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Take a good look at this picture. In addition to the smiliing women, there are two curious creatures that can't believe their eyes. The goats, which also live in this little home in Nepal, were curious about the new gadget in their kitchen. I hope they appreciate the fact it means less smoke in their eyes!. Two vented stoves were installed in Biratnagar Nepal this month.

One of the men creatively rigged up the external pipes to take the smoke away while the women eagerly demonstrated this new convenience. Sangeeta (right), our Soyamsebika health worker in that area, will be soliciting feedback from the women and monitoring the use of the new stoves before we expand to install stoves in additional homes.

According to the thirdpole.net new research links smoke from cook stoves to high levels of stunted growth among children. With 66% of households in the country using biomass fuels, the exposure to toxic smoke is rampant.

Knowing the inhalation of the smoke creates life-threatening health problems in Nepal, we are jubilant to have taken this first step to address this problem.

For $200 you can sponsor a stove.

We're thrilled to announce we have been awarded the coveted Great Nonprofits award for 2019!

Awards are sometimes, well, just awards. But this one is special because it's based on the opinions and endorsements of those who know us best. We're grateful for the ongoing support of our donors and fan club which is the wind beneath the wings of all we do!

Read inspiring stories about us and add your own! https://greatnonprofits.org/org/healthed-connect

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Children in Zamtan, Zambia, praying
for the hot porridge they're about to receive.

It is with a deep sense of gratitude that we give thanks for YOU, our HealthEd Connect donors, during this season of Thanksgiving.

May you be blessed just as you have blessed others.

The HealthEd Connect Team

on behalf of

the children, mothers,
health workers, families, and
communities you touch

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Newborn babies protected by a mosquito net at a clinic staffed by volunteer HealthEd Connect Wasaidizi in Lubumbashi, DR Congo

Our tireless health workers defy a small but mighty death threat every day of their lives. And it's not just for themselves but also for their families and entire communities. Babies, who have developed no immunity, are the ones at highest risk. The threat?

The annoying and deadly mosquito.

According to the NPR Goats and Soda publication, nearly 600,000 people die every year from the Anopheles mosquito alone, making it by far the most dangerous animal on earth. By contrast, shark attacks get big press even though the death toll in 2018 was four.

Treated mosquito nets are one of the best current deterrents and, fortunately, are being made more available by government entities. In the meantime, Herculean efforts continue to be made to find the elusive immunization or other preventative method that will render the mosquito ineffective. Obviously, the sooner the better.

Lunch at the Mapalo Young Peace Maker Community School

There's plenty to be discouraged about in today's news. But there's also some super exciting news!!

According to the UN Goal Keepers conference last month, the world poverty rate is at an all-time low with less than 10% of the world's population now below the poverty line. That is definitely cause to celebrate --- but still sobering when you realize 1 in 10 people is still not obtaining the basic necessities of life. HealthEd Connect is tirelessly working to lift lives through health and education. The smiling faces of the children show the results.

A local hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri recently posted this celebratory sign:

But we think our Wasaidizi health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo can go one better. A small but mighty cadre of seven volunteer Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), has delivered more than 11,468 baabies in the last six years. No shiny hospital delivery rooms, no back-up surgery suites, no electricity, no running water. And yet these amazing TBAs come out in the middle of the night to safely deliver hundreds of babies. Living in a country with one of the highest maternal death rates in the world, these women defy the odds and totally change the grim statistics in their part of the world.

They may not have a billboard announcing their accomplishments, but we think they're incredible!! And so do countless mothers and babies.

Sherri, Jeannette, Ken, and Jac

HealthEd Connect is celebrating the receipt of an empowering Trust gift while paying tribute to the energetic and far-sighted woman who arranged for this generous gift: Joan Scribner. Joan loved nursing and spent her life working toward the future by enabling the dreams of young people who wanted to pursue a nursing career.

In the 70s she helped establish a Professional Nurses Scholarship Endowment that, since then, has literally changed the lives of dozens of young people. The Endowment, now managed by HealthEd Connect, has provided a total of $48,650 in awards to 24 students in 8 countries including India, Nepal, Zambia, Malawi, Philippines, Honduras, Nicaragua and the U.S.A.

This month, Joan's son Ken Scribner, and his wife, Jeannette, presented a check from Joan's Trust as one of her final wishes. We salute Joan's lasting legacy to make the world healthier by empowering nurses of tomorrow.

You Go Girls!!

Here's to the strong girls every where, who courageously walk hand in hand in the role assigned them by society while dreaming BIG dreams for tomorrow. The world is making slow but steady headway on leveling the playing field for girls. But there's still a long way to go.

“When girls are educated, empowered, healthy and free from violence and discrimination, their communities are more prosperous and stable. Investing in gender equality is not just the right thing to do – it’s the smart thing to do. But girls around the world still face lifelong gender-based inequalities that begin in childhood.”
- Save the Children