Medical Outreach

During the initial stages of development of our stakeholder farm program, we held a town hall meeting to ask local village women what they needed to succeed as entrepreneurs and how we could help. The answer surprised us. What we heard most were stories about mothers who must defer work to care for their sick children, whose disease their families financially could not afford to cure.

COVID-19 RESPONSE

Addressing the Current Need

Ripples USA’s immediate focus is working to put programs in place to educate our women and their communities on how to keep themselves safe during this uncertain time. COVID-19 is being felt around the world, and nonprofits are no different.

Ripples USA is monitoring the situation and responding accordingly. Currently, spring and Summer Internship Programs have been postponed, all Domestic and International travel has been suspended, and all US and UK office employees and volunteers are working from home.

However for many people in Africa, the CDC guidelines are nearly impossible to adhere to. Social distancing or working from home are not realistic options.

Where we are going

COVID-19 Campaigns

On June 1st, Ripples USA will be rolling out an education program to the 33 communities in Ghana that we serve, impacting a population of over 50,000 people.

These community events will be held to help educate and spread awareness about COVID-19 and its impact. Please consider donating to help make this program a success.

How We Work

Problem

During the initial stages of development of the Ripples Farm program, a town hall meeting was held to ask local village women what they needed to succeed as entrepreneurs and how Ripples could help. The answer was surprising: what Ripples heard most were stories about mothers who must defer work to care for her sick children; women who, rather than go to work, must stay home to care for a child whose disease she financially could not afford to cure. For the women entrepreneurs in remote communities benefiting from Ripples programs, an otherwise minor disease cured in days in the West could take weeks or months to heal without treatment. In extreme cases, this could often mean the death of a loved one. One could imagine the worry and responsibility a village woman bears for the care for her own health, let alone that of her children and family.

Solution

Through the feedback of Ripples women and through Ripples’ own understanding of the growing health crises facing the region, the Medical Outreach Program (formerly known as Medical MOT) was extended to address the basic health needs of their villages. Through the program, Ripples operates annual one-day workshops that provide opportunities for free medical care, check-ups, and treatments for entire villages. Ripples volunteers dispense free medicines to all villagers – a lifeline for those who would otherwise be unable to afford them. Ripples also operates an AIDS initiative through cottage hospitals, aiming to catch the disease and provide treatment in its early stages. Throughout the year, the Ripples USA continues to help stock local cottage hospitals with much-needed medical equipment and supplies.

Impact

By addressing basic and critical community health issues, the Ripples USA is delivering a strong foundation for the livelihoods of village women. Ripples first began medical outreach in 2011 and since then, it has delivered 20-foot containers full of medical supplies to 12 villages. Ripples also led two major medical brigades: in 2015, Ripples served 12,828 patients in 8 villages, and in 2018, 4,560 patients in 3 villages were treated. Through protecting themselves, their children, and their families from health emergencies that could threaten their lives, Ripples grants women entrepreneurs the mental and physical security and power to focus on making ripples of change by pursuing the development of their businesses and the investment of their communities.

CASE STUDY

Changing African Lives

Since 2015, Ripples has worked with over 17,000 patients on medical outreach missions. Our goal is to ensure that women are able to pursue entrepreneurial development and invest in their communities without having to worry about health emergencies that could threaten themselves, their children, and their families. Learn about some of the women that the Ripples USA has positively impacted through reading through some of our case studies below.

Dr Maryam and her team provide medical services to the group of the Boko Haram orphans

As the head of the delivery of Medical Outreach programs in Northern Nigeria is Dr. Maryam, the head of the medical team (Northern Nigeria) is located at the city of Kano in the Northern of Nigeria. Dr Maryam has totally devoted her time and talents to the mission of Ripples USA. Dr. Maryam leads the medical outreach missions in Northern Nigeria, and remains on the ground even after the outreach team leaves, ensuring that patients have continuous access to care and follow-up appointments are available for those who need them. Dr Maryam and her team are on ground and continue to provide medical services to the group of the Boko Haram orphans. The photo was taken during a medical outreach campaign responding to a request from the Boko Haram orphans.

Iyabo, a diabetic, receives a free consultation and treatment from Ripples medical staff.

Our Medical Outreach Program is one of most requested in the communities we work in because they give individuals the opportunity to access care and treatment when they would otherwise have been unable to. In this particular photo, a mother of four children, named Iyabo, receives a free consultation from Ripples medical staff. Iyabo is diabetic and with the help of Ripples, was able to receive free treatment. With the security of knowing that her health is in-check, Iyabo is able to continue to care for her children to the best of her ability. Ripples USA’s goal is to support women like Iyabo and her family, to guarantee that their futures are not compromised by treatable health conditions.

Opeyemi, Nigerian woman, received a free diagnosis and consulation from the Ripples medical team

Many African countries lag behind in a variety of health indicators, such as infant and maternal mortality, poor life expectancy, high disease burden, and deaths from preventable disease conditions. The Ripples USA is one of the organizations that is working to better health outcomes for African people, and we do this through activities like screening services, provision of free medication, etc. In this photo, Opeyemi, a Nigerian woman, is receiving a free diagnosis, free medical consultation from a Ripples medical team. It was revealed that Opeyemi has high blood pressure, one the most common complaints, but with the assistance of Ripples, she was able to receive both a diagnosis and medication, at no financial cost.

Temitope, a six year-old girl with an ear infection, received treatment from a Ripples doctor.

Temitope is a six year-old girl with an ear infection, who after meeting with a Ripples doctor, received her treatment, No Consultation fees, no fees for her medicines, and no, her mother doesn’t need to take a loan from a loan-shack either.. Though Temitope was only six, she was immensely grateful for the help she received that day, because it gave her a chance to become healthy again and to live a life unhindered by illness. However, that is not the case for many children today. Currently, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest under-five mortality rate of any region in the world and in 2019, 1 in 13 children in sub-Saharan Africa died before reaching their fifth birthday.¹ By helping kids like Temitope, Ripples is actively working to change those statistics, and making sure that children have a fighting chance to achieve their own future dreams.

¹ Child Mortality – UNICEF Data

COVID-19 RESPONSE

Addressing the Current Need

Where we are going

COVID-19 Campaigns