December 2019 e-news
Delivering a World of Health and Hope .
Re-Building Hope in Malawi
Balaka, Malawi is still struggling back to its feet after Cyclone Idai displaced almost 100,000 people in March of this year. The local government is planning, assisting and building but locals remain out of work and out of their homes. Two weeks after Cyclone Idai made landfall, SOS teamed up with local NGO's WaterStep and Love the Hungry to send a First Response Pallet to Malawi that would serve as a literal and physical band-aid for the situation. Along with medical supplies, the pallet included water purification equipment and (since crops in the field were washed away) fortified meals that saved over 1,000 orphans cared for by Kasupe Ministries. Now, we have followed up that first response with a full shipment of much needed medical aid that will allow the community to heal from its wounds.

Dr. Fletcher Padoko, Executive Director of Kasupe Ministries, is an anchor in the Balaka community and a valued partner of SOS. Working with Dr. Padoko, SOS was able to coordinate both shipments as well as numerous suitcases of supplies to Kasupe Ministries and the children his organization care for. With this new shipment of medical equipment and supplies, Kapire Health Center and Balaka Hospital will now have the necessary tools to treat issues such as general surgery, nutrition related illnesses, malaria and other infectious diseases.
In the season of Thanksgiving this shipment and it's connection to Louisville held a special place in our hearts. Marian Cochran (pictured below) , a Louisville resident, friend of SOS and friend and host to Fletcher Padoko funded this container with her sisters from the estate of her mother who passed earlier this year. Marian's mother had met Fletcher and was amazed by the work he does for the people of Malawi; Marian told us that funding this shipment was the best possible thing to do in memory of her mother. Marian even wrote a message inside the container door for the people of Balaka to see when the container arrives in February. The entire story - helping re-build a community after devastation and our neighbors conveying compassion and solidarity for people a world away - is a story of Thanksgiving we shouldn't soon forget.
Marian Cochran with the container.
Fletcher Padoko at SOS, August 2018.
Assisting Education in Louisville
Every month, we're breaking records with the amount of supplies donated back into our own community. In November, thanks to our Hygiene Giveaway (pictured) and amazing local partners, we donated almost 6 tons of supplies to organizations throughout the city!

Our donations to local nursing programs is ever-increasing allowing SOS to supply instructors from Spalding, Bellarmine and Sullivan Universities (among many others) with the necessary supplies to train our next generation of nurses and healthcare professionals!
The items we donate locally are not able to be shipped overseas for a variety of reasons, so instead of being thrown away, SOS finds creative and sustainable outlets where they can be used for training in the classroom! David Stewart RN, BSN and Nursing Lab Coordinator at Spalding University (pictured), is a first-year educator and we have steadily supplied him with tools needed to fill his curriculum. Instructors at Bellarmine University have recently received supplies for a variety of programs including Medical Lab Science, Athletic Training and Nursing. If you think our donations could assist your classroom education please send us an email to see if SOS can help!

Take a look through our 2019 Impact Report to see even more stories of Health & Hope created this year!
You're Invited!
SOS Holiday Party
December 12th,
5pm-7:30pm

Join SOS on December 12th to celebrate the holiday season and celebrate the amazing impact created in 2019. RSVP here!
Thanks To Our Supporters and Sponsors
Thank you to our most recent Corporate and Foundation Partners for supporting the mission of SOS!
Sullivan University
Snowy Owl Foundation, Inc.
November Sponsor:


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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