Millions living in impoverished sub-Saharan African countries face daunting challenges on a daily basis for their very survival, with perhaps the availability of clean drinking water and food security at the top of the list.
However, besides water and food, access to affordable and convenient healthcare services, along with the medications and medical supplies in sanitary and well-equipped clinics, makes a huge difference in the lives of the residents of these countries, especially for children ages 5 and under, their mothers and the elderly.
Medicines and places to treat and prevent illnesses and injuries continue to be among the greatest needs in sub-Saharan African countries, and Sierra Leone, where Bread and Water for Africa® ships medicines, medical supplies and equipment as well as updating and renovating clinics, is no exception.
That’s why we have partnered for several years with Sierra Leone Mission and Development (SLMD) and Rural Youth Development Organization (RYDO) to provide these essential, life-saving items to small, rural farming communities such as Mokoba with its population of about 5,600… with nearly three-quarters being children and women.
More than two decades ago, the small clinic was constructed in the village and for all those years it has remained the sole local source of medical assistance for the thousands. Around five years ago it was threatened with closure by government authorities due critically needed refurbishment of the structure, including a damaged roof which allowed water in every time it rained.
But thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa® we were able to provide grant funding to keep it open and operating to treat patients including Jeneba who safely gave birth to twins at the Mokoba clinic, and also provided her with free medicines and food.
“I was blessed because when I saw the newly rehabilitated clinic,” she told us at the time. “Thanks to the Mokoba clinic and God almighty for the survival of my twins and me.”
Peter, the chief of the Mokoba community, also reported at the time: “Before, nurses would have to tell patients that there were no medicines at the clinic and patients would have to return home sick. But since Bread and Water for Africa started working with the clinic operators there has been a reduction of illness in my community.”
Sadly, the region experiences very high rates of malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and dysentery, to name but a few of the prevalent ailments the residents suffer from which is a significant factor in the life expectancy in the area to be only 38 years, roughly half that of those in the western world.
Today, we are working on shipping two 40-foot containers filled to brim with medical supplies donated by our partner here in the U.S. to Mokoba where children under the age of 5 years old face a 50 percent chance of survival – unless they can receive the vital medicines they need to treat their maladies and save their lives.
In addition to Mokoba Health Center, these medical supplies will be shared to more other village clinics to serve the most underserved communities across Sierra Leone.
A few years ago, 22-year-old mother Elizabeth brought her 7-month-old child who was having trouble breathing due to a severe acute respiratory tract infection to the Mokoba clinic where the child was admitted and treated with erythromycin, an antibiotic used to treat the symptoms of bacterial infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia.
Elizabeth spent one week at the health center and when her child began to respond positively to the treatment administered at the clinic, the child was discharged home, the clinic manager reported.
“Two weeks later, Elizabeth returned to the clinic and gave a happy progress report about her child’s improved health,” he added. “She is today happy with the service she received at the clinic and thanked God with tears in her eyes for the erythromycin treatment her child received there.
“She was lucky to visit the Mokoba Health Center where she had access to low-cost, or in her case, free, medical care,”
