How will you “Embrace Equity” this International Women’s Day? This day is marked to recognize and celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about discrimination, and take action to drive gender parity. We're proud to focus our work toward equity through the empowerment of women and children through health, education, and advocacy.

Throughout the 4 countries where we serve, our community health workers are finding new ways to empower themselves. With the community health worker leadership development award, women can apply to learn new skills that may not have been accessible to them before due to status or fees. Some choose income-generating opportunities, such as learning to tailor, cater, or bake. Others pursue personal goals, like learning English or finishing high school (many of our health worker colleagues were not afforded the opportunity of secondary education). Some use the award to improve their abilities to serve their community, by learning to give immunizations or becoming traditional birth attendants. Whatever their goals, our colleagues utilize the award to improve conditions for themselves, their families, and their communities! We are grateful that this program is fulfilling its purpose in supporting opportunities for women to develop their skills as health workers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. 

In Zambia, our Girls Achievement Program (GAP) scholarship for grades 8-12 addresses education bias while offering academic and social-emotional support. It’s still common for girls to have less chance of being supported through high school as compared to their male peers. To lessen this gap, we award five scholarships to girls for every one scholarship to a boy. We know it’s not equal - but it’s equitable - recognizing that girls don't all start with the same privileges, and adjustments are required to level the playing field. The longer a girl stays in school, the better her odds of economic stability, decision-making autonomy, and confidence to enact change. 

We are grateful for the efforts of all who make HealthEd Connect an organization that actively works to “Embrace Equity” and empower women! For more resources on International Women’s Day, click here.

Mapalo Kafwa team preparing for home visiting.

We often talk about the ways our community health worker colleagues change lives through advocacy, wraparound programs at the schools and community centers, or health trainings in their communities. Often though, these larger-scale programs are put into place because of the home visits they make.

For example, the Kafwa in Mapalo, Zambia, meet on Fridays and prepare to visit homes. They go out together, meeting with the clients they’ve adopted and checking on how they’re progressing. They provide encouragement and care, two vital parts of healing, and look for ways they can help. They may bring small salves or medicines, food they’ve packaged for the family, or just themselves, but each visit is important to their clients! These house calls build relationships with their clients and trust with the community. When big ideas come up for new programs or community trainings, they have a firm foundation to stand on and advocate for change! We are so grateful for their work that empowers communities by empowering women and children!

Kafwa members and client in Mapalo, Zambia

The Kasompe GAP and General Scholar students with leaders Ireen Matete (front left) and Loveness Mulemba (front right)

This year's new Girls Achievement Program (GAP) and General scholars have received their school supplies and are excited for high school! GAP Leaders from each one of our sister schools have been busy, walking scholars to their new high schools to enroll and to purchase uniforms, books, backpacks, shoes, and other materials. These preparations take a great deal of time but make a big difference as scholars begin their high school careers. Students can attend classes feeling prepared, proud, and full of potential.

When they meet weekly with their Keeping in Touch (KIT) Club, scholars can share together about their high school experiences, work on homework together, receive tutoring support, and access to computers at our schools. We are grateful for the teachers, GAP and KIT leaders, and many supporters who ensure that these students are educated and empowered!

Kasompe Kafwa leader Ireen Matete with GAP student Elizabeth Kapembwa

Mapalo KIT students at a weekly meeting

Community health worker volunteer, Yanso Yimchunger

Biratnagar, Nepal community health worker coordinator, Sangeeta, has been busy with her team making community visits and hosting awareness camps to improve health practices for families!

These community events are an important way of disseminating information to the groups that will use it without needing to go door-to-door. Having a local leader means that the camps can be flexible and up-to-date with issues the community may be facing. In Biratnagar, for instance, Sangeeta and her team held camps about maternity care, nutrition, avoiding child marriage, alcohol withdrawal, and personal hygiene. Health camps can be quite large, with a recent Dengue fever camp being attended by over 80 people!

Women and children are often the groups in the highest attendance, and this gives them the important role of sharing what they’ve learned with their family and friends. Empowering women with the knowledge to improve the health and wellbeing of their family and community! 

Pictured: Alex and his mother

In the Luapula province of Zambia, a boy name Alex was struggling with a wound that simply would not heal. His mother brought him to the local hospital for treatments, but this leg wound persisted for months. Thankfully, the hospital they were visiting is the same one our Luapula Kafwa coordinator Jane volunteers at! The doctors recommended that Alex and his mother visit with Jane, as the Kafwa have a very good track record of treating wounds. Sure enough, after counseling the pair on preparing and administering guava leaf antiseptic, followed by antibiotic ointment for the areas of the wound that persisted, Jane reports that Alex is doing much better now! 

Alex’s story is not unique. All of our community health worker colleagues have been trained in wound care, and have built a trusted reputation with the community and local clinics. Some patients may even be referred from the clinics to the health workers when someone is faced with difficult ongoing cases. We are so proud that the health workers’ years of experience and persistence result in knowledge gained and people healed!

Nursing scholar Nikita with a patient

Now that 2023 has begun, the nursing scholars have also started their studies! This year the nursing scholarship fund provided 11 nursing scholarships for new and continuing students from four countries.  

Empowering women and children through health, education, and advocacy is our mission. And providing scholarships for aspiring nurses is one of the many ways we promote development and access to health care in communities. Many of the scholars we support volunteer as community health workers in their spare time, providing home-based care or supporting health awareness camps for their community. Others serve as trainers when our community health worker colleagues gather to learn about current health issues and illness prevention methods in their area. All of our scholars are excited to continue their studies and help their patients and communities be healthy! 

We are thrilled to provide support for bright women and men who look forward to serving their patients and communities with professionalism and passion!

New nursing scholar, Albertina

We’ve wrapped up 2022 in a bow and are excited to share later this month just how much good has been accomplished in the year!

While we reflect on the year, there’s a very important group we’d like to thank - our monthly donors! Twelve times a year, over SIXTY individuals and families make the choice to empower women and children. Their efforts build up over the month, and in 2022 alone, our monthly donors have gifted nearly $70,000 to programs that will protect and uplift communities! From building up libraries a book at a time to building confidence in scholars as they pursue diplomas, we are so grateful for this group that keeps HealthEd Connect’s mission near and dear to their hearts.

To our wonderful monthly donors - we send a big, heartfelt thank you!

We are so grateful for the international community that makes our mission to empower women and children possible! From our board members and coordinators who provide direction, to our supporters who provide the tools that build change, to our school and community health worker colleagues who pave the road to brighter futures, this team changes lives in big ways!

Orphans and vulnerable children have access to education and nutrition, families can gather and be uplifted at community centers, and women can protect their children through weighings and practices taught by community health workers. We send love and thanks to each of you for investing in advocacy, health education, and learning opportunities that will raise up communities and future generations!