Bangladesh is a densely populated country surrounded by India and the Bay of Bengal. Due to its geographical location it is prone to seasonal cyclones and catastrophic flooding. Most of the population in this country lives in rural areas that have very poor health care facilities. Most villages have high rates of malnutrition, with nearly 2 out of 3 people suffering from nutritional deficiencies. Less than one in ten children has access to proper medical care. Poor sanitation contributes to the spread of diseases in rural regions that are extremely isolated and excluded from basic medical facilities. Many rural areas in Bangladesh continue to experience unplanned and unregulated population growth with ongoing poverty and health complications where children die from preventable and treatable illnesses and adults suffer from unbearable chronic conditions. Continue reading
Medical Missions: A Desire to Help Others
Every year hundreds of people chose to leave their homes and loved ones to go and volunteer to help their fellow man. Many are doctors, dentists, nurses, or lay persons with the heart to just want to help. The areas they go to may have been ravaged by a natural disaster or are poverty stricken areas. Their reason to go may vary but most go with just a desire to help the local residents. Medical missions are organized to go to disadvantaged spots around the world: Honduras, Ecuador, Madagascar, Nigeria, Panama, Thailand, Burmese, Haiti, Argentina, India, and many more too numerous to name. Once they arrive at their destination, they many times find the conditions they are to do their work in is very primitive: hot with no shade, wind that blows dust and debris into everything, rain, insects and hostile gangs and governments. Continue reading
Why Should You Donate Medical Equipment and Supplies?
Several developing countries are unable to give their citizens proper medical care due to the lack of trained physicians and the severe shortage of medical equipment and supplies. Third world countries suffer from this situation every day but the demands on their inadequate medical facilities grow substantially during times of war or when there is a natural disaster. It is incredibly important to give as much assistance to these areas as possible whenever we can. Continue reading
Your Past is Not Your Potential
Another New Year has arrived. We’re certain you have heard friends & family make all kinds of resolutions for the coming year, improving their fitness level, cleaning out that old closet, learning a new language; even, read that stack of books piled up by the bed. Many of us use resolutions to solve problems or frustrations that you have endlessly experienced in daily life. Unfortunately, we think that these can be dissolved if we make false promises (resolutions) to ourselves. These promises do not change underlying behavior or alter deep lifestyle molds. But, what if we stopped making resolutions; and perhaps, truly explore our untapped potential? How many times have you heard someone regretfully state that they wish they had written poetry, taken that cultural exchange trip, or opened that day spa? What internal areas of self were calling to be released? Continue reading
Any Suggestions for Ending Starvation in Africa
There are 2 main general approaches towards solving the problem of starvation in Africa. One consists of an immediate response to crises which have reached such a peak as to attract the attention of the rest of the world, while the other involves endeavouring to find an entry point to the vicious circle of poverty in order to break it. The first suggestion is an unashamedly frontline relief for the effects of starvation. It is the provision to starving children of a stand-alone, ready-to-eat food which combines all the basic essentials for nourishment without the necessity of cooking, refrigeration, or mixing with water which, in many locations, would be polluted. The archetypal product of this type is Plumpynut, a concoction of peanut butter, powdered milk and powdered sugar, enriched with vitamins and minerals, which has the consistency of a paste and is supplied vacuum-packed in foil. Continue reading