ENewsletter #25: June 2011

International Medical Health Organization (IMHO) Issue: #25 In This Issue Rebuilding & Supporting Vital Health Services in Kilinochchi Voltage Converters and Mediciens en route to Ethiopia Diabetes Book Sales to Benefit Jaffna Diabetic Centre Impacting Lives: Profile of a Beneficiary Past IMHO Events Upcoming IMHO Events

Quick Links: Recent Reports Profiles of War-Affected Families in Sri Lanka Education and Empowerment of Deaf Youth in Ethiopia

Support for Vital Health Services & Rebuilding Efforts in Kilinochchi

2011 Annual Souvenir Program Report on the Needs of Resettled Persons and Others in Sri Lanka Status of Vavuniya General Hospital Health Needs across Eastern Sri Lanka In Service of Humanity: Global Outreach of IMHO 2011 Update on Completed IMHO Efforts Overview of AMAF (Australia) Maternal-Fetal Nutrition: Laying the Groundwork for a Lifetime of Health Overview of Parkinson's Disease Point Pedro Base Hospital: National Health Excellence Award 2010

Since our last e-newsletter, IMHO has provided support for a number of efforts targeted at rebuilding lives and supporting the vital health services available to resettled families and those affected by the war in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka. These efforts include: 1. Nutrition Exhibition: An exhibition for creating awareness about nutrition amongst the general public was conducted at Tharmapuram Maha Vidyalayam in Kandavalai Division on June 16, 2011. June was declared "Nutrition Month" by the Ministry of Health. Regional Director of Health Services for Kilinochchi, Dr. P. Karthikeyan, explained to official media that the exhibition was organized to promote healthy and nutritional practices amongst the resettled peoples in Kandavalai Division.

2. Elders Care: IMHO has provided support for elders in Kilinochchi for 6 months to provide nutrition (400 beneficiaries), material assistance (50 beneficiaries), and transportation (20 beneficiaries). Most of these elders have lost all family support due to the war. The cost of all the above is $1,320/month, for which IMHO committed $7,920 for the full 6-month period.

3. Incentive Allowances: Ensuring that those residing in rural, remote, and under-served areas have access to adequate primary health care services

Overview of Parkinson's Disease Point Pedro Base Hospital: National Health Excellence Award 2010 UN OCHA Sri Lanka Flood Report: January 12, 2011 IMHO Ethiopia Volunteer Medical Trip 2010 Report Ethiopia Hospitals Equipment & Medicines Requests All Previous IMHO e-Newsletters

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period.

3. Incentive Allowances: Ensuring that those residing in rural, remote, and under-served areas have access to adequate primary health care services is key to maintaining a healthy society and building a better tomorrow. For this reason IMHO continues to support incentive allowances for health professionals to work in difficult areas. A 6-month commitment of $6,900 (or $1,150/month) enables a team of 8 doctors, 4 nurses, 7 midwives, and 3 administrative assistants to better serve these vulnerable communities. In addition, IMHO provided $2,000 to the RDHS Kilinochchi to hire 2 additional staff to manage many of these new and ongoing efforts that IMHO and other organizations are supporting.

4. Livelihoods Support: As part of ongoing efforts to rebuild livelihoods and empower resettled persons, five sewing machines were given to women in Kilinochchi as part of a microcredit effort, in which the women will be expected to pay back the loan with interest so that the program may continue and several more women may benefit. This was done at a total cost of just $1,000.

5. Eye Camps: An incredible 250 patients with severe eye problems are benefiting from eye surgery at the Kilinochchhi District Hospital. In support of this effort being coordinated by the RDHS Kilinochchi, IMHO has contributed $2,400 to help provide bus transportation, meals, and general support for these patients, as well as accommodation for two eye specialists and two doctors for 3 nights. The photo above shows some of the beneficiaries.

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IMHO Supports Poor Patients in Ethiopia with Voltage Converters & Shipment of Medicines

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IMHO Canada coordinated a shipment of medicines worth several thousand dollars to benefit poor patients at the Gondar University Hospital in Gondar, Amhara, Ethiopia. This shipment of medicines to this highly under-stocked hospital, which serves a catchment area of several million people, contains important antibiotics, antimalarials, anti-hypertensives, and diabetic medications.

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Last year when a volunteer team of medical professionals from IMHO visited the Gondar University Hospital and consulted with members of the administration with regard to the various needs of the hospital, they made a request for 5 voltage converters needed to make functional a number of

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Last year when a volunteer team of medical professionals from IMHO visited the Gondar University Hospital and consulted with members of the administration with regard to the various needs of the hospital, they made a request for 5 voltage converters needed to make functional a number of medical equipments that use a different voltage frequency These items had been donated from another US-based organization and included an ultrasound, doppler, xray viewing boxes, and dental xray machines. Without the voltage converters, these machines are not functional. In response to this request, IMHO USA sent the Gondar University Hospital five voltage converters at a cost of $1,605.

IMHO USA and IMHO Canada targeted the Amhara Region on account of its long legacy of under-development, evidenced by the fact that 90.4% of the rural community has no access to potable water, 56% lack health services, and 53.7% of school age children do not have access to any education whatsoever. Each year Gondar University Hospital sees an incredible 200,000+ outpatients and 20,000+ inpatients. The spread of disease, including maternal sepsis, is high on account of the sheer number of people who are in and out of the hospital. These efforts should help hundreds of poor patients in need.

Diabetes Book to Benefit Jaffna Diabetic Centre Now for Sale Offering an overview of diabetes and how to manage living with the disease, IMHO Canada is proud to offer a Tamil-language publication by the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Diabetic Centre, an important resource for the growing number of people in Sri Lanka and across the world who are having to deal with this disease. 100% of proceeds from this book will be used to support the extraordinary work being done at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital Diabetic Centre, which continues to play an instrumental role in supporting diabetes screenings and diabetes awarenessraising efforts in the Jaffna District. Over 14,500 people visited the new Diabetic Centre in 2010 alone. IMHO Canada is supporting the ongoing operations of the center, including the efforts of 2 full-time staff persons, community awareness program for diabetes, special events, and more. Our hope is to raise awareness about the disease, what signs to look for, how to get treatment and care for those with the disease, and how to live a healthy life after diagnosis. Such community education programs are all too important.

Price: $20 (all proceeds benefit Jaffna Teaching Hospital Diabetic Centre) Language: Tamil

diagnosis. Such community education programs are all too important.

Price: $20 (all proceeds benefit Jaffna Teaching Hospital Diabetic Centre) Language: Tamil # of Pages: 119 Ordering Instructions: Simply email programs@imhocanada.org with your name, shipping details, and desired number of copies. Payment can be made either via check and mailed to our office address OR online.

Impacting Lives: Profile of a Beneficiary

"Priya" is a 14 year-old young woman who was admitted to the Kalmunai Base Hospital with acute stress disorder in May. She is the eldest of 3 children in her family. Her father was a businessman who was affected by Parkinson's Disease three years ago, the tremors and instability preventing him from working and forcing his wife to become the breadwinner of the family. "Priya's" family lives in Oluvil, 20 kilometers away from Kalmunai.

Despite her hardships, she has always been a top student ranking first or second in her class. Earlier she had to stop her studies to help her mother with housework and other duties to help earn the family income. In school, she felt guilty and unhappy, so gave it up to help her family. As a result, she developed acute stress disorder with moderate depression.

At that point, a social worker for the Kalmunai Mental Health Association (KAMHA) started working with her. Looking at the situation fully, the social worker then spoke with both her teacher and her school principal, all of whom expressed regret that she was no longer attending class. Her principal agreed to reinstate her without holding her back for her absence after this visit. Since "Priya" had no transportation to/from school each day and had to walk 4 kilometers in each direction, KAMHA then decided to provide her with a bicycle at a cost of just USD $90. The school then issued her a new uniform. She is now attending class regularly. All of this was done without any medications or medical treatment, which just goes to show that psychosocial support is often far more powerful than any pill or medicine.

Past IMHO Events

IMHO Canada (Ottawa): Carleton University Students Lend a Helping Hand IMHO Canada wishes to extend its gratitude to the students from the Carleton University Tamil Student Association (CUTSA), a non-profit student organization that spreads awareness about Tamil culture, for their support. The CUTSA organizes events in order to increase awareness of the humanitarian situation and needs in Sri Lanka and encourages the raising of funds to support humanitarian causes. The organization aims to create events that bring together the creativity and ambition of Tamil students with the mutual cause being the need for human rights such as access to basic healthcare. With the efforts of the CUTSA committee and members and the Tamil community of Ottawa, a donation of $460 was made to IMHO Canada ($200 from members of the Ottawa community and $260 from the CUTSA itself). We thank all who have extended their support to IMHO Canada as we strive to develop and improve health care infrastructure and services in underserved regions, such as communities across Sri Lanka. Having access to basic healthcare facilities and services is a right that every human being has, and we are grateful to those who help make this a reality for people in need.

IMHO Canada (Toronto): Lights Out! An Earth Hour Party for Japan Relief In honor of Earth Hour, a movement designed to draw attention to the environmental crisis we are facing today, members of the Mix 'n' Mingle group in Toronto gathered for an evening mixer and surprise game of "murder mystery". All over the world, at a pre-determined time, people turn off their lights and shut off electric devices at Earth Hour to let the planet breathe a little easier. Parties and events are organized world-wide as people band together to make a difference. The March 26th Mix 'n' Mingle special event feautured great music, food, drinks and company, all while raising $750 for emergency relief efforts in Japan.

Texas-Style BBQ in Dallas-Forth Worth Raises $4,700 Volunteers across the Dallas-Fort Worth area came together to hold a BBQ fundraising event for IMHO on Saturday, May 28th, marking the third successful event in Texas this year! IMHO would like to thank the coordinators and all those who contributed at this event, from those who provided the food & snacks to those who helped with the cooking to those who could not attend but donated anyway...your support is deeply appreciated. Because of your generosity, the Dallas-Fort Worth community was able to raise over $4,700, of which $600 was contributed by newly arrived Sri Lankans who now claim Fort Worth as their home. Thank you for showing us all what it means to truly open your hearts to help those in their time of need.

Upcoming IMHO Events ***Online Shopping Campaign*** WHEN: Now! This is an ongoing campaign taking place online.

WHERE: Go to http://cafegive.com/?cause=IMHO WHAT: Now you can make purchases from your favorite online stores and earn money for IMHO! Simply login to cafegive.com and shop your favorite stores...Target, Barnes & Noble, Expedia, Macy's, Home Depot, iTunes, and hundreds more. A percentage of all your purchases will go back to IMHO. Just use the following link and start shopping today!:http://www.cafegive.com/?cause=IMHO ***Orange County Food Festival*** WHEN: Saturday, July 30th; 5:00-8:30pm WHERE: Rush Park Auditorium, 3021 Blume Drive, Rossmoor, CA 90720 RSVP: Tickets will NOT be available at the door; in order to attend please

***Orange County Food Festival*** WHEN: Saturday, July 30th; 5:00-8:30pm WHERE: Rush Park Auditorium, 3021 Blume Drive, Rossmoor, CA 90720 RSVP: Tickets will NOT be available at the door; in order to attend please speak with one of the event organizers or email coordinator@theimho.org.

Come and enjoy a delicious variety of traditional Tamil cuisine at the 2nd Annual OC Food Festival. This year there will be a kids' Talent Show as well. Spend time with family and friends, and learn about the efforts of IMHO in serving those families in Kilinochchi who have been severely affected by the war. You can learn about some of these families by viewing the presentation HERE. ***2011 Semi-Annual IMHO Meeting*** WHEN: Sunday, October 2nd; 8:00am-2:00pm WHERE: Hilton Garden Inn White Marsh, 5015 Campbell Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21236 Join us for our 2011 IMHO semi-annual meeting in Baltimore where we will be joined by visiting physicians and others in the development sector who will speak about the major needs affecting people in the countries in which IMHO works, as well provide a forum for discussion and discuss opportunities for supporting this important work. *Free breakfast and lunch will be provided *Rooms can be booked under a special group rate; more details TBA *Please RSVP to coordinator@theimho.org ***IMHO Canada Greeting Card Sales*** IMHO Canada is pleased to offer greeting cards designed by Sri Lankan youth whereby all profits will benefit youth in Sri Lanka. Each pack of colorfully designed cards comes with 10 cards and envelopes for just $5! Or you can order 5 packs for just $20. To order, simply email Lokini, IMHO Canada Programs Coordinator at lokini@imhocanada.org and give the details of your order.

The cards can either be picked up at the IMHO Canada office or can be mailed to you. If you are picking the cards up at the IMHO Canada office, simply bring a cheque or cash as payment. If you prefer to have the cards mailed to you, please make a donation online HERE and make sure to include $5 extra for shipping. In either case, please coordinate in advance with the IMHO Canada Programs Coordinator by email or phone.

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During this crucial time in Sri Lanka and around the world, as we face monumental challenges in providing better access to quality medical and health care for those most at-risk populations, we need YOUR HELP now more than ever. With just $1/day (or $30/month)you can help save and improve lives in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Please consider making a donation to IMHO today. You can donate online via PayPal as a one-time or recurring donation (the amount & frequency of which are up to you).

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