A man harvests tea from a field

A warm welcome in Biratnagar, Nepal

How often do you drink tea? In American culture, coffee reigns king, and tea seems almost an afterthought.

In Nepal and Africa though, our colleagues would tell you that tea is part of their everyday life! Tea is a drink offered to welcome guests, a way to start the day, and a staple "food" for many people.
When Dr. Sherri Kirkpatrick made her first trips to Asia and Africa, it was nearly impossible to convince people that tea did NOT count as a food. Since then, research has uncovered the many benefits of tea as a holistic agent. Unsurprisingly, tea has remained a staple that our colleagues can use to increase antioxidants, soothe common ailments, or comfort others.
It's an important part of both areas' agriculture as well. Lush, green fields create a stark contrast against the red soil in Africa, and Nepal has a government sector dedicated to their tea exports. Much of the tea that's consumed in the United States was grown in Asia and Africa.

Today, we invite you to pour a cup of tea and consider a small piece of the culture that's shaped some of our dear friends!

Karen Mulubwa in the nursing skills lab

Karen Mulubwa in the nursing skills lab

February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science! This week we have been highlighting several recipients of our nursing scholarship this year, recognizing their study of health sciences and service to improve the health of people in their communities. 

“I decided to train as a nurse because of my experience from my immediate environment, my community which is actually flooded with alot of helmets (diseases) and the presence of many vulnerable people who sometimes do not get utmost attention and support due to their  social and economical status. I thought my training will enable me to provide a service to all these people and possibly volunteer to those who  are in my reach. Furthermore, I am interested in engaging myself in community health groups such as the Kafwa helping the women cleaning wounds of clients with no relatives.” -Karen Mulubwa, Zambia

Fun fact: Karen was one of our amazing teachers at Mapalo Young Peacemakers School and she loved teaching. She struggled to decide whether to pursue nursing or teaching and finally followed her heart to nursing. Karen has long watched her mother, Grace, a Kafwa community health worker leader, tending and supporting the health needs of community members in Mapalo. Based on her experience in her community, and watching the Kafwa, her heart was led to pursue nursing and we know her compassion and skilled care will impact many lives! 

To empower other aspiring nurses who wish to serve their communities, click the link below and choose “Nursing Scholarship Endowment” to give others the same opportunity as Karen! 

http://bit.ly/Okagy1

Hats off to the graduates! Left to Right: Linda Mutalala (teacher), Memory Namonje, Helen Mukuka, Kennedy Muteswa, Loveness Mulemba (head teacher)

Graduates share how they feel about graduating! "Thank You", "Excited", "Thankful"

We are so proud of our Girls Achievement Program (GAP) and General Scholar graduates! From our primary schools to high school and now beyond, they've worked so hard to receive their high school certifications. They have big dreams for their futures, and we have no doubt they’ll achieve them! 

Kasompe Community School of Peace held a ceremony to celebrate the scholars from their area. It was so exciting to see these scholars - previously students at our primary school and further mentored through the GAP weekly program - now graduating from high school! Head teacher, Loveness Mulemba, reported: “It was really an exciting moment to have the first fruits of the grade 12s at our school. We had to invite the parents to the graduates, the kafwas, school board and the teachers at large. This was awesome, we enjoyed the speeches from our graduates in which they thanked everyone and especially our sponsors the HealthEd Connect who made it possible for things to happen.”

To say we are THRILLED for the graduates would be an understatement! We are beaming with happiness and celebrate their achievements! And we feel grateful to supporters like you, who helped make this milestone possible!

Helen wants to become a medical doctor

Celebrating the Graduates of 2020! 

Kennedy wants to become a medical doctor

Memory wants to become a nurse

Community health worker, Ramprasad, giving soap and masks to a young girl.

Community health worker volunteer, Ramprasad ("Ram"), is our hero of the week! Ram ensures that children in his village have access to health care, no matter the obstacles.

In remote Gorkha, Nepal, where he lives, Ram has been providing health education for women, children, and families for years. Ram has also built 25 latrines to improve sanitation for the community. And he's been providing soap and masks to families in the community for COVID-19 prevention, thanks to the generosity of HealthEd Connect donors.

Recently, a child needed to go to the hospital, but it was a four hour walk. The child did not have a father or a family member strong enough to make the trek. So, Ram volunteered to carry the child the four hours to reach the small hospital in town. Upon arriving, the hospital referred the child to a larger hospital in Kathmandu for treatment, several more hours away. Ram escorted the child the rest of the way to Kathmandu to seek treatment. Ram went to extraordinary lengths to help this child, and he would do it all again for anyone in need!

These are the types of actions that make our community health worker colleagues so amazing. Their drive to ensure people in their communities are given the best care is unmatched!

A recent message from the Kafwa community health volunteers in Mapalo, Zambia, showed the amazing impact made by donors like you in response to rising COVID-19 numbers.

"We have noted that it is of great importance that we help in educating our clients in mindset change to live well in this new normal. Our visit was not short of sensitizing clients about how they need cope with the current change in our usual way of life. This saw us distributing face masks, tablets of soap, a basin and Jar to helping them maintain the hand washing and masking.

Our clients...expressed gratitude toward the items received as this is making them feel part of the community as with the struggling way of life its difficult to access soap at the expense of buying food."

Because of your generosity, clients no longer need to choose between food and soap. They were able to receive everything necessary for a hand-washing station and a mask sewn by the health workers. Thank you for all you do to empower women and children during this pandemic!

Health worker, Sangeeta Poudel, providing soap to mother and daughter in Biratnagar, Nepal.

For several months, the communities and nations where our health worker colleagues serve were reporting little to no new cases of COVID-19. We were elated to keep seeing this positive trend! But that changed last month. Cases are on the rise again, some at their peak, and the new highly transmissible strain of the virus was identified in South Africa – gateway to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. We sounded the alarm bells, and supporters like you were quick to respond, generously supporting our appeal to re-stock our health workers with supplies for COVID-19 prevention (more soap, supplies for masks, wash basins, etc.). Thanks to your generosity, we were able to send $10,750 specifically for COVID-19 prevention last week to our three community schools and health worker colleagues, serving 56 communities, empowering people with resources and education to stay healthy. Your support saves lives! We’re hopeful that this year COVID-19 will be stamped out globally!

As the sun sets on the year of 2020, we want to recognize the amazing work that has been accomplished in spite of the unique circumstances of this year. This is all possible thanks to your support!

• 70,484 infants and children have been weighed and monitored

• 51,609 mothers were educated about nutrition and sanitation

• 35,124 babies have been immunized

• 4,715 books were checked out from the school libraries

• 1,415 orphans and vulnerable children are in school and receiving lunch each day

• 26 new health workers were trained in Malawi (doubling their numbers!)

• 12 scholars of the Girls Achievement Program (GAP) and general scholarship graduated high school!

• 6 sewing machines and supplies were provided, collectively making thousands of masks this year (and will transition to income generating and teaching opportunities in the future)

We feel truly grateful for you. You are supporting efforts that uplift and empower women and children, and that is a gift that lasts long-term!

We look ahead to 2021 with hope and anticipation to continue implementing health care and education to those most vulnerable or lacking access.

Students in Zamtan enjoying their celebratory lunch

December is a busy time for our Zambian students as their school year comes to a close and Grade 7’s face their exams. As a celebration of all their hard work, the Kafwa and teachers make sure to have a special meal on the last day of school! This celebration meal includes treats rarely on the menu, such as flavored drinks and meats. Each one of our sister schools prepares something special that the kids love!

At our school in Kasompe, students were surprised and ecstatic to receive fried chicken as part of their celebration! Kafwa leader, Ireen, reported that most of the children have chicken only once every 4 or 5 months, or just on Christmas day. More than that, the process of making fried chicken from scratch (starting with live chickens) is quite a task in the best of kitchens...much less over a charcoal fire! Even still, the Kafwa lovingly began cooking at 5 am so that 60 chickens and sides would be ready for the students who so rarely receive such a treat.

When you give to HealthEd Connect as an act of love, you recognize special celebrations like this one, but even more importantly, your gift provides long-lasting blessings of health and education for those who would otherwise lack access. Thank you for supporting our heroes and our friends - the community health workers, teachers, and students!