Mother Maryam Foundation News
Updated July 2011
The clinic opened on July 1st, with Dr. Omda officiating over the opening ceremony. The Minister or Health for the Northern Province attended and spoke, as did the Governor of Dongola District. Dr. Abdelaziz Osman represented the Mother Maryam Foundation Board. Several of Mother Maryam Saeed's children and grandchildren also attended.
The clinic will open officially on July 1st. Thanks to our generous donors, the clinic is built and equipped and fully staffed. It has running water, electricity, a back-up generator, and an ambulance. The staff includes a permanent doctor, a nurse, a lab technician, a pharmacist, an ambulance driver, a guard, a cleaning crew, and a clerk / receptionist. Dr. Omda will visit weekly and he will arrange for visiting specialist teams.
In December 2011, we plan to take a visiting team of dentists from the US to provide care in the clinic.
In the latest news of the cataract project, screenings have been performed in the village and in the capital. We await word from Khartoum Rotary Club as to when the operations will take place.
Updated February 12, 2010
A LOT has happened since our last update.
With the help of Sarah Campbell, The Campbell Family Foundation donated $10,000 to the Mother Maryam Foundation in October 2009, bringing their donations to a total of $25,000.
****
In late November 2009 during the course of a holiday trip in the Northern Province, several Khartoum Rotarians visited al-Zawrat and the nearly-completed clinic. Dr. Omda came from Dongola to show them the clinic, the generator, and the water tank. Rotarians Zuheir Saeed, Soheib al-Badawi, Tryphon Kaladakis and their accompanying friends and family members were pleased to see the quality of work. They discussed with Dr. Omda some necessary additions. They had tea with a village family before continuing their drive back to Khartoum. See photos of and by the Khartoum Rotarians.
***
The International Foundation of Fort Wayne NJ made a donation of $10,000 to Mother Maryam Foundation in December 2009.
****
On December 13, 2009 MMF board members Awad and Linda made a presentation at the Rotary Club of Manama in Bahrain, acquainting that club with MMF activities in al-Zawrat, the Clinic Project, and the Cataract Operation Project undertaken by the Khartoum Rotary Club with the assistance of the Mother Maryam Foundation and Austin Rotary Clubs.
The lunchtime meeting began with President Ussama Hamza presenting awards acknowledging the service of outstanding Bahraini fire-fighters and safety officers. Then the MMF presentation illustrated the various projects carried out over the years, thanking the Bahrain Rotarians for their contribution as members of District 2450. At meeting's end, the club collected "chatting penalties" from members, which they donated to the Cataract Project in Khartoum. Three Bahraini students home on holiday from studying at St. Edwards' University added their donations to those of the Club. See photos of the Manama Rotary Club meeting.
****
On December 17, 2009, Awad and Linda arrived in the village for a visit. We took medicines donated by Lisa Leach and the Plano West Rotary Club. We also took a supply of children's jackets and clothing collected by Dawn and Leah Goetzel and Candance, Perry and Zoe Hutchens to be distributed to villagers in need. We took $1500 to the Kolomiseed Elementary School for staff bonuses and school improvements. The school money was collected in donation jars at the Nile Valley Herbs booths at Austin farmers' markets over the preceding year and some of it was donated by Leah Goetzel.
When we left the village in January 2009 after the groundbreaking ceremony, work was just beginning on the foundation of the clinic. By December 2009, the basic structure of the building had been completed. While the entryway includes decorative Nubian elements, the building itself is quite different than others in the area. Constructed of fired brick and plaster, the clinic is the only building in the area with glass windows, wall-mounted air conditioners, ceiling fans, tile floors and bathrooms, and full plumbing. Fortuitously, electricity finally reached the village in spring of 2009, so the clinic also has a professionally installed electric service. The generator which was to provide the power supply to the clinic is now the back-up electricity supply; it is temporarily stored in the school courtyard.
Finishing work was being done during our visit and continues. The finished building will need an outer traditional plastered mud-course wall as well as trees and landscaping. Funds are being raised to construct three additional bathrooms and a hand-washing station inside the clinic entrance.
The ambulance is stored at the home of one of the village leaders. During our visit, the villagers lifted it up onto blocks to protect the tires until the ambulance goes into service and wrapped it in tarpaulins to protect the finish from sun and sand.
Bushra M. Salih, the district governor, came to the village from Dongola to visit us and to see the clinic and ambulance. He pledged the assistance of his office to facilitate the duty-free entry of clinic equipment, as they did for the ambulance. He also confirmed that the provincial health authority would pay the salary of a doctor, nurse, midwife, ambulance driver, cleaners, and a guard, from the area. Like the Khartoum Rotarians, he was impressed with the quality of the clinic construction. He informed us that there is no ambulance transport from Dongola to Khartoum - currently when an ambulance is needed, they bring one up from Merowe - so the Zawrat Clinic ambulance will be able to serve a wide area.
BLUE TYPE for link to gallery - the new one that will be at the top right of the clinic project page : See January 2010 photos of the clinic and ambulance.
Updated June 10, 2010
Mother Maryam Foundation held a meeting of the Board of Directors on May 18th, 2010. The board unanimously approved the addition of new members Stephanie Savage and Leah Goetzel.
***
We are participating in a cataract operation project in Sudan. Mother Maryam Foundation is part of a matching grant with the Khartoum Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Austin, South Austin Rotary Club, and Rotary District 5870. The total funds raised - $33,082.50 - will pay for operations and post-operative care for 333 patients. Kudos to the Khartoum Rotary Club for quickly raising half of the total.
***
St. George's Episcopal Church held a fundraising event organized by Stephanie Savage and Sarah Campbell for the Mother Maryam Foundation on May 9, 2010 - Mother's Day. That was lovely timing, since our projects are in honor of Awad's late mother, Maryam Saeed. The Mother's Day service incorporated African music, with the children of St. George's Episcopal Day School singing African songs. Afterwards, there was a luncheon with African food and Nile Valley Herbs hibiscus tea. They sold Mother's Day cards and all-occasion cards with pictures from the village - one of a village mother and children and one of a working sailboat on the Nile. Inserts in the cards included information about the village and Mother Maryam Foundation. This event honoring mothers raised $2,500 for a hand-washing station at the clinic entry, so that everyone leaving and entering the clinic will wash their hands. It also will provide posters and educational materials on hand washing for the clinic and the school.
****
Mara Goetzel has collected boxes of school supplies and backpacks to be shipped to Sudan by the Sudan-American Foundation for Education this winter. We're happy that young Mara is following in the family tradition of humanitarian work.
Updated December, 2010
For the first time in many years, we did not visit the village in December. Fortunately, we receive regular reports and photos from Dr. Omda. And Awad and Board Secretary Steve Hake are in regular contact with the Khartoum Rotarians about clinic matters.
In November 2010, the clinic opened temporarily. A team of eye doctors from the capital came to do screenings for the upcoming cataract surgery project. They provided other eye care services, including distributing medicine.
Please include gallery of the clinic eye care event
Updated May 14, 2009
It’s spring fundraising campaign time at the Mother Maryam Foundation. Here is a copy of the flyer that we mailed to 300 of our supporters. We are grateful to Austin Rotarian Con Levenduski of Ultimate Print and Mail Solutions for contributing the printing, to Kat Williams for donating her time to stuff and address envelopes, and to MMF Secretary Steven Hake for personally paying for the labels and postage. (And kudos to Steven for creating such an attractive and eloquent flyer.)
At the time of the mailout, we had already received donations of $119,000 to build the clinic. Our original estimated cost of construction was $130,000. But due to changes in exchange rates and cost increases, the total needed for construction is now $155,000. So we are in need of $36,000. Fortunately, the campaign is already bringing in new donations!
St. George’s Episcopal Church of Austin is also holding a spring fundraising campaign for Mother Maryam Foundation. We are grateful to Stephanie Savage and Sarah Campbell for spearheading the St. George’s church campaign.
Updated February 2009
In late February, we received digital images from Dr. Omda (Dr. Mohammed Osman) showing us the ambulance purchased for the Clinic and the great progress on the Clinic building. Khartoum Rotarian Soheib al-Badawi selected the new Nissan ambulance, equipped with emergency and transport equipment, in Dubai. It was shipped to Port Sudan and arrived in Zawrat in February 2009. The ambulance has Kolomiseed Health Centre Ambulance painted in Arabic and English (Kolomiseed is the name of the part of Zawrat village where the Clinic is located) as well as the Rotary International symbol.
Dr. Omda also sent pictures of the progress on the building construction. The walls have been raised to roof level and the roof was being installed when Dr. Omda visited and photographed. The care with which the work is being done is very impressive.
See the February 2009 photos of the clinic construction progress.
Updated January 2009
We had a great visit to the village in December 2008.
We had a chance to meet individually and speak with some of the members of the Khartoum Rotary Club. Unfortunately we were not able to attend a meeting of this great club which has helped us so much in our projects.
We participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Clinic Project in the village of Zawrat on December 13. The day before the ceremony we took the dedicatory plaque up to the site and met the supervising engineer. He pointed out the boundaries of the clinic site and the orientation of the courtyard, entrance gate, and buildings. The clinic site is adjacent to the Kolomiseed School, and both buildings will open onto a large public square. We saw the new water tower for the clinic and the clinic generator, which is stored in the courtyard of the school.
The day of the ceremony, in the late afternoon a crowd of men and women and children from the village gathered to celebrate the beginning of construction. The young men from the sports club served refreshments to the crowd and to the visiting dignitaries - which included the Dongola District Governor, Bushra M. Salih, and representatives of the Northern Province Department of Health and Department of Finance. Dr. Abdelaziz Osman, Dr. Mohammed Osman, Awad Abdelgadir, and Linda Boxberger attended on behalf of the Mother Maryam Foundation. Dr. Mohammed Osman, known as Dr. Omda, will be as the medical supervisor of the clinic and serves as liaison with the Mother Maryam Foundation, the Khartoum Rotary Club, the Northern Province Health Department, and the village community.
The village council leaders, Dr. Abdelaziz, Awad, and the Governor made speeches, and then the Governor unveiled the dedicatory plaque in the memory of Osman Abdelaziz and Abdelrahim Abdelgadir, late community leaders.
Governor Bushra gave special thanks to the ladies for attending and encouraged the crowd to continue to be active in community projects. He committed himself and his office to assist the health clinic in every way.
In the following days, the construction crew made impressive progress laying the foundations of the clinic buildings and construction has continued at a good pace. The crew is from Dongola, the provincial capital, and are living near the work site in the house of a village family currently away from home. The headmaster and assistant headmaster of the school volunteered to organize the community members to rotate in providing the crew with fresh hot home cooked meals.
In other news, the community held an election to choose the new committee responsible for the water project. Also, we visited the school to see some of the improvement projects implemented by the teachers, staff, and students. We delivered to the headmaster and assistant headmaster $1400 of school improvement funds, raised by Leah Goetzel and Nile Valley Herbs. Most of the money was divided equally among all school employees - administrators, teachers, volunteer teachers and custodians. The rest will be spent on school improvement projects organized by the teachers.
See the December 2008 photos of the ground breaking ceremony and beginning of construction.
Updated December 6, 2008
Please remember the Mother Maryam Foundation as you plan your year-end charitable donations for 2008!
In mid-December 2008, we will be holding a ground breaking ceremony for the health clinic in Zawrat. We will share photos of the ceremony and a report on the clinic project with the Khartoum Rotary Club at their end of December meeting. We’ll share the photos and an account of the ceremony with you on this site after we return to Texas in January 2009.
We are making progress. The generator for the clinic has been delivered to the village, the water tank has been ordered, and the ambulance is on its way from Abu Dhabi to Port Sudan. The agreement with the construction company is being negotiated and will soon be signed.
In early November, the Mother Maryam Foundation received a generous grant of $15,000 from the Campbell Foundation of Abilene, Texas (Sarah Campbell, President).
Since receiving the grant from the Campbell Foundation, we have $209,009.89 available for the clinic project. To reach our goal of $230,000, we need to raise an additional $21,000. Please remember the Mother Maryam Foundation as you do your end of year charitable giving for 2008!
Updated February 23, 2008
In addition to the many individual donors who contributed to our 2007 year-end Health Clinic Project fundraising appeal, the following organizations donated:
Downtown Austin Rotary Club Foundation
Westlake Rotary Club
Rockport Rotary Club
Plano West Rotary Club
Austin Community Foundation
Grant Family Foundation
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas
St. George’s Episcopal Church
We thank everyone who donated, and we thank Steve Hake’s family, Michele Vinet Hake, Margot Hake, and Claire Berger, for their help with correspondence. We also owe thanks to Cat William’s team of Whole Foods employee volunteers, who did the mail-out of fundraising letters.
We recognize and thank Stephanie Savage for writing and submitting the grant proposals that brought in organizational donations. She’s currently sending out another round of proposals.
The Mosaic Foundation has just donated $10,000 to the Health Clinic Project. (That grant proposal was written by Kelsey Ehlert, Melissa Netecke and Sarah Walker as a project for Professor Alice Batt’s “Writing for Non-Profits” course at The University of Texas at Austin.)
The American Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) at St. Edwards’ University held a fundraising event for the Mother Maryam Foundation, “The Benevolence Ball,’ on February 8, 2008.
UT-Austin students in the International Business Seminar led by Professor Michael Dodds are making business plans and grant proposals for two micro-financing projects. Marina Zolezzi and Mai-anh Epperly are spearheading the effort.
On January 2, 2008, we attended the meeting of the Khartoum Rotary Club, where we reported on the status of our ongoing projects, and on the progress of fundraising for the Health Clinic Project. The Khartoum Rotarians thanked us for our involvement in the Wheelchair Project, and told us how rewarding it was to participate in the wheelchair distribution. They will work with Cheshire Homes to facilitate transportation and distribution of future wheelchair donations.
With Dr. Omda, the physician in charge of the Health Clinic project, we met with the Khartoum Rotary Club representatives to the project, Isam Qasim, Sohaib el-Badawi, and Zuheir Saeed to share progress reports.