Hi, As you all may know, I’ve been in Zimbabwe initiating a project to train local people to perform many of the basic but essential competencies performed in a rehabilitation department. The goal was to train 10-20 unemployed individuals to take some of the workload off of the overburdened Rehabilitation Technicians at Howard Hospital, improving the efficiency and productivity of their rehabilitation department. In the end, we trained 14 rehabilitation aides who are currently working in the hospital and in the provision of home based care in the community. This program has already improved the inpatient productivity of the rehabilitation department nearly 1000%, as the rehabilitation aides now ensure that the in-patients get mobile daily, in an attempt to mediate the negative effects of bedrest. This service alone will be invaluable.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this project. Without the generosity of my friends and family, I wouldn’t have been able to coordinate this project with the people in Zimbabwe. Some of you have donated time or money already. Please know that Marjury and Passmore, the rehabilitation technicians at Howard Hospital, the rehabilitation aides, the doctors and nurses, and many individuals from the community extend deep gratitude for your contributions, during this difficult economic time in Zimbabwe.
For any of my friends that pledged their support and are still interested in helping me and the people of Zimbabwe with this project, please know that, you can now donate through the Salvation Army and receive an official tax receipt.
To donate…
www.SalvationArmy.ca website. There is a donor page and a space to indicate the specifics of the donation. Write Zimbabwe, Howard Hospital, Rehabilitation Aid Project. Donations can be mailed to The Salvation Army, Territorial Headquarters, 2 Overlea Blvd, Toronto, ON, M4H 1P4. Attention: Major Gillian Brown, Director of World Missions.
The money we are collecting goes directly toward paying the wages of the Rehabilitation Aides and the Rehabilitation Technicians that direct the Aides. Each rehabilitation Aide earns a monthly wage of $20. That`s $240 per year. It isn’t a lot of money. But, living in a rural Zimbabwe where there is 99% unemployment, these individuals were without any income prior to the implementation of this program. And, if you could have seen how hard they worked during the training process, you might understand just how important this small amount of money is for their families.
If you have the means to support one of our Rehabilitation Aides, I invite you to visit the Salvation Army website to make a donation. Many of you offered to sponsor an aide for 1 year at $240, while we work towards solutions for the sustainability of this program, through local means. However, any amount is helpful and means the world to the people in the Howard Hospital community.
Thank you for your continued generosity,
Sincerely,
Justin Vanderleest
