Anne's Fundraiser Letter (PDF 2)

8/20/2019 Anne's Fundraiser Letter (PDF 2)

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Mt. KilimanjaroHealthcare and Clean Water Climb 2016



Dear Friends and Family,

This letter is to inform you that I have made a commitment to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in July of 2016 to raisemoney for Child Legacy’s clean water climb ministry and for Pothawira (the women and children’s healthcarecenter in Malawi that I co-founded with my parents). I was talking to a woman who conquered the climb last year

and she told me that this was the hardest thing she had ever done and that it was even harder than child birth.Imagine how frightening that must sound to a woman like myself who has gone through a natural child birth withno pain medications and has since found no other pain that compares to the pain of childbirth.

Despite my fear of failure, my fear ofpain and hardship, I have decided toclimb that mountain to raise moneyfor my fellow Malawians who aredealing with hardships daily due tosevere poverty and lack of resourcesthat prevent them from being able tohave the basic needs of life including

clean water to drink and access togood healthcare.

As most of you already know, I grew up in a small village outside of Salima,Malawi called Thonje. Our family experienced first hand the challenges ofliving in remote villages where poverty prevails and opportunity to escape itis almost nonexistent. I often felt forgotten and was certain no one else inthe world knew we were there and needed help. I almost lost my young sisterwhen she was 2 after drinking the contaminated water we carried on ourheads from the rivers and brought home. The nearest hospital that couldprovide healthcare was over thirty miles away. With no modern means oftransport, my parents carried her on their back when she was near dead androde a bicycle all night to reach the healthcare center. Luckily, she lived, and

in fact climbed Kilimanjaro in 2014 for that reason.

I am beyond grateful for the gift that was given to me through education by an American ER physician, DonnaIvey, who came to Malawi for a short term medical missions and decided to give a scholarship to a village girl,who once felt forgotten, to pursue her dream to become a doctor in the United States of America. I am now livingmy dream as a Gynecologic Oncologist for Houston Methodist Hospital, and able to give back to my country andmy people. I co-founded Pothawira (Safe Haven) Christian Organization, in Salima, Malawi. Pothawira has anorphanage with 126 children with 12 mommas, a school with over 300 children, and a women and children’shealthcare center which sees over 200 patients a day, who would otherwise have no access to healthcare.



On a recent trip to Malawi, I saw a woman whocame to one of the local district hospitals inlabor but needed an urgent C-section becauseshe had previous C-sections and was at risk ofher uterus rupturing, which could becatastrophic to her and her unborn child. Forseveral hours the woman laid on a gurney

outside the C-section room screaming withpain but could not have the needed surgerybecause the hospital had lost electricity andthe back up generator had no fuel. She endedup with a ruptured uterus, massive bleeding,and a dead baby in her abdomen. I also visitedthe pediatric ward which was filled withchildren dying from malaria, malnutrition and

dehydration associated with gastrointestinal disease from drinking contaminated water. The worst part is knowingsimilar stories are happening to many women and children all over Malawi. I found myself wondering how Isurvived living there and how my mother survived delivering 8 children under such conditions.

The continued suffering of my friends and family in Malawi has fueled my desire to take this challenge. I am

willing to undergo the difficult experience of climbing Kilimanjaro because I want to see more children in Malawigrow up to be adults and become future leaders of our country instead of dying as infants and toddlers from lackof access to basic needs of life like clean water, food, and good healthcare. I want to climb Kilimanjaro for everychild in our orphanage, and every child in Malawi who has lost a mother in childbirth because of lack of accessto a safe delivery facility. I want to climb Kilimanjaro for every bucket of contaminated water I carried on my headhome, while living in Thonje, and for every little girl in Malawi still doing that today. I want to climb Kilimanjaro toget close enough to heaven and thank God for sparing my mother’s life during childbirth at that same hospital,where I saw the woman with a ruptured uterus deliver a dead baby. I want to climb Kilimanjaro to thank God forthe gift of the United States of America, which has allowed a village girl like myself to live her dream and be able

to go back to her country and help her people, who are still living inthe same conditions she did.

I am asking you all to joinme as I embark on thischallenge of participating inChild Legacy’s annual Mt.Kilimanjaro Clean WaterClimb with 14 other peopleincluding my sister Mable.I want to raise $20,000 forclean water and for thewomen and children’shealthcare center atPothawira. I have ananonymous donor who will

match dollar for dollar up to $10,000 that I raise. $10,000 matched forclean water will help repair broken wells and provide clean safe water to drink for 8 villages benefitting 16,000people. The rest of the money will be used to continue to provide quality medical care to people who come toPothawira that otherwise have no access to healthcare because of their poverty. One child dies every 30secondsin Malawi from malaria. A rapid malaria test at $1 allows early diagnosis and treatment. Imagine how many liveswill be saved. I once heard someone say “women and children are dying in third world countries not because theworld doesn’t know, but because the world has yet to decide what their lives are worth.” What a tough truth for avillage girl like myself who was once destined for the same outcome.



Please join me in deciding today that like mine, theirlives are worth more and worth saving one person ata time. This is a win-win for me to help my fellowMalawians have access to clean water and goodhealthcare.To make donations please send checks to GlobalHealth Innovations. 7280 NW 87

th Terrace, Suite

210, Kansas City, MO, 64153. Please writeKilimanjaro climb on the menu. 100 percent of yourdonation is tax deductible and will go towards cleanwater and Pothawira Women and Children’s HealthCare Center. If you want to donate online please goto www.globalhealthinnovations.org/malawi-project/.Scroll down and it will take you to the page to donatenow. Fill out the information and I will receive anemail notice of your donation right away.

Documents

Anne's Fundraiser Letter (PDF 2)