“After working in Malawi for 17 years, I have seen many good programs that need a hand up. Nothing has excited me in quite the way ‘Care for the Caregivers’ has peeked my interest and excitement,” says Suzi Stephens, the Director of Medical Services for the Malawi Project. “I have never been more proud of my profession as when I work side by side with the most giving, dedicated nurses, who often work without pay when government funds are behind. Nurses who deliver babies barehanded when gloves are non-existent, who dress wounds of the critically ill, and clean up patients,in spite of having no protective gloves, will look you straight in the eyes and say, ‘I will eventually die of AIDS because of a lack of supplies, but my patients need me.’ Today that belief is coming true as nurse after nurse is dying from this dreaded disease and leaving countless numbers of children with no one to care for them, and no one to pay their school fees so they can lead their nation into a better, safer future. After meeting with the Medical Nursing Society, I was told I would be appalled at how many nurses are indeed HIV positive.”
Stephens, a registered nurse in the U.S., continues, “Today they are stepping up to help themselves and their children. ‘Caring for the Caregivers’ is the organization by nurses, for nurses and their children. A building is being built that will care for sick nurses, and money is being collected to send their colleague’s orphaned children to school. I cannot imagine a world without nurses, hospitals empty of a smiling, compassionate, professional nurse. If you are like me and want to honor those nurses and help them have a longer, compassion filled life, and then a comfortable death with the knowledge that their children will be cared for, you can contribute to this effort at:”
Caregiver Fund
Malawi Project Inc.
3314 Van Tassel Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46240
or by using our online donation service and adding the note, “Caregiver Fund”