Help Us Stock the New Waterfield Maternity/Surgical Center
The construction of new Maternity/Surgical Clinic building was completed (other than final painting) in October, only 9 months after groundbreaking in February 2022! Many thanks to the Waterfield family for funding this addition and to our Medical Director, Dr. Chris Hena for overseeing construction and even coming in under budget. Our next task will be furnishing the addition with the necessary medical equipment and furniture needed to make it fully functional. This quarter, Dr. Hena has asked that we share her plea to Liberians as well as friends of Liberia for funding for equipment for the new addition.
Dear Family and Friends,
We, your family and friends at Waterfield Primary Health Care Center (WPHCC) greet you in the mighty and matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we trust that you are well.
As you are aware, WPHCC has been serving and meeting the health needs of our community for the past 10 years, even before the dedication of our present facilities by Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on the 30th September 2017.
It has been a great blessing serving you. We saw a total of 7,481 patients at the clinic last year. In the surrounding villages, another 43, 894 were treated, educated on various health conditions and referred to other hospitals by our Community Health Workers. Our Vision Center treated 600 patients. We vaccinated 7,082 children, pregnant and nonpregnant women. Also, we distributed free worm tablets (62,887) and vitamins (4,108) mainly to women and children. We do serve men as well.
We have come to realize that there is a great need for maternity health services as well as a need for a short stay surgical service.
Through God’s grace we have received a generous donation from friends in the United States to build the maternity and surgical units, and we praise God for this.
As Liberians, and friends of Liberia, we believe we are responsible for our own health care needs, and we should help ourselves, while others are helping us. In our Liberian Bassa Community, there is a proverb that says: “If someone is helping you by washing your back, you have to wash you own front.”
We are therefore embarking on a nationwide fundraising effort, to raise funds to purchase medical equipment and furniture for our new units. We are calling on all Liberians and friends of Liberia at home and abroad to donate from $1 to $100,000 to this very worthwhile project.
If you reside in Liberia and in the vicinity of WPHCC, place your donation in an envelope and drop it off at the Health Center lockbox. You may also make a donation if you live outside Liberia; go to our website www.healthywomenliberia.org/donate . If you write a check please add “Waterfield Building Project” to the memo line.
Thank you again, and God Bless you.
In Him,
Dr. Chris K. Hena, MD, Medical Director
Waterfield Primary Health Care Center
Nobel Laureate Visits Waterfield
We were honored have Liberian Nobel Laureate, Leymah Gbowee visit our Waterfield Clinic last quarter. Leymah is best known for leading a nonviolent movement that brought together Christian and Muslim women to play a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s devastating, fourteen-year civil war in 2003. Read her autobiography Mighty Be Our Powers to learn more of her inspiring story.
The Importance of Medical Outreach
With approximately 300 doctors for a population of 4.5 million in Liberia, our Waterfield Primary Healthcare Clinic greatly appreciates medical outreach teams who come to assist at our clinic. In August and September Dr. Megan Fields and her team came to Waterfield from Texas for a dental mission serving our neighbors in the greater Kakata community.
From November 8th through the 15th a team of 35 doctors from the US, Nigeria and Ghana are coming for a medical outreach. Surgical procedures will be done in Weala (some 30 km north of Kakata) while dental, eye and medical treatments will be done at our Waterfield Clinic.
If you are a doctor or know of doctors who would like to participate in a future medical outreach, please contact us at info@healthywomenliberia.org.
Our plan is to continue to send out these newsletters on a quarterly basis so we don’t overwhelm your inboxes with emails! For updates between newsletters, please visit our web site and Facebook page.
We treasure your partnership in this mission. Your donations to this ministry are greatly appreciated. We’d love to hear from you anytime with your comments or questions.
Dick McCreight
Secretary, HWHL
