A CONTAINER OF HOPE FOR CHILDREN IN PERU

A 40-FOOT CONTAINER IS CARRYING DESPERATELY-NEEDED MOBILITY & MEDICAL EQUIPMENT TO ORPHANS AND IMPOVERISHED FAMILIES



A shipping container loaded with more than 600 pieces of medical supplies and mobility equipment will change the lives of hundreds of children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy when it arrives later this month in Camana, Peru. This long-awaited shipment-- the result of a partnership between SOS and Medical Ministries International-- represents transformative change for so many children from this underserved area. 

 “The mothers of these children will carry them on their backs– even when they are not much bigger than them themselves,” says nurse volunteer Lori Greenwalt who spearheaded the fundraising efforts over the last two years. “Without wheelchairs, mothers are sometimes forced to leave these children in bed or transport them in wheelbarrows. It is heartbreaking what these families endure.”

Greenwalt has been instrumental in supporting the work of the Medical Ministries Clinic in Camana that provides free medical interventions and physical therapy treatments to children with spinal bifida and cerebral palsy; they also have a mobile team that prioritizes getting to those who can’t make the trip to the clinic. “We have developed an outreach program with physical therapists who travel to orphanages in surrounding villages providing therapy and, now, mobility aids that are about to make a dramatic change in their quality of life.”

 The SOS connection is particularly valuable because medical equipment in Peru is “scarce and poorly made,” she explains. “With access to the right equipment and early interventions, these children can learn to use mobility aids and engage in their communities. You should see the joy on their faces when we put them into their own chairs,” says Lori.

The MMI Clinic serves more than 1200 children a month– providing regular therapy often two or three times a week throughout their entire childhoods. “Our goal is to enable them to eventually become as self-sufficient as possible and, in the meantime, to give them a childhood beyond a bed and four walls," she says. "With this shipment, we will be able to do that for hundreds of beautiful children.”

A STUDENT-BUILT CONTAINER CLINIC IS ABOUT TO CHANGE LIVES IN LIBERIA

In an exciting pilot project for the SOS Education Program, students at Madisonville North Hopkins High School have transformed a shipping container into a medical clinic stocked with SOS supplies



A remarkable hands-on learning project is connecting students in rural Kentucky with people in need in Liberia. It began last Fall with a phone call from Brian Welch, an award-winning teacher at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School.  “I had an idea for engaging my students in a life-changing project based on something similar at Texas A&M,” he says. “What if they could build a medical clinic out of a shipping container and send it to a country in the developing world?” Education Manager Chanda Fowler quickly sprang into action, connecting Brian with International Manager Giovani Nunes-Oliveira and UPS and the first official Container Clinic Project was in go mode. 

       Liberia was chosen as a destination because of its convenient coastal location, its urgent need and the fact that UPS partner Harry Kpoh was already raising relief funds there. “The area has no medical facility,” says Harry. “People walk seven miles to get to the nearest clinic– if they can make it. This clinic will change the lives of thousands of people.” 

When the fully equipped clinic– complete with labor and delivery beds– arrives later this fall, there will be medical professionals provided by the Ministry of Health ready to see patients. This gift from Kentucky students will prevent women from delivering babies unattended on the ground, spare children from malaria and improve health outcomes instantly– and, hopefully, for generations. “This is a powerful lesson not just about how a few young people can change the world,” says Fowler, “but it also opened up a global perspective for kids who may only have traveled an hour outside of Madisonville."

HELP US CHANGE AND SAVE LIVES!

Give for Good Louisville on Thursday, September 12, is a day of giving that supports participating nonprofits with matching gifts and prizes and raises millions of dollars in one huge, local philanthropic effort.

Please consider making a gift of any size to SOS at giveforgoodlouisville.org on this special day of community giving when Give for Good matches and prizes can increase your impact. 

And, please share our SOS Give for Good posts next week to spread the word!