UN, Kids for Kids, Government of North Darfur Unite to Deliver Medical Equipment to Remote Hospital in Darfur
Corvallis, OR, March 11, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Kids for Kids’ Trustees Patricia Parker MBE and Alastair King-Smith arrived today in Khartoum after a week in North Darfur where they were able to deliver medical equipment to a remote rural hospital. Mellit is home to over 151,000 people, plus an emergency displaced camp of thousands, but whose hospital is virtually empty of equipment of any sort. “When we first visited Mellit in 2001, before the conflict started, we were shocked to find there was no anesthetic of any kind, no oxygen and virtually no other equipment” said Patricia. “If there was a problem, the patient had to travel a further 90 miles to the regional capital, El Fasher – and often the only means of transport was a donkey. We have been determined to help by donating equipment. This is the first time we have been able to get anything there for over two years.”
The equipment was flown by a United Nations World Food Programme helicopter to Mellit where a convoy of vehicles from the new UN-AU international peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, UNAMID, including an armoured vehicle, transported the life saving equipment to the hospital. Filming the delivery, was the UK film company Maya Vision International, currently making a documentary film looking beyond the camps and featuring the work of Kids for Kids in the villages.
Commissioner of Mellit H.E. Mr. Abdulla Al Zubeir said “We are grateful to the donors of Kids for Kids for showing such friendship and support for our people. Conditions in the villages are harsh, and the journey to hospital can be dangerous. Now the villagers living in these far-flung rural areas in the desert will have a chance of treatment.”
“This is a real partnership – the equipment was donated by Kids for Kids and a Sudanese medical company El Zahrawi Medix which is also providing servicing free. We are grateful to UNAMID, WFP and the Governor of North Darfur, H.E. Mr Osman Kubur, for making this donation possible. It is rewarding how people come together to help when there is such obvious need” said Patricia.
During their seven day visit to Darfur the Trustees visited many villages beyond the displaced camps for the first time since the conflict started. “We visit Darfur regularly” said Patricia “but on some visits it has been so insecure that we have not been able to go out beyond the outskirts of El Fasher and have held workshops in the regional capital for those villagers able to come to see us. Incredibly some of them walked over 95 miles just to tell us how much our projects are helping them. This time however we were able to go to them, and to see for ourselves how our goats and donkeys are helping.”
Kids for Kids’ supports communities through long term self sustainable projects identified and run by the villagers themselves. “The loan of just 6 goats can transform a mother’s life” said Patricia “but the importance too is that after 2 years the family passes on 6 of the offspring to another family so that in the end the loan benefits everyone.
Kids for Kids provides donkeys – the only means of transport in this vast desert landscape – trains midwives and first aid workers, and provides health care for the animals too, through paravets and veterinary drugs. Access to water is one of the enormous difficulties people face. It is not unusual for people to walk 15 miles to reach a handpump. Kids for Kids has so far funded over 47 handpumps. During their visit, the Trustees looked into additional possibilities, such as the provision of hafirs and dams and the simple assistance of a water cart pulled by a donkey.
“The difficulties of helping people in such a complex situation as Darfur are enormous. I started Kids for Kids because of the lack of even the most basic things, water, food, health care for children – what is shocking, is that the effect of the violence on people struggling to survive in the hundreds of rural villages beyond the emergency camps, has been totally ignored” said Patricia. “What we are doing brings help directly to the families, changing their lives in a dramatic way. The medical equipment that has just been delivered will have an immediate impact on hundreds of families, saving many lives.” www.kidsforkids.org.uk
Patricia Parker, Kids for Kids Chief Executive and Chairman of Trustees, will be in the U.S. from April15 through May 3, spreading awareness and raising funds in Oregon, Northern California, Dallas, and Washington DC. She is available for interviews and can be booked for speaking engagements: kathy@kidsforkids.org.uk.
Contact:
Kathy Donaldson, US Friends of Kids for Kids
kathy@kidsforkids.org.uk
PO Box 1553,
Philomath,
Oregon,
USA
Ph: 541-760-8306
###
The equipment was flown by a United Nations World Food Programme helicopter to Mellit where a convoy of vehicles from the new UN-AU international peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, UNAMID, including an armoured vehicle, transported the life saving equipment to the hospital. Filming the delivery, was the UK film company Maya Vision International, currently making a documentary film looking beyond the camps and featuring the work of Kids for Kids in the villages.
Commissioner of Mellit H.E. Mr. Abdulla Al Zubeir said “We are grateful to the donors of Kids for Kids for showing such friendship and support for our people. Conditions in the villages are harsh, and the journey to hospital can be dangerous. Now the villagers living in these far-flung rural areas in the desert will have a chance of treatment.”
“This is a real partnership – the equipment was donated by Kids for Kids and a Sudanese medical company El Zahrawi Medix which is also providing servicing free. We are grateful to UNAMID, WFP and the Governor of North Darfur, H.E. Mr Osman Kubur, for making this donation possible. It is rewarding how people come together to help when there is such obvious need” said Patricia.
During their seven day visit to Darfur the Trustees visited many villages beyond the displaced camps for the first time since the conflict started. “We visit Darfur regularly” said Patricia “but on some visits it has been so insecure that we have not been able to go out beyond the outskirts of El Fasher and have held workshops in the regional capital for those villagers able to come to see us. Incredibly some of them walked over 95 miles just to tell us how much our projects are helping them. This time however we were able to go to them, and to see for ourselves how our goats and donkeys are helping.”
Kids for Kids’ supports communities through long term self sustainable projects identified and run by the villagers themselves. “The loan of just 6 goats can transform a mother’s life” said Patricia “but the importance too is that after 2 years the family passes on 6 of the offspring to another family so that in the end the loan benefits everyone.
Kids for Kids provides donkeys – the only means of transport in this vast desert landscape – trains midwives and first aid workers, and provides health care for the animals too, through paravets and veterinary drugs. Access to water is one of the enormous difficulties people face. It is not unusual for people to walk 15 miles to reach a handpump. Kids for Kids has so far funded over 47 handpumps. During their visit, the Trustees looked into additional possibilities, such as the provision of hafirs and dams and the simple assistance of a water cart pulled by a donkey.
“The difficulties of helping people in such a complex situation as Darfur are enormous. I started Kids for Kids because of the lack of even the most basic things, water, food, health care for children – what is shocking, is that the effect of the violence on people struggling to survive in the hundreds of rural villages beyond the emergency camps, has been totally ignored” said Patricia. “What we are doing brings help directly to the families, changing their lives in a dramatic way. The medical equipment that has just been delivered will have an immediate impact on hundreds of families, saving many lives.” www.kidsforkids.org.uk
Patricia Parker, Kids for Kids Chief Executive and Chairman of Trustees, will be in the U.S. from April15 through May 3, spreading awareness and raising funds in Oregon, Northern California, Dallas, and Washington DC. She is available for interviews and can be booked for speaking engagements: kathy@kidsforkids.org.uk.
Contact:
Kathy Donaldson, US Friends of Kids for Kids
kathy@kidsforkids.org.uk
PO Box 1553,
Philomath,
Oregon,
USA
Ph: 541-760-8306
###
Contact
US Friends of Kids for Kids
Kathy Donaldson
541-760-8306
www.kidsforkids.org.uk
Kathy Donaldson
541-760-8306
www.kidsforkids.org.uk
Contact
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