September 2024 Newsletter

Service and Compassion in Action

In This Month's Issue:

This year HIRF, along with Together for Global Health, and other key partners in Sierra Leone held a successful and impactful maternal and newborn care conference in Bo. Learn about our upcoming 2025 conference in Kenema.
Read about HIRF's partnership with USAID through our LEPP grant.
St. Joseph's School for the Deaf in Makeni has been providing education and vocational training since 1979. This month we highlight their mission and vision.

You can learn more about our organization by visiting our website hirf.net.

Planning Underway for 2025 Maternal & Newborn Care Conference

The impacts of the January 2024 maternal and newborn care conference in Bo are still being felt. The conference provided critical training to 98 health professionals in the Bo District to enhance their skills in providing life-saving care to mothers and babies.

To ensure sustainability, refresher trainings will be held in October. Additionally, the conference selected Rising Trainers who received extra training and mentorship. These trainers returned to their hospitals and clinics are providing inhouse training. Over 20 additional training sessions have been conducted, creating a ripple effect that enhances maternal and newborn health services and outcomes.

HIRF, Together for Global Health, and other key partners are now planning a similar conference in Kenema. Maternal and child mortality rates are high in this district and the planned training will provide health care personnel the skills to help address the leading causes of maternal death, such as obstructed labor, sepsis, and hypertension.

Click here to read about the success of the 2024 conference.

Please support our 2025 conference by making a donation.

HIRF Approved for USAID LEPP Grant

The Limited Excess Property Program has been in operation since 1987. It allows NGOs, like Healey International Relief Foundation (HIRF) to access federal surplus property to support our work in Sierra Leone.

HIRF was first approved for participation in the program in 2020 but every four years we are required to reapply. We recently received notification from the United States Agency for International Development that we have been approved to continue to be part of LEPP.

Click here to read our recent blog on the impact of LEPP.

Woman with back facing camera in a green dress. She is in a lab and in looking into a microscope

Facility Spotlight - St. Joseph's School for the Deaf

A classroom with students facing a blackboard and a teacher in the middle.

St. Joseph's School for the Deaf is a vital resource for the deaf and hard of hearing community in Sierra Leone. It was established in 1979 and started with just eight students. Today nearly 200 students attend the school.

Sr. Amala who runs the school stated of their work, "Through the lessons we offer, we want these children to understand what someone is saying even if they don't hear. We want our children here to fit into society and not feel isolated. The life skills we offer help them be independent people in the future."

Click here to learn more.

Please consider donating to support our programs and further our developmental initiatives, fostering sustained growth and capacity building. Thank you!