October 2018 e-news
Delivering a World of Health and Hope .
Denise Returns from Africa
Denise Sears, SOS President & CEO, has just returned from her two week trip through Africa. We highlighted some photos and updates on our social media, but you can hear Denise in her own words on this video.

The first stop was Nigeria where Denise met with government officials to introduce them to the mission of SOS. She toured several areas in need including a hospital in Kano State that lacked the supplies to treat a baby dying from encephalitis. Another stop was to one of many IDP (internally displaced persons) camps that each house 25,000 children and adults who have fled their homes from violent insurgencies and have no access to medical care. During her visit to rural Uganda, Denise visited numerous facilities in need of SOS support including the Mama Sabina Community Health Center which serves an isolated village of 1,500. They are in desperate need of supplies and equipment to provide safe labor and delivery for mothers and medical care for the children who can die from a simple wound that goes untreated.

After witnessing so many heart wrenching situations, Denise traveled to Ghana to visit the UDS hospital in Wa and the Friends Eye Clinic in Tamale (which received containers of medical supplies and equipment in spring 2018). She witnessed the miracle of restored sight by the surgeries performed by Dr. Seth Wanye which he said would not be possible without the support of donated supplies from SOS. One of the patients was a nine year old boy who was blinded by cataracts and unable to walk without a guide. Denise was able to see him laugh with joy from being able to see again and the promise of being able to return to school.

By seeing the positive impact of SOS donations in recipient facilities and the desperate need in others, Denise’s report and pictures call each of us to action to support the mission of SOS to deliver “health and hope”. In Denise’s words, “I witnessed the “ health ” delivered to children and parents, and I saw the “ hope ” in the eyes of every child and adult that I met. Our vision of “delivering health and hope” became more than words on paper for me. It has a face of each child and mother I met. “ 
Patients receive treatment at a rural hospital in Uganda.
Dr. Seth Wanye (left) of the Friends Eye Center with Anusha (center), whose sight was restored, and his father.
Denise met with many hospital and government officials during her two-week trip. Here she is in Nigeria delivering a suitcase filled with medical supplies for the local clinic.
Hospital rooms in Kano, Nigeria.
Health & Hope Breakfast
We are two weeks away from our Health and Hope Breakfast! We will be hosting numerous international partners, including Dr. Seth Wanye from Ghana highlighted above. New this year is a panel discussion entitled “Voices From the Field” where our local partners will sit down to speak about the local and global impact of Supplies Over Seas.

We would like to introduce you to our panel:

Scott Watkins is a dedicated hospital partner from Norton Healthcare and will moderate the discussion.

Bill Hollander , Metro Councilman from Louisville's 9th District is an environmental advocate and represents the district in which SOS is located.

Medora Safai from Safai Enterprises has worked with SOS to send a container of supplies to Honduras and has seen the need in medically impoverished communities up close.

Josh Rouse from Northeast Christian Church has done mission work in numerous countries over many years. NECC has named SOS one of their global partners.

Denise Smith RN, MSN Ed. from Sullivan University has worked with SOS to recycle expired medical supplies that benefit the education of the next generation of nurses.

We are so excited for this incredible panel and the discussion they will have. We will see you October 19th at The Olmsted ! Click here to reserve your seat(s) .
A Container Arrives in Peru!
In June we shipped a container to Paurcarpata, Peru where we partnered with a non-profit called Medical Ministry International. The container sent was focused on physical therapy and mobility equipment such as walkers, canes and wheelchairs.

This month the container arrived and was unloaded at the clinic in Paurcarpata. The local staff took these pictures and will update us regularly on how the supplies have improved lives!
A child-size gait trainer is unloaded.
A few of the 75 walkers delivered.
Stories From the SOS Family
Cassandra from Congo Health Connection with her box of medical supplies.
We had another busy month packing suitcases and boxes for medical teams headed around the world. We sent 569 pounds of medical supplies to Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Kenya, Cambodia and the Dominican Republic in September!

One story that stood out to us was from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Working with Congo Health Connection, we sent a custom box to Vanga, DRC. When a staff member arrived to pick up the box, she told us of a woman who had been injured and laid in the hospital all night with no sutures or bandages available to perform surgery. The box we packed for this hospital included 24 lbs of sutures and bandages in order to avoid a similar situation in the future.

 We also worked with Dr. Michael Wu from the Phoenix International Foundation to send 99 lbs of supplies to Siam Reap, Cambodia. Working in rural villages, Dr. Wu and his team will use the supplies to treat intestinal parasites, respiratory illness and GI infections. Over 800 people will be treated during the two week medical trip spearheaded by Dr. Wu!

As always, we will update you with pictures and stories from these medical trips when we receive them. Follow our social media for updates about our global medical workers.
Dr. Wu and his daughter at SOS before leaving for Cambodia.
Looking for Volunteer Hours?
The work we do cannot be accomplished without our volunteers and we had another amazing crew of volunteers in the warehouse this month. The next generation of nurses and doctors, retirees and everyone in between work hard every month and share our passion for helping others across the world. If you, your church group, students or friends and colleagues would like to volunteer with SOS, click here  to find out how!
Phi Delta Epsilon Medical Fraternity
Spalding University Nursing Students
Northeast Christian Church
Humana

Supplies Over Seas (SOS) is a Louisville, Kentucky-based nonprofit organization that meets critical health care needs in medically impoverished communities around the world by collecting and distributing surplus medical supplies and equipment.

These stories of Health & Hope can not happen without your support.

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 Feel free to send questions or ideas to admin@suppliesoverseas.com