Fundraising Explanation

In February 2009 I spent two and a half weeks as a volunteer obstetric nurse at a teaching hospital in Western Uganda (Mbarara Referral Hospital) with a team of nurses and doctors from UCLA working along with the organization Medicine for Humanity.

The experience was exceptionally inspirational and educational while at the same time overwhelmingly difficult and shocking. The hospital cannot afford basic supplies, and therefore, patients must bring their own surgical gloves and purchase their own antibiotics. Patients are also expected to bring their own linens, including receiving blankets for newborns, and sheets to sleep on after delivery. If a patient cannot afford these supplies there are rarely free or donated options. Otherwise healthy women may die because they are unable to afford the antibiotics needed to treat a postpartum infection. On an systemic level, emergency cesarean deliveries are delayed for hours, even days due to a lack of sterile surgical gloves, or because the surgical drapes, gowns, and lap pads need to be laundered and dried under the sun. After attempting a full resuscitation on an apenic baby I was told not to “waste” oxygen. I later learned that the entire hospital has an oxygen shortage.

Kari Waddell and I (Lisa Miller) are planning to return to Mbarara in September (10th-27th) and we would like to bring supplies that will be useful in acute situations (antibiotics, sterile gloves, sutures) as well as sustainable interventions (doppler, portable suction, ultrasound gel and batteries).

This is where you all come in!

Please check out our Wish List (on the right side bar) and if you feel inclined, you can donate money towards supplies directly from this blog. The "bundles" on the Wish List are packages of items that total to make an even amount of money for simple no-brainer donations. Please choose a bundle and email me or Kari (lisamillertime@gmail.com , Kari5656@gmail.com) with your donation preferences or write a comment on the blog. If there is a specific item you would like to donate towards (rather than a bundle) we can also make that happen...just let us know.

Checks are the preferred method of payment for donations. Medicine for Humanity can accept credit card or paypal payments, however, some of the donation is lost in processing costs.

Please send donations directly to Medicine for Humanity:

Medicine for Humanity

22866 Beckledge Terrace

Malibu, CA 90265

Or, if you would like to use a credit card/paypal account, click on the link:

Donate

Medicine for Humanity is a small organization, and therefore these donations will not get lost in operational costs or confusing bureaucracy. 100% of the donations received will go directly towards getting these supplies to the patients in Mbarara... no overhead costs, no admin fees, no airfare costs. All of it will go straight towards directly helping the patients.

Medicine for Humanity is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization.

All donations are tax-deductable and a receipt will be provided with the tax ID number.