When I started Ivory Coast Mothers and Children (ICMC) back in 2008 with a very devoted group of many kind and daring friends and family, I knew if by some miracle we ever made the Patricia Nau clinic a reality, its success would depend completely on a group of people from Braffoueby taking leadership roles together with the nurse and the midwife. They would be in the best position to determine the needs of the surrounding area and to spread awareness to the women and mothers in need of vital health services. My vision was clear: if this team was to be respected and given the right tools to do their job, and backed by ICMC in the US, the clinic would succeed.

During my stay in Braffoueby last month, I was able to spend time with the men and women who have made that vision a reality.  They share our goal which is to see that the most vulnerable in the community receive the health services they need. I was able to see the strides they’ve made, from encouraging routine health and wellness checkups for the babies to teaching daily disease prevention habits to the many healthy births that are being celebrated throughout the village. Each stride—no matter how small—is significant, because it makes an improvement in the lives of these wonderful people. And it’s an improvement we couldn’t have made without your help.

Thanks to the support of our many generous donors, during this trip we were able to provide the clinic with computers to increase communication and record keeping. Starting in February we are funding a very talented person from Braffoueby, Oscar, to teach the 8 employees how to use them, Google Docs and Google Share so that all of the documents are transparent. Additionally,  we are ready for another monsoon season because the sidewalks are in and the bushes and flowers have been planted. And most importantly, because the village has witnessed ICMC’s ongoing commitment, we were able to solidify a Management Committee made of some of the most influential members of the community to steer the progress and success of the Patrica Nau Clinic — just as we envisioned in the very beginning.

In the coming months I will be excited to share with you more details about the committee members themselves, as well as the initiatives we have put together to make 2016 a year of great progress.

All My Best,

Patsy

Founder, Ivory Coast Mothers and Children