Our 2021 Annual Report is here and we are so excited to share about the amazing things accomplished through generosity and partnership with our health workers and school colleagues! Pictured are impact statistics from just last year.

If you receive our mailings, this should be in your mailbox this week! You can also take a look at the digital copy here.

Just as we are volunteer-led in the communities where we serve, we are also volunteer-supported in our operations in so many ways! This annual report (and others before it) was designed by a skilled volunteer, and the pieces were prepared for mailing by volunteers. We're so grateful!

We are celebrating the many people, including YOU, who make this impact possible! Thank you!

In Gorkha, Nepal, our health worker colleague Ramprasad plans to start a new phase of latrine building. Over the past few years, Ramprasad has led efforts to build 31 latrines in the region to improve health and sanitation, identified as a top priority in rebuilding efforts following a devastating earthquake. They plan to build 75 latrines in phases. Last week, prior to this new phase of latrine construction, Ramprasad facilitated health camps to continue educating the Gorkha community about the importance of sanitation and children’s nutrition. Nepal team lead, Pinkey, also came to support and teach. These ongoing health education meetings, both in Nepal and our partner sites in Africa, are important for several reasons: new attendees may not have this information, families who attended prior may need to be refreshed on best practices, and all attendees can see and interact with the local community health worker(s) who serves as an advocate for them and their families.

A short video of Ramprasad and Pinkey teaching can be found on our YouTube channel here. We are proud to support volunteers like Ramprasad as they educate and empower their communities!

May 15th is recognized by the United Nations as International Day of Families, stating that: “This day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.”

One of the major issues faced in the Copperbelt, Zambia, has been access to education, particularly for orphans and vulnerable children. When surveys were conducted by our community health worker colleagues in 2009, this was the biggest need identified by caregivers. Since then, we’ve been building schools and programs that provide equitable education, consistent meals, grief support for orphans, advocacy for girls, and much more. These issues would not have been addressed without advocacy from families.

We are thrilled that still, twelve years later, the parent and caretaker committees (PCSC) at our sister schools are active and meet each term to discuss the needs and issues children are facing. Today we celebrate the many families who continue to advocate for children in the communities that we serve and across the world!

Mapalo PCSC meeting for 2022 first term

Salume Osakue, vocalist, and Jack Ergo, pianist

Last week, on May 5th, we held our first Sounds of the Season concert! Focusing on new gardens and nutrition programs in Malawi and Zambia, we were thrilled to host a hybrid in-person and online event at Graceland University. Our talented friend, Jack Ergo, was our featured performer, along with Tessla Michael and Salume Osakue as guest musicians.

Our goal for the concert was to raise funds to build two large sheds for the gardening efforts at two (out of four) HealthEd Connect volunteer-led community centers. These sheds are the dream of our health worker colleagues for storing seeds, tools, and excess crops to be used and shared with children and families over time.

Thanks to generous support, we far exceeded that goal! We can build THREE garden sheds (plus more towards a 4th) to support important nutrition programs in Malawi and Zambia! Our friends will have the space and resources needed to grow nutritious food that will help reduce malnutrition and stunting in children. We’re feeling joyful, knowing that this makes a wonderful impact in women, children, and families' lives through these expanded gardening efforts.

Stay tuned for details about our next Sounds of the Season event in late summer!

P.S. A recording of our concert is available on our YouTube channel! Check it out here.

"My favorite experience at CLZ was the game drive because I had a life time opportunity to see all the wild animals face to face which was so amazing watching them feeding, playing, taking care of the young, and how an elephant family tree is organised..." - Bwalya Siame, teacher at Zamtan

Earlier this month, a group of six teachers from our three sister schools in Zambia went on an adventure to the Lower Zambezi National Park! They joined with other teachers from the area, and the knowledgeable professionals at Conservation Lower Zambezi spent three days educating the group about environmental protection and conservation, with curriculum to take back to their schools.

In addition to learning the curriculum, our colleagues had the opportunity to go on a safari, a boat tour, and see wildlife in their native country first-hand. Agness, a teacher from Mapalo, shared this about her experience: “l saw an impala standing still l thought it was carved one because l am used to seeing carved ones and when it moved that's when l realized that l was seeing real animals - it was amazing.”

Now, they can share this important information with their fellow teachers and students at our schools! Martha, a teacher from Zamtan, shared, “I hope to implement what I learnt by educating pupils on the…importance of [the] ecosystem and also educate learners on how to care for the environment, conserve wildlife and appreciate nature…” This was a wonderful opportunity to make new connections and gain new information to share!

HealthEd Connect sister schools teachers on their way to CLZ training! Left to right: Sharon Chilambwe (Kasompe), Trascilla Kalonde (Kasompe), Agness Mwansa (Mapalo), Emmanuel Mumba (Mapalo), Martha Kafumbe (Zamtan), and Bwalya Siame (Zamtan)

Students from the Rai Village school supply event

In Rai Village, Nepal, team lead Pinkey and fellow community health worker volunteers gathered local students for a school supply event! This was an event that was held annually prior to the COVID pandemic to provide children with much-needed school supplies, and the group was excited to meet again.

Supplies distributed included pens, pencils, paper, and coloring materials; masks for both students and parents were provided as well. While visiting, the volunteers encouraged children to regularly attend school, take precautionary health measures, and study hard. Many of the children have been using the small library established through the generosity of HealthEd Connect supporters, and are eagerly looking for new stories and books to fill their minds!

It’s reassuring to see reunions like this one in Rai Village after so long apart due to the pandemic, and we are sharing in the joy you can see on the students faces!

Volunteers (in back row) and students

Gabriel, holding his volunteer heath worker training certificates from 1995 and onward!

In Luapula, Zambia, Kafwa health worker Gabriel Muposhi has been a pillar in his community since 1995. Among the first of the health workers trained by Sherri Kirkpatrick, he has continued to provide loving care to ill community members, orphaned children, and families looking for information about nutrition and sanitation. Gabriel's training, volunteer service, and respect also earned him a spot at the local government health clinic, where he serves alongside doctors and nurses.

When asked about his time as a health worker, Gabriel stated that he wishes to continue serving as a community health worker as long as he can, and it makes him very happy to be a part of HealthEd Connect. The pride he has for his work is clear, and his fellow Kafwa members enjoyed hearing his stories of the many lives he’s touched. We are grateful for lifetime community health workers like Gabriel who help to make their communities happier and healthier!

Today, on World Health Day, we uplift the important work of our colleagues as they advocate for the health, education, and empowerment of the women and children around them.

When we consider health and the many barriers to access, it becomes easy to overlook an overarching barrier: a healthy planet. Environmental distress passes on to its inhabitants, and it is showing as we look at monumental levels of malnutrition (19.1 percent of Africa’s population is undernourished) and thirst. 

Our colleagues and supporters both have identified two ways to address such large issues: utilizing the land granted to them at community centers for gardening and enrichment programs, and exploring conservation efforts so that both teachers and students can be better informed on ways to support the land and animals of Zambia. At the community centers in Malawi and Zambia, sustainable agriculture is the next big focus of the community health workers, to address hunger and stewardship of their plots. In the interest of conservation, some of our teacher colleagues will be spending time at Conservation Lower Zambezi, gaining valuable knowledge to share with their peers and students. 

We are grateful for the efforts of all of our colleagues as they focus on providing access to healthcare and education, nourishment for children and families, and loving support for the most vulnerable.