April 2021 | Issue 31 | fireprojects.org
Dear Friends,

We hope this finds you and your family well and healthy. After more than one year of Covid-related struggles and delays, it seems we may be turning a positive corner in the United States. Unfortunately, new Covid strains, lack of vaccine availability, and other issues have left most of the rest of the world still struggling. This includes Mongolia.

Our “Hepatitis Free Mongolia, Phase 2” project has been delayed another 6 months with the Hepatitis Coordinator training planned to start in August and our screening now planned to start in September. Our staff in Flagstaff has been volunteering their time for over a year and they continue to volunteer their time as we wait for our program to start. The office in Mongolia returned to pre-Covid staff levels in February. Assuming there are no more Covid-related delays, we will increase our staff in June, as needed, for program implementation.

Thank you very much for supporting our end-of-the-year matching contribution donation drive! We were able to raise $12,612 towards the $20,000 that will be matched. Due to the program Covid-delays in Mongolia, the donor has extended our match deadline to June 1. Please consider making a donation in support of the insurance premiums for 2,200 rural Mongolians. We need $7,388 to reach our full match potential.

Now, more than ever, we can not thank you enough for your continued support! This is a trying time for everyone - families, individuals, businesses, non-profits. Everyone has been impacted in various and vast ways by Covid-19. FIRE would not have been able to weather this last year or the struggles that may still be coming without your support.

Best wishes,
Meredith Potts
Executive Director
Langtang Valley Health Clinic
In 2019, FIRE worked with professors and an intern from East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and Shenandoah University (SU) to assess the Langtang Valley Clinic’s and community's primary health concerns, systems, and needs. Our pre-Covid intention was to use this information to design future programing and interventions for the community’s long-term health through partnerships with ETSU and SU. Four team members observed the clinic operations, conducted community surveys, and distributed hygiene kits and orthopedic braces for backs and knees. The health concerns the community most wanted support with were physical therapy and dental care. We also explored basic hygiene, birth control, and menstrual practices in the community. Unfortunately, our plans to help develop the Langtang Clinic with ETSU and SU have been delayed due to Covid. We look forward to continuing our work with the Clinic when circumstances allow.

Since the onset of Covid, FIRE has been funding the nurse’s position in the clinic allowing it to continue its work during these trying times. With schools closed and most of Nepal locked down for most of 2020, many villagers living and working in Kathmandu returned to the Langtang Valley to wait out Covid, creating an even greater demand for the Clinic’s vital services.

Today, the Langtang Clinic has started vaccinating the community against Covid-19.
All donations received by June 1, 2021, will be matched up to $20,000. 
The $40,000 raised through this match will cover the insurance premiums for uninsured Mongolians in Sukhbaatar province as part of "Hepatitis Free Mongolia, Phase 2."
We still need $7,388 to reach our full match potential.

Thank you for your support!
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