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At the end of January and into February 2025, I was part of a team of RHCI board members and volunteers that traveled across the vast Atlantic Ocean to Sierra Leone. We were greeted by our staff and many Community Health Workers with singing and dancing at Mbao-mi Mothers’ Home in Tikonko. What a wonderful start to our stay!
Team members included Julie Hoffer, Lamin Foray, Ajayi Nicol, Riley Gaines, Nick Gaines, Inna Gabrielson (ultrasound trainer) and Carol Nelson, staying varying lengths of time.
Through our many meetings, we had the opportunity to get reacquainted with our longer term staff members, and to meet the newer ones including Neneh Vandy (country director) and Lansana Sesay (head of finance) as well as new grant contract staff.
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We experienced much gratitude from stakeholders, beneficiaries including mothers at the birth waiting homes or those who had stayed there in the past, staff members and the community members where we serve. A big highlight was celebrating that no maternal deaths had occurred over the past 2 years!
In addition to Tikonko, our travels took us to Gondama, Sembehun 17, Kassama and Sembehun Tabema. We also accompanied the visiting nurses and the nurses in charge of immunizations on their visits to other remote villages, to witness the importance of their work with infants, mothers and children.
Another highlight was our visit to the village of Mbaomahun to visit the 3 year-old triplets (Sao, Gbessy, and Ginna) who are thriving! Their mother, Martha, stayed at Mbao-mi Mothers’ Home during the final part of her pregnancy and utilized many of RHCI’s other services, including transportation, food, newborn visits, with extra formula for the babies and rice to help her continue breastfeeding. Martha and her family credit RHCI and our dedicated staff for helping her triplets survive.
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During our stay, Inna spent many hours furthering the ultrasound training for our two lead sonographers, Isata Bah and Marie Songa. Their skills continue to improve along with their ability to identify patients needing referral for a higher level of care for high risk pregnancies or complications.
Meetings with stakeholders and partner organizations were a critical part of this trip. This included meetings with the Paramount Chief Kigbai and his wife Beatrice, with all of the RHCI staff, Bo Children’s Hospital, Bo Government Hospital, the District Medical Officer, Mercy Hospital staff, Community Health Worker leadership team, and staff at the five health centers with which we partner. Work meetings were held with our staff to discuss the progress of our grant related programs and planning for future projects.
We were delighted to attend the graduation ceremony for the group of 37 Community Health Workers who had just completed a three and a half week training on maternal and newborn health through the MOMS (Midwives on Missions of Service) training program, in collaboration with RHCI.
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Meeting with a team from the Bo Rotary Club, we started the planning for a Rotary Global Malaria grant that we will be submitting for review in June. This is a collaboration between Bo Rotary, the Rotary Club of White Bear Lake, and RHCI.
Though sad to leave, we feel confident that RHCI’s dedicated staff members are doing an excellent job and helping fulfill the mission of RHCI. All of this is made possible by our generous donors and the recent grants we have been awarded. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Bi-ka-ka-ka!!