RHC continues to grow.

In 2015 we welcomed 3 new Kekeli babies in Ghana…

…and 1 new RHC baby here in the USA.

In August,Heather became the final member of our executive team to set foot in Ghana.

Read her perspectives here

In July we retreated for a day, spending time refining our mission and goals for the coming year.

As part of our strategic planning, we updated our mission statement (something we plan to do at least every 5 years).

Investing in women to foster healthier communities and create positive impact in rural Ghana

And our team of 6 reorganized into areas of expertise. We’ve never been more focused and engaged on the work at hand.

You stepped up to the plate this year. We welcomed over 35 donors to The Collective.  These individuals are supporting the Kekeli Women every month, with an average donation of $35.

To say thanks, we hosted our 5 Year RHC Anniversary celebration in Portland and bought a beer for our supporters who came out.

Our #givingriceday campaign in November raised $870 in a single day to provide holiday gifts of rice and oil to the Kekeli Women and their families.

2 new volunteers joined us in Ghana this year. That makes 8 total volunteers since we began traveling to Ghana in 2011.

Read what it is like volunteer with RHC here

(And if you’re interested in joining us, click here to let us know here!)

Our long-time friend Sergio Salgado re-invented us on the web, launching our new site in July. We couldn’t be more grateful for his time and expertise.

And nearly 100 donors like you joined us to support the work of the Kekeli Women in their rural communities.

In total, there are 30 Kekeli Women in 30 different community zones throughout Akatsi.

This number’s going to grow in 2016!

In 2015, the Kekeli Women taught 10,470 people (in 347 sessions) all sorts of things.

How to prevent malaria? Check.
How to treat dehydration in children? That too.
The importance of chronic diseases like high blood pressure? Yep.
They know a lot and aren’t afraid to share it.

In August we completed a curriculum with the women called Home Based Life Saving Skills.

All the Kekeli Women are now fully trained to help women in labor and their babies after birth. They respond to emergencies and refer sick community members.

The women aren’t just smart and dedicated, they’re also creative.

One Kekeli woman contacted a former community member who drives a taxi in a neighboring town. She knew he’d be dedicated to helping his home village. He is now on-call to transport each pregnant woman in the village when they go into labor.

The Kekeli Women also treat hundreds of wounds each year, preventing infection and helping their communities be more productive.

The Kekeli Women don’t only teach and work  in the community where they live. Each woman extends their reach to neighboring villages to teach and heal.

This year we created our first map of these Kekeli zones and shared it with the local government.

Each year we ask where we can help the most.

Click here to read about our process

In 2015 we raised $33,304.

92.3% of that total was used to fund our programs in Ghana

Almost half of our funding now comes from monthly donors who support the Kekeli Women year-round.

To join them as part of The Collective, click here.

Our USA Executive Team is entirely volunteer. Our Ghana Executive Team works part time for us in addition to their full time jobs.

Read about the entire team here.

We take extraordinary care of our resources, aiming to be as responsible as possible.

For a closer look at our finances, click here.

…and all the while our board members led us along the way. (we’re adding two more this year!)

Blake Armstrong, Chair
Melissa Tucker, Vice-Chair
Eric Schulz, Treasurer
Raphaelle de Marliave, Secretary

We are in this work for the long haul, because it isn’t about just one generation, it’s about all the rest that follow.