Matt MacCalla, Direct Relief program officer for Asia, is in Padang assessing the continually changing needs following a devastating series of earthquakes that hit Indonesia in early October. Immediately following the initial quake, Direct Relief airlifted an emergency consignment of medical supplies valued at $976,200 to longtime partner Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia’s largest civic organizations, and accelerated a $60,000 grant
Read more →It’s Saturday night on one of the main streets of Kisumu town. Against the backdrop of a busy night scene—music blaring from a nearby shop, people of all ages milling about in the street—are six Coleman camping tents which have been set up on the side of the road. Three bare lightbulbs strung across the row cast a pale light
Read more →
Today I met Celestina, Nkwimba, Speciosa, and many other incredibly brave women who have found their way to the fistula ward at Bugando Medical Centre in Tanzania. Their stories are different but revolve around the same theme: prolonged and obstructed labor, often in a village in absence of a trained birth attendant. When no baby is delivered after many long
Read more →Hurricane Gustav took its toll on St. Charles Community Health Center, just outside New Orleans, which we visited on our last day. The main clinic was spared, but the Behavioral Health/Podiatry/Administration building across the street sustained severe structural damage. The roof was picked up, causing leaks and water damage and the fire escape was torn from the building and destroyed.
Read more →This morning we met with Emma Tanner at Capitol City Family Health Center in Baton Rouge. Capitol City moved into a beautiful new facility last December, where it offers primary care, dental services, HIV counseling/testing, immunization, mental health, lab testing, and nutrition education services. If a patient comes in for something like stitches, he can meet with a dentist, complete
Read more →This is a personal “From the Field” story by Direct Relief Employee Katie Lewis, USA Partner Liaison. We traveled about 60 miles northeast of Baton Rouge to visit Ginger Hunt, CEO at the RKM Primary Care Clinic in Clinton, a very rural part of the state. RKM, which opened in March 1999, is one of the newer buildings in the area.
Read more →
