ROTARIANS ON A MISSION
Schmidt leads a journey of hope with medical centre
Ethiopia
By Donna Schmidt The village of Debre Berhan is located in the northern part of Ethiopia. There are no motor vehicles in the village and the common mode of transportation is walking or riding a camel or donkey. In 2014, Rotarians in District 6400 became aware of the fact that the people in this region did not have any health care services in their community. The closest health care facilities were more than two hours away. Many of the women in the region were dying during childbirth. There was a high infant mortality rate. Seriously ill villagers could not walk two hours to get to a hospital, so they went home to die rather than attempting the journey and dying on the roadside. District Rotarians PDG Donna Schmidt, PRID Mike McCullough, Beyene Haile, PDG Michael Duben and Shelly Duben conducted a community needs assessment in the fall of 2014 and documented the need for a health center that would serve a minimum of 25,000 people. Construction of the health center began in the summer of 2017 and the Howey Family Health Center opened its doors to the community on September 3, 2018. This facility is a multi-building medical compound that is open 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. The villagers have access to full medical service at no cost to them due to their extremely low income. At the dedication ceremony of the medical complex, the Ethiopia District Health Office in Mekelle recognized this facility as an Ethiopia Center of Excellence and changed our designation to that of a Junior Hospital. This new classification required the medical facility to connect to the regional power grid since surgeries would be performed on a regular basis. We provided the necessary equipment to ensure reliable electrical service. Our team also provided the village elders with water filters. We trained them regarding usage and proper care
18
of the water filters so that they would have access to clean water; however, once the facility became a Junior Hospital, we realized that we needed to install a deep borehole well to provide a more sustainable water sou Rotary Club. A well was drilled and the water output per minute provided enough water to support the medical center, the schools and the community. Local farmers are now exploring options for crop irrigation. On December 8, 2018, a team of Ethiopian Rotarians were visiting the medical center when the 328th patient delivered a healthy baby girl. During the first year, more than 1,500 patients received medical treatment. Fewer women are now dying during childbirth. Newborn babies are healthier due to prenatal care and improved nutrition which has also increased their birth weight. The total project costs were approximately US$600,000 with 50% of the funding coming from two Rotary global grants and 50% coming from the Howey Family Foundation. The Rotary global grants addressed (a) allowable construction and (b) the development of a medical Vocational Training Team led by Dr. Nick Krayacich. By the time this project was completed, we realized that we had addressed all six major areas of focus. A total of 45 partners were involved with this project including the Ethiopia District Health Office, the Woreda Laelay Maychew Health Office, Aksum University and the newly formed Rotary Club of Aksum.
ROTARY 6400 MAGAZINE
