SOS December News: Incredible impact stories from home and far away

A GIFT OF HOPE FOR LIBERIA

The first student-built container clinic arrived in Liberia this month-- bringing the promise of healthcare to an impoverished region

It’s a moment that seniors at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School have been planning for over a year. A fully equipped medical clinic– complete with labor and delivery beds– that they built with the help of their teacher, Brian Welch, was successfully delivered to rural Liberia this month. “Watching this project come to fruition has been life-altering for these students– many of whom have never traveled outside of the state,” says Welch. “In the end, this project involved over half of our school– roughly 550 students. It was my personal goal to put the philosophy that ‘Our students will one day change the world’ into practice.’”

Thanks to a collaborative effort with the school, SOS and our longstanding partner, Harry Kpoh, the container clinic will soon be operational and will serve over 200,000 residents who previously had to walk seven miles for medical services. “The joy of the container arriving in Liberia is overwhelming,” shares Kpoh. “This project will allow expectant mothers to give birth in a safe place and be cared for by trained medical staff. Currently, women in labor walk many miles or sometimes ride on bikes to get to health centers.” More updates will follow in 2025 as the clinic officially opens its doors. SOS is already in discussions about future container clinic projects!

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ELEVATING HEALTH ACCESS ONE NEIGHBOR AT A TIME

IN 2024, OUR LOCAL HEALTH PROGRAM SERVED MORE INDIVIDUALS IN NEED THAN EVER BEFORE

While SOS serves tens of thousands of local people through our support of social service agencies and safety net clinics, we have begun doing local health work on a more personal level– meeting needs one at a time through referrals from medical professionals and case managers. This work has spiked dramatically in the last three years– increasing three hundred percent to serve more than 400 individuals with nowhere else to turn in 2024. “These people are hurting and we have to help them,” says Local Health Manager Brian Jointer who answers these calls every day. “They are out of options.”

One of these individuals was Brittany, a recent college graduate and administrative assistant at Simmons College who came to our second Free Wheelchair Clinic to get new tires for her wheelchair. “Even with insurance, I was going to have to pay close to two thousand dollars for new casters and wheels,” she says. “So, I was just trying to push through– literally, getting around with deflated tires for months. It was exhausting!” Brian and our technician and former Volunteer of the Year Chris Maddox provided Brittany with new inner tubes and wheels that got her moving again. “I’m getting around and living the life now,” says Brittany who recently moved to her own apartment in Louisville from her mother’s house in Bagdad. “I feel like I got a brand new Cadillac!”

Glen came into the SOS warehouse with his healthcare worker, Tiffany, this Saturday when the staff made a special trip in to service his chair. Glen is a wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy and he had recently requested new batteries for his motorized chair but instead received a new chair from insurance that didn’t fit properly. “The seat was too small, the rear wheels spun and the chair tilted backwards,” explains Tiffany. “He felt unsafe– like he was going to fall out of it. He couldn’t go out independently at all.” After making an appointment with Brian, Glenn was set up with the new batteries he needed to get his old chair going again. Now he can get back to doing all of the things he loves– which include fishing, bargain hunting at Goodwill and going to action-adventures movies. He was so happy that, when leaving SOS he said, “I want to be an ambassador for SOS and tell everyone how amazing you are !”

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OUR FIRST TEDDY BEAR CLINIC PRODUCES SMILES AND SKILLS

A creative learning experience at McCracken County High School uses stuffed animals to teach invaluable health science lessons to high school and first grade students

It may be SOS’s most adorable photo opp, but the purpose of the Teddy Bear Clinic held at McCracken County High School late this fall was purely educational. “These clinics are a fun, immersive learning experience with a dual purpose,” says Education Manager Chanda Fowler. “They help high school students practice patient skills and they introduce young children to health sciences.” This particular clinic was a huge success– engaging sixty high school students from the HOSA program (Health Occupations) who acted as medical professionals, “performing” procedures on the bears while explaining each process to the 250 first grade bear “parents.”

This was SOS’s first partnership in a Teddy Bear Clinic and we provided all of the hands-on tools needed for simulated appointments and hands-on skills training– from stethoscopes to bandages and blood pressure cuffs. “The interactive stations let the younger students touch real medical equipment so they get an introduction to the health sciences and are less fearful and more relaxed when they go to the doctor,” says Andrea Heisner, the McCracken High School allied health science teacher who organized the event. The feedback she shared with Chanda was glowing: “Our SOS supplies and inventory guidance helped her create the best possible experience for all of the students involved,” she says. “We’re already talking about doing another one in the Spring.” And we’re not stopping there. SOS will be supporting Teddy Bear Clinics in Western Kentucky. Says Fowler. “This program checks so many boxes for us in terms of teaching hands on skills and addressing equity issues.”

EVERY DAY, SOS ANSWERS CALLS FOR HELP FROM PEOPLE IN MOMENTS OF NEED-- THE YOUNG, THE ELDERLY, THE UNHOUSED, THE FORGOTTEN

Thanks to supporters like you, SOS has been able to help over a million people in need in our own backyard and across the globe in 2024. A few highlights of our work this year include:

Hundreds of Indigenous women near Nam, Guatemala had pre- and post-natal care and safe deliveries due to five SOS-equipped mobile midwife units.

A container filled with $242,513.67 in medical supplies started its journey to the Butajira General Hospital in Ethiopia which serves 12,700 patients every month—mostly suffering from malnutrition, bacterial pneumonia and typhoid fever.

21,596 KY and Southern Indiana students received hands-on health and science instruction.

9,736 rescued animals received medical treatment.

YOUR SUPPORT ENSURES THAT SOS CAN RESPOND TO THEIR CALLS IN 2025. TOGETHER, WE CAN LET THOSE WHO ARE HURTING KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT ALONE.

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Cheers for our Volunteers!

Another big thank you goes out to our dedicated regulars and several new groups who recently sorted supplies going to Ethiopia, Benin and Malawi.

We couldn't do any of this without them!

BAPTIST HARDIN

UPS

Are you looking for a group activity that promotes camaraderie and accomplishes something you can all feel great about? SOS is a welcoming environment where thousands of volunteers spread health and hope by sorting medical supplies that will go to humans and animals in need.

Volunteer shifts can be scheduled Monday through Thursday, 9-12:00 or 1-4:00m or on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 9-12:00. Evenings are occasionally available.

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