RI Non-Profit Khadarlis Announces New Logo!

With the New Year comes new changes!

This year, Khadarlis is moving forward with a new logo, and we would love to share it with you. Take a look at some of Khadarlis' past logos below, and our newest logo below!

This logo will soon be featured at our new location on 105 Dodge Street Providence, RI.

Our new logo emphasizes our commitment to serve both Rhode Island and Sierra Leone. We do this with full giving and service, with our own bare hands.

All of the efforts of our staff and volunteers are symbolized within this connection. After all, we at Khadarlis always keep this saying in mind:

"Reaching to Connect means Everything. Reaching to Connect comes from the Heart."

Do you like our new logo? Comment and tell us what you think!

Khadarlis is moving this December!

They say the holiday season is the time of year for change and new beginnings. It's no different here for Khadarlis!

Since mid-December our wonderful staff and volunteers have been packing our office on Chalkstone Avenue. We've had a great run here at the Lillian Shawn Feinstein Center, but it is time to move!
And there is a lot to move!

You never really know how much there is to move until you actually have to! As we take down the posters and projects from our walls, we will take our history of service with us.

We will remember the service projects done by our college service learning teams, the people we've helped in Rhode Island and internationally, and the many hours we've put into Khadarlis.

We won't forget the many friends we have among seniors and staff here at the Center as well.

The new building space is located within the First Tabernacle Church.While we're a settling in the new office, we won't be open for service.

Front of the First Tabernacle Church

So once again we would like to remind you that our new location is 105 Dodge Street, right near Classical and Central High School and Cranston Street.

Unfortunately, we won't be serving the community until the start of the new year on January 7th.

We just don't have the time or location set up to handle our donations. We're saddened that we won't be open during the Christmas holiday or New Year but it's out of our control!

Please share this, and let others know our new location on 105 Dodge Street!

Khadarlis Announces New Partnership With Bakery!

The best partnerships can come when you least expect them!

If you don't know, Khadarlis' Community Outreach Center  is our biggest program serving the greater Providence area. We partner with state community action agencies to provide free household goods to low-income and homeless Rhode Islanders moving into homes or apartments as well as disaster victims. 

A typical bread shipment from Calise Bakery

We didn't know we would be giving away free food, too!

We had a pleasant surprise when Calise Bakey contacted us and began donating bread to Khadarlis to spread to the community. 

We are now giving the bread to the local churches and hungry people!

Calise bakery drops the bread off once a week and we've been getting as many as 400-500 loaves to give to the hungry folks who show up. 

In fact so many people have shown up, that our sign up sheet is quickly getting full. Not only is it convenient for others to pick up bread, but Khadarlis is able to give something away daily.

Giving away this much bread isn't easy! Since we're currently located in the Lillian Shawn Feinstein Senior Center, we are in a basement. We have to get the bread all the way down to our office! Thankfully, the delivery man and our volunteers have been so helpful!

Our community is hungry! Loaves are leaving by the dozens. And they should be since we've been getting everything from rolls to onion bread. 

Just in case you were thinking about getting bread at our office, WAIT!!!

 We're moving into a new office on 105 Dodge Street! Unfortunately we won't be serving the community until the beginning of January!

Thank you for reading and have a safe holiday!

Khadarlis Community Thanksgiving Dinner

We're all excited to be home for the holidays, especially when we have a delicious turkey waiting for us!

Meet some of those who came!

Unfortunately, while each of us enjoys turkey with our families not everyone is able to.

Providence's unemployment and homeless rate rank among the highest U.S., and ever year hundreds of people can't afford to have a turkey. Worse, some people won't be able celebrate at all.

Thanks to efforts of local organizations and communities, we can bring Thanksgiving to those who need it most!

This past Thanksgiving, Khadarlis teamed up with SIXFIVE81 to bring hold a Thanksgiving dinner that was open to the public. It was an awesome success and the picture to the right illustrates some of the people who came by!

If you stopped by, you might even have spotted Senator Paul Jabour.

We want to give special thanks to our sponsors who were gracious enough to donate food for this event with less than an month's worth of time before it started. We also want to thank our volunteers and executive staff for planning an event like this.

Dinner was delicious! If you're curious about who was cooking, it was Khadarlis' very own President, Dharlis Johnson, who not only prepared the ingredients the evening before, but cooked them too. 

President Dharlis Johnson (left)

Khadarlis will keep serving the homeless and struggling people of Rhode Island. We hope to hold another Thanksgiving event next year.

But one organization can't do it alone!

We need readers and supporters like you! When we truly strive to help others, we're working to create stronger communities.

Please, visit our website and see what you can do to help. Every donation and share counts!

Public Health Expert, Dr. Radford Davis, visits Sierra Leone

Public health expert and friend of Khadarlis Dr. Radford Davis recently visited the only clinic in the entire Jimmi Bagbo chiefdom, where most of Khadarlis’ work in Sierra Leone is based,  in order to assess the clinic’s ability to respond to public health threats. His photographs, which can be viewed in full on his site, reveal a clinic that is severely strapped for resources.

Although the clinic has a dedicated staff of 17 local health care workers and volunteers, the clinic has no electricity and no running water. The medical lab is a small corner of the room with a scale, picnic tables, and a malaria antigen test kit. They do not have enough supplies to fill the lab’s single shelf. The mosquito screens on the doors and windows to the clinic have large holes in them. The latrines are simply holes in the ground.

Medical supplies are scarce. The Ministry of Health makes a delivery only once every three months, and even then, the clinic receives less than the bare minimum they need to protect the health of the villagers. They can take their patients’ blood pressure, run test their patients for malaria and urinary tract infections, but they do not have the antibiotic medications needed to treat these conditions. Furthermore, they do not have diagnostic tests or supplies that can be used to treat one of the region’s most critical health problems, Lassa Fever. 

Lassa Fever is a viral infection that humans contract through contact with rodents, such as the rats that live near the clinic’s latrines. Although it is treatable, many patients die because their caregivers cannot identify the virus quickly enough or simply do not have the antiviral medication.

In 2011, Khadarlis volunteers visited the clinic and brought them gloves, towels, bandages, blankets, first aid kits, gynecological examination tools, and thermometers. These donations have been immensely useful for the clinic staff. Even though the clinic staff lacks the supplies they need to combat infectious diseases in the region, they have several experienced midwives who help to deliver babies and are instrumental in the effort to educate local villagers about preventative care measures.

However, the Jimmi Bagbo clinic could accomplish much more if the staff had access to more medical supplies. After observing and photographing this clinic firsthand, Dr. Radford Davis has vowed to help the clinic get the support it needs and will be working in conjunction with Khadarlis to make these improvements happen.

Fatama Turay UPDATE

            I am writing with a heavy heart and a saddened mind today, to inform you that Fatama Turay, the young woman we tried to save via fundraising campaign, passed away last week. For those of you who do not know, she suffered a lengthy battle with oral cancer before finally succumbing. We did all we could in terms of raising money for her treatment, but by the time we discovered her case, the cancer was far too advanced.

            She was 17 years old, an academic high-achiever, at the top of her class at her high school in Freetown. This accomplished, intelligent, beautiful young woman will be sorely missed by her family and friends, and we will continue to keep her in our thoughts and hearts over at Khadarlis.

Marisa N. | Volunteer Blogger

marisa@khadarlis.org

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone

Precision Agriculture

Not many people have heard the term “precision agriculture” before, understandably so; the concept is fairly new, unfamiliar even to ultra-modern farms in our own country. However, this new technology has important implications for the future of agriculture, the environment and food security. If implemented in a mainstream way, geostatistics and precision agriculture could make a huge impact on crop yield and environmental sustainability worldwide.

            Basically the idea of precision agriculture involves using specialized tools to analyze and record environmental data, such as soil composition, depth, alkalinity, quality, rock content, et cetera. Sounds like a pretty basic idea right? Precision agriculture takes it a step further to analyze the variations that take place throughout an individual plot of land. Therefore, a farmer would be better informed, year after year, as to which locations on his or her land best suit which crops, as well as any soil modifications that might be necessary to improve quality. All of this would serve to improve crop yield, which would aid food security measures and individual farmers worldwide, as well as environmental protection, which would encourage sustainable agriculture for generations to come.

            However, the impact of this new technology (or application of technology) on countries like Sierra Leone remains to be seen. Indubitably, the developing world tends to be last to receive new technological advancements like these, and it’s likely that at first it would only benefit a small amount of farmers. And while a higher crop yield might also enable the U.S. to increase its food aid gifts to countries like Sierra Leone, the benefit there is negligible, as it is of course no guarantee that such a food surplus would in fact lead to additional aid. Not to be underestimated, though, is the potential savings in environmental impact – the continent of Africa boasts a wide gradient of ecologically diverse environments, and as such tends to suffer the most from the devastating effects of climate change.

            Surely, this new agricultural practice is an exciting development that could mean big things for Sierra Leone’s farmers. However, it remains to be seen if that technological leap forward will truly play out in the most advantageous ways to the people, or if it will remain a tool only for use on wealthier, modernized farms like those in the United States – ultimately not where it is most needed.

Marisa N | Volunteer Blogger

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone

marisa@khadarlis.org

Fatama Turay UPDATE

Even if you have read Fatama's story before, please do so again, as the information and  fundraising link has changed!

I am writing today with a heavy heart, and a call to action. A woman contacted us at Khadarlis only a few days ago, informing us of a desperate need for assistance. A young Sierra Leonean woman named Fatama has been suffering from an oral infection (now identified as cancer) for a heartbreakingly long time. She had a tooth extraction in March of 2012, and a few days later, she began to experience swelling in her jaw. A ground team in Sierra Leone confirmed this case and sent us photographs as evidence of its legitimacy. Fatama has had surgery, antibiotics and more, but has responded to none of the treatments. She is now experiencing a burning in her throat, and can barely eat. No hospital or clinic has been able to treat her with any success.

            This beautiful young woman is 17 years old, an accomplished high school student in Freetown. Khadarlis is trying to raise money to send her to a hospital that can properly treat her. Please, if you can help, even a small amount, even a few dollars, it will go a long way to helping Fatama get treatment that will save her life. You can make a tax-deductible donation online here: http://www.razoo.com/story/Help-Save-Fatmata-Turay-S-Life   or mail a check (memo line: Fatama Turay) to:

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone

99 Academy Avenue, Providence, RI

02908

This picture above is Fatama before the infection set in.

I have attached a photo and her sick history (written by her mother) below from just a few days ago, but please be wary, the pictures are simply heartbreaking, and very difficult to look at. Please, consider putting your support behind this important case. Every penny is significant, and each bit goes another step towards saving this young woman’s life.

HER SICK HISTORY

Fatmata had a tooth extraction carried out on 3rd March, 2012. After few days, swelling commenced.

On April, 2012 surgical procedure had to be done on the same area at the Connaught Hospital Freetown (Dr. Patrick Don-Davies- Chief Dental Officer), after that, Radiographic survey showed osteolytic, and destruction lesion of most of the right mandible and maxilla. Since April to June, she was on antibiotics but was not responding to treatment. So, some doctors were suggesting that it could be Burkitt Lymphoma.

On August, 2012 she was referred from another clinic from one of the hospital in the North Makeni Government Hospital to be precise, X-ray shows she has loss of the mandible.

On October, 012 she was admitted again at the Holy Spirit Hospital, Northern Sierra Leone, she was giving the same treatment (antibiotics) but the swelling still remain the same.

On November, 2012 Fatmata was referred to Guinea – Conakry Hospital Ship M/V Africa seeking surgical treatment. During the pre-operative screening process the doctors said they highly suspect symptoms for Burkitt Lymphoma, but they didn’t do any test nor X-ray. They said they do not have the capability to provide treatment for this illness.

On December, 2012 Madam Harriet took the poor girl to her doctor (Dr. Arthur D O Wright) who suggested we do biopsy test. The result of the biopsy was Epulias with no signs of malignancy. However, other experts doubted this diagnosis so with the help of fun-raising efforts from Madam Harriet Danjaju, we were sent to recommended hospital in Ghana for repeat biopsy and possible treatment. Their biopsy concluded Squamous cell carcinoma and they told us Fatmat’s condition was terminal and abandoned us. We flew back to Sierra Leone, again with the help of Madam Danjaji, and are now admitted at Choitram Hospital in Freetown for stabilization as Fatmata’s condition continues to worsen. Experts abroad and in Sierra Leone doubt the cursory medical investigations done in Ghana and the diagnosis. A hospital in the USA has agreed to analyse another biopsy of Fatama’s mass so we can get a definite diagnosis and pursue treatment. We are hoping to go to a hospital in India once a diagnosis is made and Fatmata is stable enough to travel.

Imagine if this was your child. Please help me save my only child’s life. Every little helps. May God bless you in abundance for your generousity. Please pray for my child’s recovery. My heart bleeds for her as I see her slowly and painfully fade away likel this. Thank you for reading our story.

Healthy, Wealthy and Wise? Healthcare in Sierra Leone

Healthcare has been a topic of intense debate in the United States these past few years. We argue about the best way to go about taking care of the poor, and how to care for those who have no insurance. Should they be prioritized behind those with insurance? Should everyone be penalized going without insurance? Should an insurance company be allowed to deny coverage due to a pre-existing condition? What we often forget during these conversations, important as they are, is that many Americans are fortunate just to have insurance. In Sierra Leone, insurance is not a topic discussed in the news media or at the dinner table, because nearly all medical care in Sierra Leone is paid for out of pocket.

            Healthcare in Sierra Leone is managed by a mixture of private, government and non-government organizations (NGOs). The country is divided into districts and each is run independently, generally decently effectively. Though the infrastructure may have been destroyed during the war, it is gradually recovering. However, the public health situation in Sierra Leone is somewhat bleak – the average life expectancy is only 48. In 2007 the country had the highest child mortality rate in the world, and although it has been steadily improving since then, the maternal mortality rates remain some of the highest in the world. The country also suffers from periodic epidemics of disease, such as yellow fever, cholera and meningitis.

            The lack of institutionalized insurance in Sierra Leone is a big factor, as healthcare (preventative or otherwise) is extremely cost-prohibitive in a country where 70% of the population lives below the global poverty line. Sierra Leone has launched several public health initiatives, mostly aimed at reducing the maternal / infant mortality rate, and the United Nations continues to assist Sierra Leone in rebuilding its hospitals and medical centers. A sophisticated and comprehensive healthcare system is still a long way off. While our system is not perfect, we should appreciate the basic healthcare most of us enjoy access to, and assist our neighbors in Sierra Leone any way we can to reconstruct a healthcare system that will best serve the needs of their community.

Marisa N. | Volunteer Blogger

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone

marisa@khadarlis.org

Khadarlis’ Work in Education

            Education in Sierra Leone has been in deep water since the civil war. Because of the conflict and violence, many school buildings have been destroyed, resources demolished, and the institution of education that would naturally guide children through school starting in early childhood, lost. There is no formal schooling process for children or would-be teachers in much of Sierra Leone at this time. The situation is especially dire for girls, as in many areas, cultural beliefs against educating girls and women preventing them from accessing appropriate schooling.

            Fortunately, a big part of the Khadarlis mission revolves around education in Sierra Leone. We have instituted a program called Classroom-to-Classroom, in which U.S. students sponsor a class in Sierra Leone. We have assisted with building repairs, resource funding, school meals and much more. Boxes and boxes of school supplies hve been shipped to Sierra Leone – textbooks, pens, pencils, notebooks and more. Our goal is to supply at least one pencil, pen notebook and term meal for each student, to assist with his or her learning. While there is still much work left to do, Khadarlis continues to work steadily to bring the light of learning into the lives of Sierra Leone’s future doctors, teachers, parents, business owners and leaders.

An Appeal for Help

            I am writing today with a heavy heart, and a call to action. A woman contacted Khadarlis only a few days ago, informing us of a desperate need for assistance. A young Sierra Leonean woman named Fatama has been suffering from an oral infection for a heartbreakingly long time. She had a tooth extraction in March of 2012, and a few days later, she began to experience swelling in her jaw. A ground team in Sierra Leone confirmed this case and sent us photographs as evidence of its legitimacy. Fatama has had surgery, antibiotics and more, but has responded to none of the treatments. She is now experiencing a burning in her throat, and can barely eat. No hospital or clinic has been able to treat her with any success.

            This beautiful young woman is 17 years old, an accomplished high school student in Freetown. Khadarlis is trying to raise money to send her to a hospital that can properly treat her. Please, if you can help, even a small amount, even a few dollars, it will go a long way to helping Fatama get treatment that will save her life. You can make a tax-deductible donation online here: http://www.razoo.com/story/First-Aid-Sierra-Leone/share     or mail a check (memo line: Fatama Turay) to:

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone

99 Academy Avenue, Providence, RI

02908

This is a picture of Fatama before the infection set in:

I have attached a photo below from just a few days ago, but please be wary, the pictures are simply heartbreaking, and very difficult to look at. Please, consider putting your support behind this important case. Every penny is significant, and each bit goes another step towards saving this young woman's life.