SHIPMENT FEEDBACK
Guinea has long struggled with instability and internal conflict, and this has slowed development. Despite Guinea’s vast natural resources, the people of Guinea are amongst the poorest in West Africa. Resources have been further strained in recent decades by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the neighbouring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Our local NGO partners in the region are running a number of projects to try and address the challenges faced by their people. They work with communities to provide healthcare and education in rural areas, to train young people with practical and vocational skills, and to run an orphanage providing care and support to children who have lost their parents.
“Before, we used to have to travel a long distance to do tests for our patients, but now we can perform the tests right in our hospital!” – NGO Staff
Staff at this rural hospital work hard to do their best with limited resources. They were excited to receive a large quantity of furniture, office equipment, computers and medical equipment and supplies to help them do their job better. They can now offer new services to the local community that formerly were only available many hours away.
Children from impoverished families often drop out of school because they can’t afford stationery or decent clothes. Our partners told us that school stationery from Crossroads’ shipment helped supply exercise books and other items to many children whose families couldn’t afford school supplies.
Mr Bangoura has been confined to a wheelchair since an accident in 2009 but his wheelchair was old and broken. He badly needed a new one. “It was affecting him so much, as he couldn’t move around,” said our partners. When Crossroads’ shipment arrived, their staff were able to provide Mr Bangoura with a new wheelchair, bringing the man’s father to tears. “He has been wondering how he could raise the money to buy a new wheelchair for his son,” said staff.
The impact of Crossroads’ shipment was remarkable, both at an administrative level, such as hospital equipment and supplies that will benefit many thousands, and on an individual level, such as people with disabilities who were in desperate need of wheelchairs and now have brand new wheelchairs from the shipment. Staff wrote, “When the ultrasound arrived at the hospital, there was a group of women from the community who broke into singing as joy filled their hearts. Why were they rejoicing? Because they no longer need to walk a long distance in search of a better hospital.” Other medical equipment included an oxygen monitor, microscope, IV poles and commode wheelchairs, all hugely valuable to the under-resourced hospital.
We are hugely grateful to all who contributed to this shipment for their investment in the lives of people in rural Guinea.
Reference No. : S4881
