Hospital in Rwanda receives incubators

A letter from Josh Ruxin, the country director of The Millennium Villages Project:

Dear Assist International & General Electric,

Mayange, the village where we work, has a population of 24,000. As you know, maternal and infant mortality are high in Rwanda, and increasing birth attendance by a health professional can significantly reduce these figures. Prior to Millennium Villages Project’s arrival at the health center, less than 20 babies per month were born at the health center. We have seen the number of births at the health center double since our arrival.

Now, thanks to your donation of infant warmers and incubator---babies that would have died or suffered from hypothermia are alive and kicking!

At Nyamata hospital those incubators are kept at full occupancy. Due to the difficult living conditions, long distances from health care, hard physical labor by women, and poor prenatal care women often develop complications during pregnancy and delivery. Previously, babies who were born prematurely had a very slim chance of living, as there was no means to keep them in a warm and safe environment. Thanks to you, these babies born under difficult circumstances now have a chance at life.

On behalf of the many newborn babies and thousands of patients of Mayange and Nyamata who benefit daily from your equipment, I offer my sincerest thanks and gratitude for your generosity.

Sincerely,

Josh Ruxin
Country Director
Millennium Villages Project
The Access Project

X-Ray equipment delivered to Nyamata Hospital in Rwanda

A letter that was received from Josh Ruxin, the Country Director of Millennium Villages Project in Rwanda:

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I am writing to thank you for the incredible donation of equipment that has gone to Mayange Health Center and Nyamata Hospital in Rwanda. Lives are already being saved as a result of GE’s generosity and the incredible work of Assist International.

One recent afternoon when I visited Nyamata hospital, I saw three patients who were coming out of the outpatient department with casts. Each of these patients had suffered different accidents and they each had a fracture. Before, when there was no x-ray equipment, the patient would have to be transported an hour away to the main reference hospital in the capital, Kigali. Due to the enormous load of patients seen there daily, they could wait an entire day for an x-ray (if they even had the funds to go to Kigali!). Then they would have to bring the x-ray back to the doctor at Nyamata Hospital to get treatment. This could often take more than one day and the patients often endure unbearable pain as they ride along the bumpy dirt roads to and fro.

Thanks to the x-ray equipment you donated to Nyamata Hospital these three patients arrived in the morning and by early afternoon they were casted and ready to go home. Thanks to your generosity people are able to get the care and treatment they need and deserve.

The staff at both the health center and hospital is thrilled with the tools you have given them. Imagine being trained in medicine, being expected to take care of patients, and most of the time having to do so without any of the necessary tools. Such is life for most doctors and nurses in Rwanda. By providing them with this medical equipment, you enhance their ability to take care of patients and you boost their morale. They know that on the other side of the world Rwanda and its people have not been forgotten.

On behalf of the thousands of patients of Mayange and Nyamata who benefit daily from your equipment, I offer my sincerest thanks and gratitude for your generosity.

By the way, having received numerous donations, I’d like to note that the work of Assist International was top-notch. The training and assurance that equipment was properly installed was professional and superb. Please pass this letter on to all who were involved!

Sincerely,



Josh Ruxin
The Access Project