In Sierra Leone, one in eight children do not live to see their 5th Birthday. We have made it our mission at RHCI to serve children up to age 5 with necessary health care to ensure they survive and thrive well beyond their 5th Birthday. But this means that children over age 5 are not getting adequate health care and often fall ill, and tragically, this can lead to death. RHCI is determined to see that these children get the health care they deserve. But we cannot do it alone. We need your help!
We are overwhelmed with gratitude to announce that RHCI has been awarded a $36,000 Grant from One Day’s Wages making it possible for RHCI to provide health services for one year to even more babies and children who need it most in rural Sierra Leone including the following:
- 2100 additional children will receive health and nutrition care
- 100 Community Health Workers will be trained in child nutrition
- 400 newborns and their mothers will have two in-home nurse visits
Here is where we need your help! If RHCI raises $18,000 on One Day’s Wages funding platform, they will match it. In total this will provide the support needed for our program expansion of $36,000. This means that together, with our community of generous supporters like you, we will need your support to raise this $18,000 over the next month in order to get the match.
RHCI has made a big impact for the Tikonko Chiefdom area that we serve since 2015 reducing the maternal deaths and child deaths. But there is more to do and this is where you come in. We are asking for your support for a new project: “Improving health for children in Sierra Leone.”
Every dollar that is raised will go towards these projects:
- Health and malnutrition services to include all children through age ten, doubling the number of children that we serve. Currently, over 4000 child health visits take place annually at our Mobile Outreach Clinics. Expansion means reaching even more children that would otherwise not receive the care they need.
- Lifesaving training of Community Health Workers from over 50 villages on child malnutrition, how to recognize, prevent and treat it.
- Reduce infant mortality rate by supporting nurses in home visits for newborns , to evaluate, educate and refer to clinics if needed.
Poor health and poverty affect the lives of babies and children in Sierra Leone, a country that was devastated by a brutal civil war in the 1990s and Ebola in 2014-2015. The country and the health care system have not recovered from these events. Currently at 182 out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index, Sierra Leone has a very high child death rate and over 30% of the children are stunted in growth due to malnutrition. Recent studies show that 94% of the child deaths in Sierra Leone are preventable, with proper health care and nutrition. We are determined to improve the quality of life for these children.
Every dollar that you give today matters and we are hopeful for great participation from our friends and supporters to make this expansion of services possible this year. For many children, this grant means an opportunity for a healthy life for years to come.
You are very important to RHCI and families in rural Sierra Leone. You can truly make a big difference in the life of a child who would otherwise not receive medical care by making a donation for this matching grant through this link: https://onedayswages-rhci.funraise.org
Thank you for your generosity and compassion for others.