Garage sale nets 3 scholarships for MFM.
Ian Bravendar and friends, high schoolers in Columbus, OH, held a garage sale to benefit MFM. They earned enough to help 3 Malian students go to high school in the capital city Bamako. What a great job!
Recent Updates
Laura Delaney recognized for service by DMU
Laura Delaney, PA-C, M.P.A.S., physician assistant program, has received Des Moines University Faculty Organization service award in June, 2011.
Timber Ridge helps MFM medical team
Timber Ridge beef jerky goes to Mali
Local Iowa retailer Timber Ridge donates beef jerky sticks to MFM med team. Dr. Laura reports that the team used the beef jerky to keep themselves going during long days in the clinic.
- Timber Ridge beef jerky fuels med team.
Dr Laura treats child with leg wound
Medicine For Mali brunch
We all had a fun time in Columbus, OH as friends, neighbors, and family gathered to listed to Jill discuss this years public health and education efforts in Mali. Thanks mom! And, thanks to everyone who attended!
Altrusa Backs Schools with Grant
Altrusa of Columbus, OH, has given MFM a grant to help promote all students, especially girls, continuing their education. This service organization is supporting our tutoring program where students, with emphasis on girls, get extra classes during the week. MFM has also begun a teacher training program where district officials observe and give practical solutions to common teaching problems. As a first step this year, the management committees and parent committees were trained in their roles and responsibilities. The people attending told of their learning with great enthusiasm and gratitude. They had not know what their tasks were. What a difference this training will make.
Thank you, Altrusa of Columbus for helping to make this happen.
MFM 2011 trip was a huge success
The MFM 2011 trip was a great trip. We got many very worthwhile projects done. the med clinic saw 2000 patients. 500 micro loans were given out, mainly to women. Installation was complete on 3 new clean water systems. Public Health projects are moving ahead with great vigor, including the first written village health records, villages using the information in the Vital Stats books to determine and find solutions to their particular health problems, and increased training for the village matrons who assist in births.
The MFM teams had many new faces this year. The groups really worked well together from the beginning. It was soon nearly impossible to tell the new people from the more experienced MFM volunteers. This was great.
Villages to use Vital Stats to help solve their own health problems
In 2010, one village had 7 deaths of children under 4 years old due to malaria. This information is in the Vital Stats notebooks that the MFM village volunteers are keeping. MFM will have a training to help the village and volunteers work together to use this information to highlight problems and then find solutions. In MFM trainings, our volunteers are taught methods to fight malaria; for example, use more bednets and get rid of mosquito breeding grounds. In the following year, the village can use the Vital Stats books to see if fewer children died,if their solutions worked or determine what else needs to be done. This is the beginnings of democratic governance.
Virginia Gildersleeves grant
Virginia Gildersleeves International Fund (VGIF) has given MFM a grant for a midwife to go out to our 8 villages to supervise our matrons (woman in the village who assists women with births.) This is a follow up grant to the first VGIF grant which allowed us to train the matrons in safe delivery practices. Now these brave women will have a midwife to monitor their work and assist them in honing their skills to a new level.
The matrons were so grateful for the first training. Several told me “Now I understand the birth process.” This grant will give them the opportunity to discuss with and learn from midwife.
Thank you VGIF!
Updated by @MedicineForMali