Korle-Bu Foundation President’s Report (part 2)
Donations
To enhance our fundraising potential, Donor Perfect, an American fundraising software program was launched this past summer. Goals beyond revenue generating include enlarging our donor base and database, improving solicitation targeting and pledge gifting and reducing administrative hours. Managed by Christina Chiu, KBF Executive Assistant, in-servicing and initial data entry development has required a serious investment of time and effort the latter half of 2012. KBF believes that this initial investment of time will return dividends as we will now be able to track and manage valuable data on all of our supporters and donors in one easily customized database.
University Students Help Pack Donations
Another splendid packing day took place at VGH’s old laundry facility, as KBNF gets ready to ship two more containers off to Ghana. One will head for Techiman in the northeastern region of the country and the other to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
We are so very grateful for the energized efforts of Christina Chiu and her dear friend in organizing this event. Facebook was the prime communicator, and we are ever so pleased that these university students are ready to help us again real soon.
Click here to see additional images.
Nigerian Container Update
I am so pleased to report that our Nigerian container was cleared from Tin Can Island Port last weekend. The first half of the container, destined for our University of Benin Teaching Hospital neurosurgery unit in Benin City, was delivered while the second half is on its way to a new maternity clinic in northern Nigeria.
We want to thank all of our team for their diligence in donating their time, expertise and effort in making this shipment possible. And big thanks to Rick Diamond and Diamond Delivery for their faithful support in transferring equipment and supplies from Vancouver to Victoria. Arranging for Seaspan to take our cargo across the Georgia Strait for free was such a cost savings. And thank you to Compassionate Resource Warehouse, led by Dell’s team, for their amazing attention to detail and efforts to fulfill the requests of our Nigerian friends – ensuring the load was filled to the maximum (i.e. no air!).
This shipment started with a heartfelt plea to help provide equipment for a maternity clinic being constructed for village women dying giving birth and our neurosurgery unit’s 20-bed expansion in Benin City.
We’ll keep you posted as photos come in.
Thanks again, everyone!!!
Click here to see additional images.
A Reflection on Love
As we celebrated Valentine’s Day yesterday, I reflected . . . It’s easy to love another when they return that love. I love you, you love me. That’s easy. However, it’s quite another thing to love another when the recipient of that love gesture is not known and can never reciprocate.
At our Executive Board meeting this week, KBNF VP Derek Agyapong–Poku shared how he broke down in tears at his office desk when he received word of dear Patrick’s passing. His staff worried what was wrong. His heart grieved deeply for the loss of that precious young man. Jocelyne shared how she felt helpless at times struggling to find desperately needed albumin and blood required to stabilize Patrick’s condition. The funds were available. The life saving ingredients were not. A flight to Kumasi could have produced three more bottles of albumin. But this was just a drop in the bucket to what was needed. Jocelyne began to comprehend the challenges that face African families when a member of their family needs hospital care in Africa. It’s daunting, friends.
In spite of all these immense challenges, Patrick could rest through the long nights knowing that when his loved ones were away in Sierra Leone and Canada, he wasn’t alone. Jocelyne was right there beside him, an extension of us all, doing everything in her power to reassure this dying man that he was cherished and loved.
As the Apostle Paul eloquently says: “If I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. . . Lovebears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
Thank you for your unfailing commitment to those across an ocean that are the beneficiary of your loving gifts of money, expertise and time through our project work. Your gracious investments continue to extend unfailing incalculable love abroad.
Laundry Folding Party Update
Brenda and her volunteers had an energized day sorting and packing medical supplies for the upcoming shipments to Mt. Olives Hospital, Techiman, Brong-Ahafo Region, in the interior of northern Ghana and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
For eight hours, you could hear much laughter, cheerful banter and questions hurled as the team determined what donated items in fact were, which were suitable for sending, and where on earth is that box that is being packed with lab supplies, respiratory supplies and/or any other supplies. Oh, is the box already sealed containing x, y, z? Lots of fun and patience as our volunteers took up the cause in earnest, determined to meet Brenda’s goal of having all the supplies packed by day’s end.
Lunch was also scrumptious, even though there were no chairs to sit on. Come to think of it, we never sat the entire day! But everyone devoured meat wraps, turkey croissant sandwiches, veggies, apples, and organic coffee with pleasure. The coffee pot malfunctioned, so I made coffee at the nursing unit and could be seen walking through the hospital carrying a pot of coffee on more than one occasion!!
TOYS . . . I observed a little boy playing with Coke bottle caps at a hospital one day, his only toy. Talking with another Ghanaian young man, he recalled how his only toy growing up was a ball handmade with pieces of tape carefully peeled off of boxes mailed to his village. Eventually it was the size of a baseball. So considering how hospitalized children just don’t have anything to play with, I put out a call for toys and books. So a BIG thank you to VGH Neurologist Dr. Tony Traboulsee and his family, as they arrived with a carload of toys and books for the Mt. Olives Hospital in the afternoon. A battery powered train set and a large mauve plastic princess house will grace the playroom of Mt. Olives pediatric unit very soon. Dr. Gladstone Kessie is already very excited by this development.
Aaron Asante, one of our founding KBNF members, also completed loading up hospital linens and a wheelchair destined for his hometown Ghanaian village clinic next week.
We could not achieve any of our objectives without the incredible support of our faithful volunteers and donors. Thank you everyone, for your wonderful labour of love.
Our next packing day is Feb 9th at the VGH old laundry unit. Please “ink” it into your calendar. Brenda and I need everyone on board, once again. Brenda is planning our next shipment for mid-month and we need to prepare the final packing of linens prior to shipping by barge to Victoria for its final loading before heading to Ghana.
Please click here to see additional photos from the folding party.
