Burnt Hills Ballston Lake Rotary (BH-BL Rotary) Undertakes A Global Grant in Zambia
BH-BL Rotary, in partnership with the Kusinta-Lusaka Rotary, Zambia, are working on a Global Grant focused on Maternal and Child Health and Disease Prevention and Treatment. The location of the project is Muchila Center, which is a village in the rural Southern Province of Zambia. In areas such as this as many as 1 in 13 women die from maternal related causes, compared to 1 in 4,000 in developed countries. Families in this area tend to have multiple
children, often in rapid succession. Of grave concern is that children two or under who lose their mother are 10 times as likely to die prematurely than those who have not. Additionally, it is estimated that 80% of the population is suffering from oral disease. The majority in rural areas have no access at all to oral health care services.
BH-BL Rotary is working closely with an NGO, named the Muchila Access Project (MAP). MAP, in coordination with the village of Muchila, the government regional health district, and local health officials identified the two “Areas of Focus” for this grant. Over the past several years MAP raised over $100,000 to renovate and expand a building to serve as the Muchila Health Center. The building is now complete. The Muchila Health Center now needs instruments, equipment and supplies to become fully functional.
A non-profit, Project C.U.R.E., which The Rotary Foundation (TRF) has worked with on other projects, collects and ships excess and refurbished high-quality medical instruments, equipment and supplies, appropriate for the specific situation, and only charges for shipment and some administrative costs. Our shipment will take up a 40’ shipping container. Project C.U.R.E reports that the value of its contents will be between $350,00 and $450,000.
On Nov 8 and 9 a doctor and expert representative from Project C.U.R.E., along with representation from Kusinta-Lusaka Rotary, and local Muchila health officials conducted an assessment of the center to identify the exact materials needed. Once these essential items are shipped and installed through Global Grant funds the Muchila Health Center, which is centrally located in a region populated by 43,154 people, will become the hub for referrals from, and support for, 17 outlying health posts in seven zones for managing obstetric and neonatal emergencies, expanding services for pre and postnatal care
and providing much needed preventative, emergent and essential dental services.
We are hoping others become as enthusiastic as we are and would like to help us in supporting this humanitarian project. In doing so, we collectively will have enhanced the quality of life and longevity for thousands of individuals.