NGO
RHC Celebrated its 6th birthday this year
And next month we turn 7!
Our programs continue to strengthen with each passing year
And this year we launched two new Taskforces: Monitoring/Evaluation and Fundraising
In August we officially received our International NGO paperwork from the Ghanaian government
The process took over 2 years and we’re so glad it’s done
And last month we signed a lease on our (as yet unfurnished) RHC Ghana office!
It will be a meeting space for the Kekeli Women, our staff, and local partners
As we did 2 years ago, our USA Team held a strategic planning session in Portland
Topics ranged from program longevity to increasing women in leadership
And for the first time we had a staff retreat for our Ghana team
Based on feedback from the training, we added Skill Development to our RHC Values
We also signed agreements with two partners this year as part of our new smartphone program
The partners are Medic Mobile and InvestED (read more about the smartphone program below)
KEKELI
There are 47 Kekeli Women working in 47 different communities in rural Ghana
These women are the heart, soul, hands and feet of RHC. Click here for an idea of the scale where the Kekeli Women work.
Our community health promoter retention rate is nearly 93% over our 6 year history
The typical retention rate is 50-70% for most health promotion programs. We believe our ongoing investment in the women sets our program apart, and have heard as much from our Ghana team.
In fact, two former Kekeli Women have asked to re-join the program!
They previously left because they moved away, but have since returned to the district
The Kekeli Women led over 1000 community events in 2017
Teaching various health topics, performing blood pressure screenings, and dressing wounds
They taught over 25,000 individuals from over 100 different communities
This is more than 8,000 people more than they taught in 2016!
The RHC Ghana staff monitored 30% of these community events in person
This is down from 63% in 2016, and below our goal of 50%. There are several reasons for the decline (personal illness, family deaths, motivation, etc), and we are actively working to improve this rate.
In August, the third group of Kekeli Women learned the Home-Based Life Saving Skills Curriculum
All the Kekeli Women have now completed this course, which helps prevent and prepare for emergencies during childbirth
The women also received blood pressure cuffs and learned how to perform BP screenings in their communities
This program was organized by a team of from the Point Loma Nazarene University Nursing School, our partners since 2015
We launched a new Prenatal Monitoring Program that uses a smartphone application to track pregnant women in the community
12 of the 47 Kekeli Women are part of this pilot
We also worked with our partner InvestED to create 6 animated pregnancy videos
These videos educate pregnant women to visit the clinic and deliver with the help of a skilled attendant
All 47 Kekeli Women participate in the video program
The videos are loaded on their smartphones, which they then show to pregnant women and their families during their pregnancy home visits
Our team worked to translate the videos into Ewe using locals as voice actors
Click here to view English versions of the videos, which star a fictional Kekeli Woman named Samira
And of course the newest Kekeli Women received bicycles earlier this month
Bikes help the Kekeli Women reach more distant communities in their work
And we also honor the losses of the past year
Victoria and Regina both lost their husbands and Theresa’s son passed away
The Kekeli Women have become like family and support each other in difficult times like these
Your donations also support a Kekeli welfare fund to be used in times of illness and loss
TEAM
For the first time (maybe ever) there were no changes to the RHC USA or RHC Ghana teams this year
And we are quite happy about that!
We continue to refine our roles within the group, seeking to marry our individual passions with the work that is needed
With Olivia and Jason overseas, the RHC team has mastered the art of digital teamwork
This can make for some interesting meeting times
Half the RHC USA team returned to Ghana in August
It was the busiest trip we’ve ever had. We taught the full HBLSS curriculum, launched the smartphone program, and…
Our friends Sergio and Sarah from Furnace FPS volunteered their time to join us for 10 days and film our work!
We’ve been dreaming of hosting them for years and we finally made it a reality
They shot hours of video and recorded many interviews
We can’t wait to show you what the Kekeli Women really do through film (slated for the first half of 2018)
All this work is done because we believe so strongly in the power of the Kekeli Women
We all volunteer our time, and couldn’t be happier to do it
SUPPORTERS
We often pinch ourselves when thinking about how amazing our supporters are
We are so lucky; without you there would simply be no RHC
We have 51 monthly supporters, who make up The Collective
Together, they donate about $1000 each month, which covers nearly half our routine program expenses in Ghana
The Collective is the backbone of RHC, keeping us upright no matter what
To join them, click here (and you just might receive a handwritten note from a Kekeli Woman someday!)
And we can’t leave out the 271 individual donations that were made in 2017
These one-time donations help us pay for trainings and ongoing expenses, when our monthly donations don’t reach
…and our board continues to provide us wisdom and perspective along the way
Blake Armstrong, Chair
Melissa Tucker, Vice-Chair
Raphaelle de Marliave, Secretary
Eric Schulz, Treasurer
Sean Poole, At-large
FINANCIALS
In our fiscal year 2016/17 we raised $53,788
91% went directly to our work in Ghana (the remainder pays for things like insurance, credit card fees, and the website)
Over the summer we raised over $5000 for our new smartphone program
The money bought actual phones but also paid for the training that happened in August
And our Giving Tuesday Kekeli Bike Sale raised over $2500 in less than a week!
The extra funds were used to buy gifts of rice and oil for the Kekeli Women and their families
For a deep dive of our finances, click here
As always, if you have any questions about what we do or how we spend your money, please reach out to us
We take extraordinary care to be sure every dollar is spent wisely
It is why we include among our values: Responsible with Resources
Our work in Ghana is rewarding, challenging, and is making an impact on all involved
It is also a collaboration in the richest sense—across cultures and also with you
Your support helps bring health to rural Akatsi
Please follow along with us in 2018 via our email newsletter, on Facebook, and Instagram
AKPE! (THANK YOU)
For being part of our mission to empower women and bring health to rural Ghana in 2017. We’re excited for what lies ahead.