Local Partner: Ndegbormei Development Organization

Local Partner Director: Yema Ganda/Executive Director

Area Served: Bumpeh Ngao Chiefdom, Southern Sierra Leone

Program Goal: Provide quality healthcare to children and pregnant women

Program Services Provided: Vital healthcare services to pregnant and lactating women and children under the age of five, a supplemental feeding program, the services of a traditional birth attendant, and HIV/AIDS education.

Number of Program Beneficiaries: Clinic services to a population of approximately 31,000 throughout the communities they serve; vocation training and resources for 50 women.

Current Needs: Program vehicles, an ambulance, and motorbikes to increase the reach of the health clinics to the more remote villages in the area. Without vehicle transportation, it is difficult for the very sick or injured to travel to the clinic for treatment – some are too weak to survive a trip on foot in the blazing heat! – and it is equally difficult for nurses to reach each of the remote villages, some of which  are up to 10 miles away, on a regular basis. Motorbikes or an ambulance would allow for much more consistent treatment in local communities and would also provide for the transport of serious patients to the clinic for ongoing treatment. In addition, they are looking for a solar light system that would allow them to generate  electricity for sterilization equipment and refrigeration as well as a light source for when patients are attempting to locate the clinic at night.

Program Summary:

NDO operates a rural clinic specifically serving the needs of pregnant and lactating women and children under the age of five. In addition to pre-and-post natal care, the clinic also offers 24-hour emergency treatment, supplemental feeding, and nutritional care for local community members in need. Without NDO’s clinic, many women and their children would be forced to walk in excess of 18 miles to receive treatment at the “nearest” government clinic.

One full-time nurse and one full-time traditional birth attendant, our resident “super-women” if you will, are on duty to treat patients and emergency cases. A volunteer doctor is also available part-time to assist with serious cases.

They also do outreach visits to the various communities served so that the care might be more accessible in the more remote villages.

NDO also operates a training center for women and youth to encourage entrepreneurship to reach self-sufficiency.  These programs focus on gender-based-violence, leadership, business management, micro finance and agriculture to empower these women towards a better future.