RHC celebrated 9 years since our first Kekeli training in January 2011.

The Kekeli Program is stronger than ever

With the end of 2019 came two new leadership transitions

These transitions have been years in the making

David Sefe is stepping down from the Ghana Country Director Role

We are extremely grateful for his near decade-long leadership of RHC in Ghana and he will continue working with us

Alnice Agbeko is our new Ghana Country Director

She has been with RHC since 2016 as our Communications Director and has shown great dedication to her work

And on the USA side, Jason Kroening-Roche is stepping down from his role as Executive Director

He will stay on as the Monitoring and Evaluations Director

Heather Poynter-Lausch is our new Executive Director

We are thrilled by the new leadership and energy she is already bringing

Jason and Heather traveled to Ghana over the recent new year

Together they helped usher in the leadership transitions and laid the groundwork for Kekeli expansion in August 2020

While in Ghana we did some surveying of the Kekeli Women

We are always trying to better understand our impact and how we can improve the program

We also visited the government District Health Directors in both Akatsi North and South

Together we identified new areas of collaboration and ways to avoid redundancy in our work

We welcomed another Kekeli baby this past year!

Sebastian was born in August to Olivia and Jason. He has yet to make the journey to Ghana (but he’s already dressed!)

This has been a year of foundational growth

Our leadership is more representative of those we serve and of our mission to empower women

49 Kekeli Women work in more than 100 different communities in Akatsi North and South Districts

This is an increase of 2 women as compared to last year, as we welcomed 2 former Kekeli women back to the family

Our community health promoter retention rate continues to be >90%

This is a testament to the dedication of the Kekeli Women, the commitment of our Ghana staff, and our investment in ongoing training

In 2019, the Kekeli Women led over 1300 community teachings

They reached over 46,000 people through these teachings, as compared to 34,000 in 2018.

They checked 11,579 blood pressures, referring over 1,000 community members to local clinics

This is an increase of more than 2,000 BP checks from 2018

Your support provides for replacement BP cuffs for the Kekeli Women, devices we truly believe save lives

And in 2019 we also brought 29 devices for local clinics who were in need

In 2019 the Kekeli Women treated 1,170 wounds

This is a much needed service in communities where medical care can be both far away and costly. Your support provides for ongoing wound care supplies.

Check out our Impact Tab to learn more about what the Kekeli Women accomplished this past year

A challenge in 2019 was our smartphone program

For a variety of reasons participation was low and we spent time during our recent trip re-designing and re-invigorating the program for 2020

This year’s top Kekeli performer was Agnes Ahiagba

She taught 63 times, reached over 3100 people, checked over 200 blood pressures, and treated 87 wounds

The Kekeli Women do their work as volunteers while also continuing their jobs

Agnes is a farmer by trade

62% of community teachings were monitored by the RHC Ghana Team

Monitoring helps ensure high quality from the Kekeli Women and also lends credibility to their work

As part of our recent trip we visited several communities that are part of the Kekeli 4 cohort expansion

Selasie (pictured in the middle) will be one of over 20 new Kekeli Women joining us this August

While in Ghana we instituted a new Kekeli Long-term Disability Policy

This was born of Mama’s experience, a Kekeli Woman who had a stroke in 2017 that left her with significant disabilities

This policy applies to both Mama and any future Kekeli Woman who can no longer perform their work

It provides for allowances and assistance with medical costs for as long as the Kekeli program exists.

And we said goodbye to Esther, a Kekeli Woman from our very first cohort

She has earned a Masters in Linguistics of the Ewe language and is now a lecturer. We couldn’t be more proud!

This work could not continue without the consistent support from all of you

Many have been supporting us from the very beginning

58 donors give every month as part of The Collective, our recurring giving program

Together, they donate over $1,800 per month, covering most of our ongoing expenses

This is a slight decline from 2018 when giving surpassed $2,000 per month

The Collective provides stable support so we can plan for the future, including our expansion of the program in 2020. To join The Collective, click here.

Over 50 supporters came out to our RHC Bingo Bash in Portland this past November

Together we raised over $3,000 to support our recent Ghana trip

…and our board of directors provides guidance every step of the way

Thank you to Sean Poole, Melissa Tucker, Emiko Noma, Eric Schulz, Amanda Schweitzer, Lindsay Morgan, and Sarah Hamill

In our fiscal year 2018/19 we raised $68,196

91% went directly to our work in Ghana (the remainder pays for things like insurance, credit card fees, and software)

$25,000 of this was grant funding from two foundations

Much of this money has been specifically ear-marked to support the part-time employment of our new Executive Director in the coming years

For a closer look at our finances, click here

You can download a copy of our financial report which contains graphical representations on the final page

Our financial health allows us to expand our programs with confidence

A core value of RHC is a long-term commitment to Akatsi and financial stability is essential to following through on this commitment

2019 was a year of transition as we promoted women into leadership roles across the organization

This is a foundation we will build upon as we train our fourth Kekeli cohort in 2020, expanding our programming by nearly 50%

Thank you for joining us in 2019 in our work promoting health and empowering women in rural Ghana