GOALS: To build, equip, and operate a health center
Country Background:
Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa: Bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, West of Ghana and East of Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire is an impoverished nation located in the western region of Africa.
Quick Facts: Area: 322,500 sq. km. (124,500 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.
Population: 20, 677,000
Climate: Tropical in the south; arid in the north Capital: Abidjan (economic capital; Yamoussoukro- political capital)
Religions: Indigenous 10%-20%, Muslim 35%-40%, and Christian (Catholic, Protestant, and other denominations) 25%-35%. Languages: French (official) and more than 60 dialects.
Life expectancy: 46 years. Literacy rate: 51%.
Project Background and Needs Assessment Summary:
Tonhon is a relatively small village with an estimated population of 5,000, and located in northern Cote d’Ivoire in the province of M’Bengue. Tonhon is located at roughly three driving hours from Korhogo, one of the largest towns in the north of Côte d’Ivoire, and where ETP holds an office. The people of Tonhon and surrounding villages are farmers, miners, weavers, small traders, and live on less than $1.00 per day.
The village of Tonhon exemplifies Africa’s conundrum—rich in mineral resources (gold), but destitute. Pregnant women in Tonhon and surrounding villages are dying during child labor from excessive bleeding and unsanitary delivery conditions (inside their mud huts). Malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria, are the leading cause of child mortality. Thousands of children and adults wake up each morning sick and desperate with no equipped health center to attend, pregnant women are give birth inside their mud huts without pre and post natal care. Delivering GOD’s most precious gift--a child, is a matter of death and life in Tonhon and surrounding villages.
“I lived and grew up in villages like Tonhon, where health centers, electricity, clean running water, and schools are nonexistent. It numbs my mind to realize that the conditions, in which my grand-parents, parents, and I lived, are still prevalent in 2011. Children continue to die in their mother’s hands from preventable and curable diseases like malaria, malnutrition, and cholera, while pregnant women are dying during child labor because there is no maternity. HIV/AIDS is creeping into surrounding villages due to the presence of the goldmine in Tonhon, which has attracted prostitutes there. Building, equipping, and operating a health center in the village of Tonhon will serve 6 to 9 surrounding villages and save thousands of lives, as it will include a (1) maternity,(2) primary care, a (3)community health education wing, and (4) a small pharmacy. I invite you to make a donation of any amount or ask friends to participate in the Buy Bricks Save Lives campaign, as every dollar matters. I really appreciate your contribution, as I know firsthand what it feels like to live and become sick in a village where there are no health centers and basic life necessities are not available. I am alive today by the GRACE of GOD, and I thank you in advance for making a contribution to the Tonhon Health Center Projects, because it is a lifesaving gift.” Darius Coulibaly, Chief Executive Servant & Founder, Empowering The Poor.
Project Budget: US$35,000= 16,521,657.31 CFA (CFA is Cote d’Ivoire’s currency. It fluctuates each day the conversion rate as 10/25/2011 is CFA/USD = 472.04735.)
TONHON HEALTH CENTER will include:
1. Maternity wing 2. Primary Care wing, 3. Community Health Education wing, 4. Pharmacy 5. 5bathrooms.
Fundraising Goal: Raise $35,000 by July 1st, 2012 through various fundraising events such as the Buy Bricks Save Lives campaign
Fundraising Status: As of October 25th, 2011, we raised $801 through the Buy Bricks Save Lives Campaign. BUY few Bricks Now!
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