughout the Republic of Liberia. The Government of Liberia has agreed to provide resources and support to help celebrate this worthwhile effort,” says Cynthia Blandford Nash, the Liberian Honorary Consul General in Atlanta.

Donate to MAP Int’l online at www.map.org or by mail to MAP Int’l, 4700 Glynco Parkway, Brunswick, GA 31525. CONTACT: Scott Walters, Chief Development Officer, (678) 756-1882 or swalters@map.org

Cote d’Ivoire

• This past month, MAP staff engaged in nine days of Buruli Ulcer awareness in 12 primary schools, reaching 59 teachers and 3,905 students who now understand Buruli Ulcer and how it can be prevented and identified. In addition, 12 surgeons and 6 anesthetists were trained in Buruli Ulcer case management and special surgical techniques.

• As part of the ongoing relief efforts in the IDP camp at Duekoue, MAP organized teams of medical doctors who saw 3,124 patients this month.

Kenya

• Kenya is heavily affected by the current Horn of Africa crisis. Many Kenyans are going hungry, and the country is now supporting hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees. The Total Health Villages of Burangi and Kilonga have been highly affected and are in desperate need of food aid. MAP is formulating a plan and gathering funding to intervene in these areas.

Indonesia

• MAP collaborated with the Ministry of Education (MoE) at the sub-district level facilitating a seminar on youth reproductive health in Tello that was attended by 160 senior high school students.

• Community members in the Lahusa Total Health Village Cluster continue to increase food security by planting more seeds in their gardens and attending training sessions on crop production.

Ghana

• MAP Ghana supported the Nkoranza South District Health Management Team to carry out training on BU for 114 community-based surveillance volunteers in the Nkoranza South District.

• Supported St. Theresa’s Hospital’s team on Buruli Ulcer to carry out health outreach and case search on BU in two communities in the Nkoranza South District where 141 people were reached.

Honduras

• Trained the people of the Nueva Armenia/Garifuna community on the use of mosquito nets and took blood samples to determine the disease prevalence of malaria in the community.

Bolivia

• Former health promoters, including children, adolescents, and women’s groups, were trained in respiratory diseases, relief unguents and anti-inflammatory products, Chagas prevention, nutrition, and sewing.

• Children advocated to authorities on their right to have safe family and home environments, demonstrating the power of their voices and capacity to make a difference in unjust systems.

Ecuador

• MAP facilitated trainings and workshops for 692 health promoters in topics ranging from pregnancy prevention to first aid.

• 1,020 adolescents have been reached through workshops on healthy sexuality and pregnancy prevention this month • In the Valle del Toachi community, over 1,000 used bottles have been collected to use in the building of the Health House

with ‘plastic bricks’.

Uganda

• Procured over $40,000 of essential medicines through the Irish Aid supported project to support health centers in remote and needy areas treating malaria, HIV/AIDS, and providing good ante-and post-natal care.

• The MAP Uganda office has been carefully monitoring the Horn of Africa drought situation, especially in the northeast where many of MAP program communities have been affected. Interventions are currently underway.

For all you MAP supporters, fans, and employees, here is a healthy dose of perspective, MAP-style. We’ve gathered some big facts on MAP’s programs, and I hope the staggering impact will give you a sense of just how much difference you are making by being involved. This one in particular blew me away: 2 billion people have been touched by MAP medicines and programs. That is a full one third of the entire global population! Which one do you find most compelling? Let us know in the comments?

MAP Quick Facts

Over 3,000 containers have been shipped in ongoing partnerships with 20 major partners and over 2,500 sub- partners thereby providing roughly 750,000,000 treatments. 24,510 Travel Packs® and 7,222 Johnson and Johnson Medical Mission Packs® and 22,000 custom orders have been sent with medical missionaries providing a total of 87,872,600 treatments. These medicines add up to a total of 837,872,600 treatments that have transformed the lives of individuals and families totaling well over 2 billion people worldwide.

Since 1971, the MAP Fellows program has sent 1,951 medical students to 71 countries as an opportunity to complete requirements for medical school in a developing country and expand their horizons of understanding regarding global medical missions.

Through country office programs, MAP is fighting for the prevention and control of the following Neglected Tropical Diseases: Lymphatic Filariasis (Kenya), Chagas (Bolivia), Buruli Ulcer (Cote d’Ivoire & Ghana), Rabies (Bolivia), Trachoma (Kenya), Leprosy (Ghana), Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis (Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Indonesia, Ecuador, Bolivia).

MAP Kenya performed 130 operations for Lymphatic Filariasis, a painful and embarrassing NTD that cripples and marginalizes its victims.

MAP played a key role in eradicating Guinea Worm Disease from Cote d’Ivoire along with The Carter Center and UNICEF Cote d’Ivoire.

There are currently 55 Total Health Villages in various stages of development in the eight countries where MAP has a field presence, impacting a population of roughly 75,000.

In 2010, MAP International distributed 650 water filters in 7 countries, which has dramatically improved the health of over 9,000 people. MAP has plans to continue to grow this program.

Through the CUBE program in Bolivia, 816 victims of sexual abuse have received support and free social, medical, therapeutic and juridical services, and 138 offenders have been convicted for their crimes

In 2011, MAP Ecuador influenced the formation of 400 adolescent Education Facilitators who have made a choice to exercise gender equality and prevent teen pregnancy and HIV-AIDS and who are influencing 6,000 of their peers. This program is recognized by the Ministry of Education as one of the most effective Comprehensive Sexuality Education programs.

Around 1,000 health promoters are trained each year in all eight countries where MAP has an established presence.

You can download a copy of this report here.

Background: In Northeastern Kenya, 1,500 new Somali refugees are arriving each day into Dadaab refugee camp; this year alone, Dadaab camp has received 60,000 new arrivals to a camp that was already overflowing.  Driven by hunger, sickness, and desperation, refugees walked for 30 days to Dadaab on the Somalia-Kenya border.  International aid organizations have been mounting an effective response but they are struggling to keep up with the rising influx of refugees. Medicines are desperately needed in the camp where poor sanitation, crowding, and existing infectious diseases create a dangerous environment for the refugees.

Update:

1. With the funding support received from a donor over the weekend, MAP has mobilized two Interagency Emergency Health Kits to support the relief response of long-standing MAP partner International Medical Corps (IMC).  The two IEHK kits are planned for shipment by air later this week and should arrive next week in Kenya to be used among the health facilities where Dadaab IDP Camp is located.   These kits will supply enough drugs and emergency medical supplies to provide medical care for 20,000 people for 3 months.  MAP is planning to send two additional IEHKs over the next few weeks to support the IMC medical response.  Cost = $30,000
2. The MAP Kenya Team is conducting an assessment in Dadaab camp and will be linking up with relief response partners.  Pending the results of the assessment, we are hoping to mobilize experienced, in-country health professionals to support a medical relief response with locally procured medicines and supplies.  Plans are for them to work in 2-week shifts and provide emergency medical care in the camps for at least 2 months.  Cost = $40,000
3. With part of the funding already received, MAP is supporting Integral Alliance partner responses in the region with NFI (Non-Food Items) distribution, shelter, water-trucking, nutritional therapeutic feeding, rehabilitation of water catchments, and similar crisis interventions.  We hope to continue support for these partners with additional funding.  Cost = $30,000

Amount needed:  To carry out this expanded response through our MAP Kenya team and through our partners, we are requesting an additional $100,000 to continue serving on the frontlines in this growing crisis.

Contact:  

Kipp Branch: e-mail Kbranch@map.org or by phone: 912-280-6663

MAP International, 4700 Glynco Parkway, Brunswick, GA 31525

MAP Bolivia’s most prominent accomplishment, however, has been to raise awareness and push for cultural and legal change on the issue of child sexual abuse. According to research conducted by MAP Bolivia, one in three girls and one in five boys in Bolivia are sexually abused by a caregiver. The Support Centre for Child Victims of Sexual Abuse is one of the most comprehensive and holistic programs on child sexual abuse prevention in the country, providing comprehensive services for the care of child victims of sexual abuse. Perhaps most importantly has been the passage of Law 3773: The Solidarity with Victims and Against Sexual Aggression Act. Legal, psychological, social and medical support has been provided to 537 victims of sexual abuse, achieving convictions in 98 cases.

Congratulations to José Miguel and the entire MAP Bolivia team! Your tireless work continues to be an inspiration for MAP staff and supporters around the world, and your selfless nature is a powerful testament of Christ’s love and mercy in a part of the world that so desperately needs both.

Disaster Overview:

The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years following two consecutive failed rainy seasons (2010- 2011). An estimated 12 million people lack access to food and are unable to meet basic survival needs. Emergency levels of acute malnutrition are widespread. UN officials say that in recent months perhaps tens of thousands of people have already died. The most severely drought affected countries are Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia; though parts of North Eastern Uganda are also under severe stress. (See map.)

Horn of Africa Famine affected areas are:

• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Somalia
• Parts of Northern Kenya
• Parts of North Eastern Uganda

In Uganda:

We already have a Food Security Support program in the Karamoja region of North Eastern Uganda where we are working in partnership with the World Food Programme. Our work is through a food-for-work and nutrition supplementation program, where we are addressing the following:

Short term: making water, food, and nutritional supplements available (this is being done through a food-for-work program). Medium term: using the food-for-work program to plant crops such as maize, sorghum, and other millets so that in 3 months the community will also have a crop to harvest and be less dependent only on food aid. This food-for-work program is also being used to rehabilitate the ‘water holes’ used by the community for their cattle.

Long term: The food-for-work program is also being used for micro watershed development activities for extensively creating soil and water conservation structures and tree plantation that will help improve the environment, increase the critical number of trees in the area and make it more conducive for attracting rain clouds to the area.

In addition we are planning a large scale response to cover a population of around 29,000 people for which we have submitted a proposal to a donor agency and are awaiting funding. When this funding comes through we will be able to expand further and intensify the program above. This program is likely to continue for at least a year (funding required: USD 235,000)

Medicines are locally required for treating diseases such as Malaria, G iardiasis, Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis and supplementing vitamins as required. (funding required: USD 10,000)

In Kenya:

We already work in 4 of the areas in Kenya that are affected (Kilonga, Kagwa, Esonourua and Malindi) helping villagers to be less food insecure. We are waiting for additional support to enhance these activities as well (funding required: USD 200,000)

While MAP does not have a presence in Somalia, Eritrea or Ethiopia, MAP’s Integral Alliance partners are working in these countries and any funds we are able to raise for this will be channeled through the Integral Alliances’ JDMP (Joint Disaster Management Project).

Yaa’s Story

Yaa Kwamaa is a 55 year old woman from Aboabo, a suburb of Dormaa Township. She is married with eleven grown children.

Upon discovering a small nodule on her right leg about a year and half ago, she did the ‘normal’ thing of first applying some herbs, and when that failed reported to the clinic nearby. However, none of the nurses could help her due to the lack of skills in recognizing and managing Buruli Ulcer and watched helplessly as an ulcer consumed her leg while she was hospitalized for 4 months. The last resort was for the family to leave her to a spiritualist to deliver her from the ‘witchcraft’ inside of her.

Six months later, Yaa Kwamaa was discovered by the district health team after radio announcements were made in an active case search to find and treat the many hidden cases of Buruli Ulcer. The case search also helped build the capacity of the health workers in the area to manage the disease with financial and technical support from Map International Ghana.

Thankfully, Yaa Kwamaa has completed her treatment and the ulcer is almost healed. She is now very glad to be walking again and thankful that the nurses can help her, but above all she is delighted that she is no longer excluded from the family.“I am very happy that my children have accepted that I am not a witch.  I was neglected by my own children, but now they call, want to visit and buy things for me. I am very grateful to MAP International for the tremendous support. God bless you.”

Yaa is now a strong advocator for BU care. She has helped many others discover and managed their cases, by spreading the word on BU, and even helping patients with wound care practices.  

Map International continues to support the Dormaa district health administration to train their health staff to deal with the many cases that are now arising that were previously not considered endemic to Buruli ulcer.

Samuel’s Story

Samuel Oppong, a 36 year old native of Kranka who is a husband and father of four, was accused of having committed adultery with a married woman when nodules, which later developed into large ulcers, were found on his genitals and the inner parts of his left thigh. . This accusation was accepted by all, including his family, because it came from the native doctor after he consulted with the spirits, but such behavior had not been witnessed before.  Movement became difficult for him and he was rendered bedridden due to the severity of his situation and neglect of family members.

The situation lasted till Esther, the nursing officer in-charge at Kranka health centre, attended training on BU case identification, management and referral. The training session was organized for health workers in the Nkoranza North District and supported by Map Ghana. After returning from training, Esther identified Samuel’s case as Buruli Ulcer and referred him to the Holy Family Hospital.

Samuel was admitted at the Holy Family Hospital, placed on antibiotics for two months, and has had a first skin graft done to help his ulcers to heal faster. After this period, his ulcers began to heal and  he was discharged home. Now he goes to the health centre every morning where his wound is dressed by Esther while he is  preparing for a second skin graft which is to be carried out at the big teaching hospital in Kumasi.

Samuel is very happy now as he is accepted again by his wife and children. They now accept the condition was not due to a curse but due to the bacteria that can be cured with drugs. He lives happily in his family house and he looks forward to soon resuming his work and normal life.

Since it’s beginning in 1993,  MAP’s Travel Pack® program have shipped 28,500 packs to 115 countries. That is a fact that we at MAP are extremely proud of. We estimate that over 17,000,000 treatmentshave been sent with medical missionaries in these Travel Packs.  For those readers infamiliar with our Travel Packs, I would like to introduce you to a program that has saved countless lives, and for those readers who are Travel Pack veterans, be encouraged by the difference that you are making in the communities across the world.

The Travel Pack program was designed by physicians experienced in missions to help short-term medical mission teams acquired the most essential medicines and medical supplies for the developing world. It is designed to relieve the time consuming and lengthy process of identifying diseases common to developing countries and then choosing appropriate medicines to take. Most commonly, Medical teams set up clinics in the developing world and use medicines provided in the Travel Pack to eradicate solvable problems. MAP partners with Johnson & Johnson to provide Tylenol, Band-aids, toothpaste, cold medicines, antibiotics, and much more. All medicine is packed in 1.5 cubic feet boxes allowing medical teams to designate them as carry on items while flying.

MAP offers three options when purchasing a Travel Pack. The Travel Pack ESSENTIAL® provides mission teams with one pre-packed box of the most vital medicines, while The Travel Pack ORIGINAL® provides two pre-packed boxes. For the third option, medical teams can custom order medicines from our warehouse for a specific community at competitive prices. The custom order will be expedited in 4-5 weeks. These options give plenty of variety for any organizations participating in short-term missions. If you are an organization looking to purchase a Travel Pack, click here order a Travel Pack Original for $400 or a Travel Pack Essential for $250 until the end of September as a part of our Customer Appreciation Quarter. 

This fiscal year, we have shipped 1,176 packs to 68 different countries through the month of June with an average US wholesale value of $14,000 per pack. Here is what customers are saying:

“The MAP order included a good, basic variety of medications for our medical mission.  Global Brigades continues to use your packages because they are well-equipped with useful medicine.”

 -Lisa Simpson, Honduras

“Six weeks prior to the trip, I adopted my pastor’s ‘doing whatever it takes’ mentality to make this second medical mission a reality.  With limited time, I scrambled to find appropriate medicines and medical supplies.  To find MAP International online was like a dream come true.  The Travel Pack Essential was not only a great selection of adult and pediatric medicines, but it arrived in the short time remaining.”

-Karen L. Connelly, MD, Dominican Republic

We praise the Lord and rejoice that his Kingdom is being brought to earth through MAP’s Travel Pack program.

Still curious about Travel Packs? Here are the FAQs for the program.

Editor’s Note: This week we have a guest blog from Scott Walters, MAP’s Chief Development Officer. Scott is presently traveling in Uganda along with Michael Nyenhuis, MAP’s President and CEO, as well as Dr. Ravi Jayakaran, MAP’s Vice President of Global Programs. They are visiting different MAP programs, encouraging MAP’s Uganda staff, and meeting with sister NGO’s in the country. The team is currently in Gulu visiting the Total Health Villagein the Abala community. Here, Scott discusses an empowerment tool developed by Dr. Jayakaran which uses simple plant seeds to empower villagers to participate in community problem solving without any outside assistance.  This ten seed technique enables locals to develop a situation analysis of their village, and probe into different dimensions of a issue- whether literate or illeterate, male or female, young or old- everyone can participate

Dr. Ravi and I arrived here in Gulu thanks to the expert driving of Jimmy, Map’s Uganda country leader.  It was a full day’s drive from Kampala.  We literally crossed the Nile River over an absolutely stunning waterfall and rapids.  Once on the other side of the bridge, we had to stop for a group of monkeys who apparently thought they owned the place.  No exaggeration, it was quite fun! 

I saw some things along the road that were absolutely fascinating.  Scores of children all dressed in the same brightly colored uniform walking along the highway with no shoes.  After 5 or so kilometers, another score of children again all dressed in stunningly bright clothing – all the exact same color but different from the group 5 kilometers back.  And this happened mile after mile nearly all day.  I think I noticed one pair of shoes in the thousands of children I saw.  I also saw many men pushing bicycles with 4-5 huge bundles of bananas or sometimes huge baskets of pineapples who were probably heading to market. 

Once we arrived here in Gulu, my jaw dropped.  This village is beyond description.  The poverty is staggering. I had the opportunity to experience first hand, Dr. Ravi’s Corporate Community Empowerment Index using the distribution of the seeds.  Funny, but I have read about it, watched Dr. Ravi’s lectures, and also have spoke with him many times, but now I truly get-it.  It’s so simple, its ingenius.  Within the Ugandan Total Health Village of Abala, village leaders gathered under a tree to discuss various aspects of public health.  They distributed seeds among various circles that Dr. Ravi drew with a stick in the dirt.  For instance, he drew two concentric circles and asked everyone, “Since you have been using the water filters that we supplied, how has it affected the number of stomach problems people have experienced here in your village?”  Following a lengthy discussion, we discovered that stomach problems decreased 60%.  This after a robust discussion among the community leaders who kept redistributing the seeds until a group consensus was reached.  The genius in the system is that no matter what age, sex or education level – everyone quickly understands the concept of ratios and participates.  It was interaction at its best.  And the beauty of it was that neither Dr. Ravi or any other MAP Int’l staff member told people what do to or directed them how to act, etc.  It completely empowered the people of Abala in their discussion.  Dialogue helped us to identify correlary issues that should be

The Ten Seed technique in use

 addressed in the future.  The people of Abala enjoyed the discussion and you could see they had a great deal of passion for the various issues address whether it was maternal and child health, food security, or water and sanitation.  Dr. Ravi’s system works.  He is a blessing to MAP but more importantly a blessing for our efforts in Uganda. Jimmy, Dr. Ravi and I are certainly blessed to be here. 

Please pray for our team as they continue to travel in Uganda. For more on the ten seed technique, click here. Check back for more updates from the team!

Left to Right: Alanna, Country Director Elvi, and Sarah

Today, I would like to share with you an excerpt  from Sarah Wangai’s On a Mission recap. Sarah is one of two college students selected to travel with MAP International to Indonesia and participate with MAP’s Tello Mobile Clinic. The journey was a great learning experience and brought Sarah’s dreams another step closer to reality:

This trip mostly opened my eyes to incorporate everything I learned in theory in school but also taught me life lessons and urged me to draw from my life experiences as a pre-med student and international student. This job requires prayer, aptitude, and flexibility. Not only are you obligated to fit into the culture but also required to be fully in God’s word, seeking Him each and every day as He works through you. I now know why it is so important to have a staff from the country office working in the offices. So many times Dr Kiiti talked about what an asset it is, but seeing it firsthand made it all click. They know the culture already and know how to interact with the villagers already. They were able to respond to situations quickly and know exactly what to do.

Above all the good conversations, learning about the Indonesian culture, all the wonderful project ideas that we discussed, this trip was a time for me to really reinforce my dreams and aspirations. I had fallen in love with the culture and the people of Indonesia and I had already started thinking about coming back. I knew I had a passion to pursue public health, but I didn’t know I was going to love it as much as I did. I learned what development work and public health meant to me. I can say that this trip has totally changed my life and really awoken the fire in my heart for public health and inspired me to pursue it with everything I have. To me, pursuing a career in public health would not be about the money and how it would benefit me, but it would be about the people I would be serving. Not only so but a two-way process where I can learn from them and they can learn from me. MAP International has truly inspired me to take my dreams to another level. For that I am eternally grateful.

I thank God for the work he is doing in the hearts of the people that we visited and the villages we were in. I thank Him for the Tello team because without Him and His provision, their work would not be as meaningful as it has proven to be on our trip.MAP international, thank you for reinforcing my dreams and causing me to learn and work towards my dreams.

To read Sarah’s recap in its entirety, click here. Have you had an experience like Sarah’s which has inspired you to follow your dreams? If so, we want to hear about it in our comments area.

The first is a Buruli ulcer treatment program. If you are unfamiliar with Buruli ulcer, it’s a disease that mainly affects a patient’s skin. The causative organism actually belongs to the same family of organisms that cause leprosy. A small nodule from Buruli ulcer can turn into a destructive, infectious sore. Similar to leprosy, the effects of this disease run deeper than just the skin as Buruli ulcer often harms a patient not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Patients are sometimes shunned from their families and friends as this disease spreads on their body. MAP Ghana is fighting to quickly diagnose cases of Buruli ulcer and give patients treatment at an early stage of the disease. Here is a success story from our Ghana team, as treatment of Buruli ulcer has dramatically improved Bintu’s life:

Bintu with her mother

Two years ago, a little nodule that appeared on her right leg developed into a large ulcer.  While she could still manage to walk to school with the ulcer, her school mates and friends began avoiding her, which eventually led to her dropping out of school in 7^th grade. Little could be done for Bintu because the nurses in the clinic nearby did not have any knowledge or skill in managing such large ulcers at the time.

Many hidden cases of Buruli ulcer came to light including Bintu’s after radio announcements were made by a new district health team. This team along with financial and technical support from MAP International Ghana is dedicated to finding and treating the many hidden cases in the district, as well as building the capacity of the health workers to manage the disease.

Now Bintu has completed the antibiotic treatment and is appropriately managing the ulcer. With further support from Map International, Bintu plans to get a skin graft over the remaining ulcer to help the wound heal completely.

Soon Bintu will be able to return to school. The prospect of resuming her normal life already makes her very excited. “I am very happy that the nurses can now help me. I want to be like a normal girl” she says. Bintu’s mother is very excited as well, “I am very grateful to you (MAP International), you can take her with you anywhere and I know she will be safe.”

MAP will continue to help the Dormaa district health administration train the health staff to deal with the many cases of Buruli ulcer that were previously not considered endemic to the disease.

MAP Ghana’s second program is the Total Health Village in Tumiamayenko. MAP currently has 12 THVs in operation and many more are in the planning stages. Each of which is an innovative project that facilitates self-empowerment so that communities are able to solve most of their own problems. The program is set up so that MAP is not a service provider, but rather a facilitator guiding the communities to identify their own needs, analyze their own situation, and engage in solving their own problems. This low input cost strategy impacts about 1,000 people in each village including Mr. Jonas Boateng. Here is his story:

 

Mr. Boateng with his net

Mr. Jonas Boateng, a married man with three children, is a farmer and a community member of the Total Health Village in Tumiamayenko. He lives along with his parents and two siblings.

His family has experienced frequent malaria attacks as a result of mosquito bites and spent a significant portion of his resources on medications.

 With the support of Map Ghana through the Malaria Free Zone project, Mr. Boateng’s family was provided with insecticide treated nets. His entire family is now protected from mosquito bites and its associated diseases. These simple nets free up his family’s time, energy, and money, that would usually be used retrieving and paying for medications, to be used on something productive.

 He is very happy and praises Map Ghana for providing him and his family with insecticide treated nets. He says, “I am very thankful to God for bringing Map Ghana our way. Before Map Ghana came here, my family and I used to suffer from malaria as a result of mosquito bites, but thanks to Map Ghana, we now sleep peacefully and are healthy because we are protected from mosquito bites.”

These are just two of the hundreds of stories of how MAP is bringing Health and Hope to West Africa. Do you have any stories of Health and Hope? If so, share them in the comments area.