HEARTFELT THANKS FROM MALAWI

A container delivered to Malawi is already elevating medical care and supporting research that will promote sustainable change and improve health outcomes for generations.

“The SOS shipment to Malawi was just amazing and we can’t thank SOS enough for this impact to healthcare and research,” wrote Dr. Rochelle Holm, an associate professor with the University of Louisville Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute who is conducting wastewater-based research in the city of Blantyre, Malawi.

The epidemiology study is a long-term project at The Envirome Institute that will track the spread of infectious diseases including cholera in order to reduce and contain outbreaks. Through a partnership with Envirome, SOS provided equipment used in sampling and testing, but after a site visit from SOS board president Dr. Bethany Hodge, it was clear that there were other pressing needs in this impoverished and landlocked country. While touring the medical facilities of U of L’s research partners, Dr. Hodge observed empty supply closets and a lack of essential and equipment-- and knew she had to act: “There were things on their lists that I knew SOS had in their warehouse,” says Dr. Hodge.

After a collaborative fundraising effort, a 40-foot container packed with supplies and equipment valued at more than $380,077 arrived this May– providing critically-needed medical supplies and equipment that will be game-changers for a community that has talented doctors, but a lack of basic equipment needed to provide routine and emergency care.

One of U of L’s partners, Dr. Petros Chigwechokha, head of Malawi University’s Department of Biological Sciences, echoes Dr. Holme's reports that SOS supplies were put to use immediately and are already improving healthcare services for the community. Their joyful updates and notes of thanks are beautiful reminders of the transformative change that one shipment from SOS can bring to an entire region.

Top to bottom: Dr. Bethany Hodge, Dr. Petros Chigwechokha and Dr. Rochelle Holm; Dr. Hodge and research partner; Dr. Chigwechokha and Dr. Holm at Malawi University of Science & Technology; Dr. Holm in a data session with a Malawian U of L fan.

INSPIRING JCPS STUDENTS TO CONSIDER HEALTHCARE CAREERS

Through an innovative collaboration with University of Louisville medical students, SOS is grateful to be bringing the possibility of bright futures in medicine to Title I students.

A free, hands-on learning experience is connecting JCPS students from underserved communities with rewarding careers in the medical field. Nearly a hundred of them signed up to spend Saturday, November 2, at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, exploring opportunities in healthcare that ranged from doctor to EMT to physical therapist and practicing some of the real world skills used in these jobs. “The goal of mini med school is to open students’ eyes to the wide array of rewarding jobs they can pursue in the healthcare field– including some jobs they may never have even heard of before,” says Education Manager Chanda Fowler. “The hands-on learning helps to make it very real for them. They get a chance to practice real life skills and they realize that these jobs are within their reach!”

   This is the third mini med school hosted by SOS and Project Heal, a student organization at U of L School of Medicine. SOS supplies the equipment needed to create an immersive learning experience that introduces students to suturing, virtual laparoscopic surgery, physical exam skills and so much more. “It is exciting to watch these students gain confidence and enthusiasm right before your eyes,” says Fowler. One student commented, “I felt like I belonged. I will be graduating and applying to college as a pre-med major next year and these will be my people.”