PROJECT #180
Project #180 | Life-Saving Surgeries in Sierra Leone
Our Partnership with Impact A Life Foundation
An inguinal hernia occurs when tissue, such as part of the intestine, protrudes through a weak spot in the abdominal muscles. This results in pain which prevents children from attending school and adults from providing and caring for their families. Inguinal hernias are a common condition, yet an extreme number of inguinal hernia go unrepaired. In fact, hernias are now responsible for more deaths than any other disease in West Africa. Access to healthcare is still a daunting task for rural communities in Sierra Leone. Due to limited funding and poor infrastructure, communities such as in the Bombali region are unable to receive necessary medical attention. Many patients with long standing untreated hernias die each year from strangulation and intestinal obstruction without the benefit of surgical intervention. One in five of inguinal hernias occurred in boys aged four years or less. Sierra Leone has over 6 million people and only 10 registered surgeons.
One Day’s Wages partnered with Impact A Life Foundation (ILF) to provide hernia repair surgeries and post-surgery care. Patients were driven two hours to receive surgery and aftercare at Masanga hospital where they would stay three days to monitor health, medication, and further treatment. ILF also provided community education and training programs for hernia prevention, health and hygiene, and sanitation. The alleviation of further hernias will allow more community members to participate in their jobs and schooling, caring for their families, and building a brighter future!
Our Collective Impact
Patients Fully Recovered
Meet David
David lives in a small village four hours from the major port city of Freetown. He is considered the village tailor and has led the vocational program empowering women to learn the skill set of tailoring, giving them a valuable profession to provide for their families. He also assists with assemblies at the Revive Christian school and at Church on Sunday mornings. David is married with five children, but had been suffering from hernia pain for the past 10 years. This impacted his ability to provide, requiring his children to care for him and assist with his work. After receiving two surgeries through the Impact A Life program, Mr. Kamara is pain free and able to care for his family without fear of pain or death. He says, “I suffered for 10 years before ILF assisted me with two surgeries on both sides. With good health I now boast in the Lord; I can live my life!”
Thank you for making this possible!
Our movement is grassroots, to us that not only means the work on the ground is led by local leaders with the support of the community, but it also means that we raise the funds for our projects through everyday donors just like you. In addition to all the donors that gave $25, $100, or $250 and the campaigners that ran a race or donated their birthday to raise funds, we also want to thank our generous business, school, and faith sponsors who believed in our work and joined the movement.
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One Day’s Wages exists to alleviate extreme poverty by investing in, amplifying, and coming alongside locally led organizations in underserved communities.
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