Priority 1: Health care for the poor is almost nonexistent. Our first priority was to build a permanent medical clinic, therefore offering the poor, basic medical, dental and optical care. Acquiring land and constructing a building was going to take months of planning and the solicitation of funds upwards of $100,000, not to mention equipment, supplies, medicines, personnel, etc. Though the task seemed overwhelming, it was our mission and our goal so we went about making plans.
Sudden Opportunity: In March, 2009, we received word from our connections in Zambia (those scouting for land), that the Minister of Health in Zambia has a 3-acre piece of property just off the main north-south road. It is only fifteen minutes from our base of operations in Zambia. It has a 15-room concrete building (in need of repair) that the government was willing TO GIVE US if we could commit to the community medical clinic.
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Present Situation: The building on the property needs quite a bit of renovation but its structure and foundation are solid. The property needs to be cleaned up considerably to make it usable as a clinic. We are estimating that those two costs will be around $16,000. Past that we’ll need to find/purchase equipment for the medical rooms which will run another $6,000 and Gather a “starter set” of medical supplies and medicines which will be around $2,000. We will then need to get everything over there which will be another $14,000 and provide some onsite personnel which will be $6000. These estimates total $44,000. We already have commitments for $12,000, leaving us to raise $32,000.
Aggressive Timeline: In late May, 2009, we will be returning to Zambia for our yearly medical mission trip. It is our hopes that during that time, we can meet with the Minister of Health and complete the transaction and take possession of the property. This would allow us to get started before returning to the states and leave our onsite facilitator to head-up the renovations.
Our Goal: We have been working towards this end for almost a year now and doors are opening up like we’ve never seen. It is our goal to raise $30,000 in 30 days, take this money with us and start renovations immediately, hopefully having an operating clinic by late August of this year. We feel confident that we can reach this goal and open this clinic but we need to move quickly.
Sure we’d like your help, but we are not asking for anything. We just wanted you to be aware of our situation and our goal. If you’d like to find out more details, you can visit our website at www.ZambiaProject.org or call Ty Jones at 901-386-4163.
