Adams County, Ohio … It seems help often materializes just when it is needed. This was certainly the case after a recent trip to Malawi uncovered a desperate need in one of the hospitals. The “desperate need” part is not unusual. When working in one of the poorest nations on earth almost everything is in short supply and the desperation is real. What was unusual about this one was the way it all came together.
The visit to the hospital uncovered an extremely high mortality rate among recently delivered babies and their mothers. The doctor who has been struggling to cope with the problem noted to the visitors the fact his hospital had no post-natal unit. A room “yes”, but it was an empty room …. No equipment and very few supplies.
After board members for the Malawi Project returned to the States an unexpected call came from an unknown person in Adams County, Ohio. His name is Ralph and he noted he had recently sold a business, had funds he wanted to donate, and had investigated the Malawi Project and found they were reportedly respected and responsible. Even more, they needed a large amount of medical equipment for several hospitals. Not only the one recently visited, but others affected by the cyclone that struck earlier in the year.
After a short person-to-person introductory meeting, Ralph volunteered to buy and deliver the equipment that was needed. In less than a week he and his son traveled three times to a location north of Chicago to pick up and deliver to the Lebanon, Indiana gathering site all the equipment needed for the postnatal unit, on top of that he purchased equipment that could be sent to the other hospitals in need.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Malawi Project’s board of Directors was in contact with a second contributor, this one in Denver, Colorado. They also signaled a positive response to the need and offered to complete a request for medical equipment.
Suddenly the Lebanon warehouse, a building that had been woefully short of medical supplies and equipment just a few days earlier, was now ready to accept three 40-foot containers of medical equipment that would assist a large number of hospitals in Malawi. On top of that, the Project now has two more major contributors working together to serve the needs of the people of Malawi.
You too can join this team with your contributions to giving medical assistance to the people of Malawi. For more information write to Suzi Stephens RN, Medical Director for the Malawi Project. Write Suzi@MalawiProject.org for more information.
Picture: Ralph and his son packing a medical monitor for shipment to Malawi.