December 2011 AfriKids is a Child Rights Organisation working to improve life for Ghana’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in a holistic, inclusive and sustainable manner
SMALL CHANGE FOR BIG SMILES This week (commencing 5th December) AfriKids are holding a Text Appeal to raise vital funds to provide families with National Health Insurance for 2012 that could save many lives.
The Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) provides financial support to families regarding general health complaints by covering their medical bills. The scheme costs just £8 per family per year, so on average (with lots of large families about), it works out at just £1 per person.
In Ghana, healthcare really is the first step to sustainability. For example, without the security of medical insurance, AfriKids would struggle to provide a microfinance loan for a family business as the money could easily be used up on medical bills if a family member were to fall ill. This would set the family back further, as they would have a loan to repay, no business, and still no security for any further medical bills. Therefore, NHIS really does run across all of our work. We hope to fund 500 families in need of health insurance through this week’s text appeal. Any donations we receive beyond that will go to the AfriKids Medical Centre where the families could be treated.
Text donations were set up by JustGiving and Vodafone, donating 100% of the amount to the charities. Text donations can be £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10, allowing you to fund just one family member, or a whole family if you wish. You can also text as many times as you want, so don’t be put off if you’d like to give more! Text donations are automatically added to your phone bill, so it really couldn’t be simpler. Please, if you can spare some small change for big smiles, text ‘AKCA11 £10’ to 70070 (please change the amount according to what you wish to donate). We will be posting constant feedback on our website, so keep an eye out for your thank you’s and updates!