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Mercy Provides Nutrition to Child, Cervical Cancer Treatment to Mother
Twenty-year old Mariama (not her real name) brought her tiny daughter Florence to a nutrition clinic at Mercy in March. Forced to leave school in 7th grade after getting pregnant, Mariama has no one to care for her and her daughter.
Baby Florence was identified as malnourished, and was additionally diagnosed with a respiratory infection. She was enrolled in Mercy's nutrition program, and treated for her respiratory infection for free.
Sister Augusta took the opportunity during this clinic to educate the young mothers about Mercy's free cervical cancer screening, and encourage them to participate. Mariama decided to take advantage of the free screening, and a small cancerous lesion was found. Luckily it was caught early enough to be treated with cryotherapy. Mariama had no way to pay for this treatment, so Mercy provided it free of charge.
Thanks to the nutrition program, Florence will continue to grow and thrive, and thanks to the cervical cancer screening and treatment Mercy provides, her mother will not have to add cancer to her list of worries.
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Mercy Outreach Offers Hope to
Severely Malnourished Infant
Hawa (not her real name) is a 20 year old mother with two children under the age of 3. She brought her youngest child to the Mercy outreach in Tikonkoh at the beginning of March. It was obvious just looking at the child that she was very small and malnourished.
The medical staff onsite guessed that she was between 2-3 months. Everyone was shocked to discover that she was actually 7 months. The average weight for a healthy seven month old is 17 pounds, but Mamie only weighed 7 pounds.
Mamie was immediately referred to Mercy Hospital and was admitted for 11 days. During that time, Mamie was given healthy food, including the new Bennimix supplement, and her mother received coaching from Mercy staff on how to ensure her baby will continue to gain weight.
During her stay at the hospital Mamie was able to gain two pounds! Mamie will remain in Mercy's nutrition program where she will receive Bennimix supplements and her progress will be monitored on a monthly basis.
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Quarterly Partnership Meeting
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Please join us for the next Quarterly Partnership Meeting on Sunday, March 26 at 2 p.m., when we will share important program updates on the Child Rescue Centre and Mercy Hospital.
Primary host site:
Helping Children Worldwide office
14101 Parke Long CT, STE T
Chantilly, VA 20151
(2nd floor above Design House Kitchens)
If you can't attend one of the meetings in person, you may call in to the meeting via WebEx conference call.
1-650-479-3208 Call-in toll number (US/Canada)
Access code: 805 041 771
There are so many exciting things happening in our programs - please join us to hear about how God is working through the Child Rescue Centre and Mercy Hospital!
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Child Rescue Centre Family Care and Microfinance Programs Offer Hope
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Already the mother of three, Aminata's husband abandoned them after she delivered twins. Desperate, the family lived for a while with an uncle, but when he passed away his widow kicked them out. With nowhere else to go, Aminata came to the CRC.
Her children were enrolled in the Family Care Program, and her oldest children were enrolled in school for the first time. Aminata now receives a monthly stipend that allows her to rent a room in a secure compound with a garden she cultivates. She sells some of her excess produce at the market, but she is also enrolled in the CRC's pilot microfinance project, learning new skills in budgeting, saving and business creation.
"Thank God we are living happily, eat every day, my children are going to school, and we are no longer begging," Aminata says. "I give thanks to God. I send thanks to HCW and CRC. Now we live a happy life."
Twenty-eight participants are enrolled in the Microfinance Program.
Participants are learning about budgeting, entrepreneurship and business management.
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Mercy OR Making Big Strides!
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Construction of the Operating Suite at Mercy continues on schedule. The concrete for the second floor was poured by hand using a bucket brigade in early March. If construction continues to stay on schedule, they will meet their target completion date of early June.
The addition of two operating theaters will ensure that Mercy can offer c-sections to women regardless of their ability to pay.
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SIP & SHOP - A Fun & Fashionable Way to Support Helping Children Worldwide
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Join us from 1PM-4:30 PM on Saturday, April 22 at Lord & Taylor in Dulles Town Center for the fashion event of the season. This event will feature wine, hors d'oeuvres, and a DJ. Relax and watch the latest trends come down the runway. After the show, you can try on the styles you like and enjoy 20% off your purchases.
All proceeds benefit Helping Children Worldwide.
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Helping Children Worldwide
New Fundraising Policy
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While we appreciate individual and church efforts to raise funds and conduct donation drives on behalf of our programs in Sierra Leone, it is critical that all such efforts be run through HCW so that we can ensure that efforts are in alignment with mission priorities identified by those in the field. Helping Children Worldwide works very closely with the staff of the Child Rescue Centre and Mercy Hospital to identify priorities for fundraising and donations.
Recently we have been made aware of an increase in fundraising campaigns that appear to be sanctioned by HCW but are in fact not. This has resulted in confusion and frustration from some of our donors and Partnership Churches, who have asked for clarification as they prioritize official HCW requests
To help our Partners and donors know what is sanctioned by HCW and what is not, any fundraising or donation requests that are officially sanctioned by HCW will bear the Executive Director's signature.
If you or your church is interested in conducting a drive or fundraiser, please contact HCW to ensure that efforts are aligned with CRC or Mercy needs. HCW is also happy to provide assistance and support in your fundraising efforts.
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