Aid and Disaster Relief in the USA by Medical Missionaries
Medical Missionaries is a 100% volunteer organization, and we are grateful for all who come together to make our work possible. Thanks to our volunteers, donors, partnerships, and other supporters, we have accomplished much in 2018:
- Collected and delivered supplies to NC hurricane victims of Florence and Michael (September – October).
- Distributed hospital supplies and equipment to over 200 people locally in our DC/Northern VA area.
- Regular shipments of food, clothing, household supplies delivered to Appalachian “coal country” (southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia).
- Twenty-five van loads of clothing household items, and food went to isolated areas of western West Virgin
ia beyond Elkins. Regular shipments of food, clothing and household supplies were delivered to Appalachian “coal country” (southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia). - Collected and distributed new clothing, school supplies, and sporting goods to American Indian schools and reservations to the Sioux of South Dakota, Crow and Northern Cheyenne of Montana and Athabasca natives of Copper Valley, Alaska.
Over the summer, Dr. Gil Irwin made a cross-country trip distributing new clothing, school supplies, and sporting goods to American Indian schools/reservations to the Sioux of South Dakota, Crow and Northern Cheyenne of Montana and Athabasca natives of Copper Valley, Alaska.
International Aid and Shipments of Medical Supplies
This year, Medical Missionaries sent five sea containers of healthcare supplies, medical equipment and household supplies to those in need and to help build infrastructure in very poor areas of the world. These supplies were sent to Cameroon, Congo, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, and Syria, in addition supplies were also sent to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. We also provided aid to help other organizations send supplies to Peru and Jamaica.
We continue our work to improve medical care in the Central Plateau of Haiti. In addition to supporting St. Joseph Clinic (which we built and opened in 2007), we have expanded programs to include treating chronic diseases, and expanding healthcare into Thomassique’s outlying villages.
The Clinic treated more than 20,000 patients last year. Services included medical consultations, emergency room visits, treatment of chronic diseases, and conducting mobile clinics in the rural outlying villages.
Several Teams from the U.S. spent weeks at the Clinic and outlying villages to provide medical, surgical, and dental care. Construction teams also went to help maintain the Clinic grounds and buildings.
Our programs that focus on Maternal and Infant Care, Malnutrition, and Vaccinations all work towards improving the well-being of Haiti’s next generations and giving them the possibility of a healthier and brighter future.
- We administered over 7100 vaccinations to infants and children in the past year in the five outlying villages of Thomassique alone. A major factor in the low survival rate of newborns and infants in Haiti is the lack of widespread immunization. According to UNICEF, in 2016 approximately one-fourth of deaths worldwide among children under five were from pneumonia, diarrhea and measles, and could have been mostly prevented by vaccines.
- This year, we provided 3400 prenatal consultations (including dispensing supplements and medicines) that contribute to more safe deliveries. Over 450 babies were born at the Clinic, and over 2400 at-home births in the remote outlying villages were assisted by Matwons (Traditional Birth Attendants) who were trained at the Clinic. Every day over 800 women throughout the world die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and 99% of those deaths happen in developing countries.
The Medika Mamba Program continues to fight childhood malnutrition by providing a nutritional supplement to restore the health of malnourished children over a course of four to six weeks. Between 35-40 children have been participating in this program month-to-month
