Projects

India

Beginning in 2013, we hope to host a yearly expedition to India. Each year our network will grow, our relations become stronger, and our ability to reach the unreachable will increase. We invite you to come with us and experience the adventure of international travel, and the joy of giving meaningful service. The dates and the agenda of each year  will vary slightly, but on any given expedition, you can expect to see some breathtaking and memorable sights, and get off the beaten tourist track in a way only a humanitarian can. You will come home with more than souvenirs, acquiring deep and memorable human connections and experience.  You can not only give lasting service to people who truly need your help, but you can learn from people who can live very happy lives in the face of tremendous trial and want. Join the crew and become a real “Hopie” as you take part in a yearly expedition.

To date: as of our 2014 expedition in March, we reached out to 6 villages, and 2 orphanages. We have helped over 600 people receive screenings, mitigating the growth of preventable blindness, and over 25 people receive life-changing, site-restorative surgeries. We have provided a much needed van for our friends at Parbhat an Awakening, an orphanage for disabled children, and we are continuing to gather data for the descriptive survey of malnutrition we began in 2013.

The research into this area is ongoing. As we add data and gain a better understanding of the lives of the people we seek to help, our goal is to create a community specific educational intervention program aimed at preventing malnutrition among the target communities with whom we work. If you have an interest in Nutrition and or experience in field work and research, we would love to have you aboard for future trips.

The Next Adventure: Our future expedition dates will be posted here. However, we are able to take any group of volunteers who have at least four members. Contact us with your group information, or if you would like to become part of another group, and we will arrange the experience according to the needs of the group. You will have the opportunity to help with research, medical clinics, and an orphanage as well as tour through India’s “Golden Triangle” (Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi). Applications are open to all people.

Students can receive credit for taking part, and pre-health students can gain valuable experience while shadowing physicians and surgeons in the field and the operating room.

Applications are now available, costs are $3,000 per person and includes your visa, flight, transportation in country, lodging and most meals. All applications and submission of funds must be completed two and a half months prior to departure.

 

Mali

We are very close to our first major goal in Mali- Constructing an elementary school in a rural village of Sanankoroba, outside of Bamako. Once the school is complete it will not only serve the students who attend the school, but everyone in the village as it can be used as a community center as well. By working with the villagers in nT’abakoro, we hope to build a strong relationship based on trust and collaboration. We are anxious to learn from them as much as we are to share what we have. Once the school is complete we will shift our focus toward health care. Our goal is the education of Midwives so they can better serve their own communities. There is a saying in Mali that when a woman is in labor, she has one foot in this world and one foot in the grave. Sadly, it is true. Maternal mortality rates in Mali are absurdly high, as are infant mortality rates. We know that it doesn’t have to be this way. We have HOPE that we can make a positive impact on these sad statistics. By sponsoring the training of midwives, we will be able to give a village an incredibly valuable gift.

Inspiration and Partners in the Mali Project

–Empower Mali: Led by our friends Yeah and Marissa Samake, they build schools, and do so effectively. With their help we have developed a sound business model that will yield a strong sense of ownership for the beneficiary community and ensure the success of each school. Visit them at empowermali.org.

–Mali Midwives: They have a great model for training midwives. They bring midwives together from all over Mali to receive training from Malian physicians and health care professionals. Visit them at malimidwives.org.

We are grateful for the work of each of these organizations and look forward to emulating certain aspects of their work in our own efforts.