International Medical Corps http://www.imc-la.com/ Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:18:37 GMT SyntaxCMS via FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.imc-la.com/content/blog/detail/1842/ Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:15:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/resource/detail/1841/ Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:30:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/resource/detail/1840/ Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:45:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/media/detail/1837/ Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:45:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/media/detail/1836/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:30:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/media/detail/1835/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:30:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/media/detail/1834/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:45:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/article/detail/1833/ Photo: International Medical Corps
International Medical Corps marches through downtown Amman with its partners, Jordan Health Aid Society and the UN High Commission for Refugees, to recognize World Refugee Day. In recognition of World Refugee Day, International Medical Corps (IMC) and its partners, Jordan Health Aid Society and the UN High Commission for Refugees, organized a march to acknowledge the millions who seek asylum in Jordan due to conflicts in their native lands. According to the U.S. government census, Jordan serves as a safe haven to approximately 1.8 million Palestinians and 500,000 Iraqis. The two-kilometer march through downtown Amman raised awareness about the support services that IMC and its partners offer to refugees and their Jordanian hosts. Bringing together walkers of all ages and nationalities, the march attracted the attention of the public and media alike. Photographed marching behind a banner reading ‘World Refugee Day,’ the group was featured in numerous local print and online newspapers and successfully encouraged public dialogue on behalf of the 10 million refugees trying to rebuild their lives worldwide.]]> Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:30:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/article/detail/1832/ Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:00:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/article/detail/1831/ Photo: International Medical Corps An Afghan refugee girl draws her interpretation of the ‘refugee experience,’ the theme of International Medical Corps’ art contest on World Refugee Day. Her drawing won first place among the girls. When he grows up, fifth-grader Mohammad Ayub wants to be an engineer. But unlike other budding engineers, Mohammad isn’t interested in building rocket ships or race cars. He wants to be an engineer so he can rebuild his country after years of war.

Mohammad is one of 2 million Afghans who have been forced to leave their homes to live in neighboring countries. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than half of Afghanistan’s refugees have fled to Pakistan, making it the top asylum country in the world. Most live in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province, the remote, mountainous region hugging the Afghanistan border. This lawless province has long been a target of the Taliban, who have strong influence in the capital, Peshawar..

International Medical Corps (IMC) has supported Afghan refugees living in the Northwest Frontier since its inception nearly 25 years ago. To honor the Afghans living in Pakistan, IMC recognized World Refugee Day on June 20th with a drawing contest for school children at Mera Kachawri Refugee Camp. Color pencils in-hand, 24 children poured their creativity into the theme, ‘Refugee Experience,’ with drawings of how they see their lives today and what they want for a better tomorrow.

Their artistic expressions of refugee life in Pakistan were filled with images of homes, schools, and health clinics, but while they appreciated the refuge of the camps, the children still felt like they were living in a foreign country. However, Afghanistan, with wavering security and lack of economic opportunity, is a difficult home to return to.

Photo: IMC

One of winning pictures of International Medical Corps’ World Refugee Day drawing contest shows an Afghan girl’s experience as a refugee in Pakistan.

Even though they were aware of the grim realities of life in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, the students are hopeful for a brighter future and want to be a part of making it happen. Like Mohammad, sixth-grader Amree Gul, has dreams of helping Afghanistan recover. She wants to become a doctor so she can treat the people of her village in eastern Afghanistan, who have to travel to Jalalabad, for medical emergencies.

“If for some reason I cannot be a doctor,” Amree says,“I will start teaching the girls from my village so that even if they are not allowed to attend a formal school, they still have an opportunity to be educated.”

The two winning drawings share Mohammad’s and Amree’s vision of making a difference back home with a picture of people receiving medical treatment and another of a teacher and four cross-legged students having class outside, surrounded by trees and flowers. First place or not, the artwork made on World Refugee Day shows how childhood dreams – even those from refugee camps – are sparks that can lead to a better world.]]> Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:45:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/media/detail/1827/ Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:00:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/article/detail/1826/

	Photo: Margaret Aguirre
	Following post-election violence in late 2007, 150,000 Kenyans still cannot return to their homes.  International Medical Corps helps to support the displaced by providing mental and primary health to thousands in the Rift Valley.

I am in the northern Rift Valley of Kenya. This is where much of the violence broke out last December and January following disputed national elections.

During the conflict, hundreds of thousands of people – most in the Rift Valley - were forced to flee their homes into displacement camps. In the months since, the government has worked toward creating a coalition for sharing power, which has brought some stability to the country. Now, those living in camps are being told leave, go back to their homes and begin their harvests in this fertile valley that is so dependent on farming.

The problem is, some 150,000 people either have no homes to return to – whole areas were scorched to the ground, including homes, churches, schools – or are afraid to return to areas where tribal animosities and resentments have not gone away.

Photo: Margaret Aguirre
Her hand in a cast and left eye missing, Roseanne was attacked during the post-election violence in which her husband was killed. She lives in Eldoret’s largest displacement camp with her three children. Her fourth is missing.

So they are packing up and moving to what the Kenyan Red Cross calls “minor centers” and “resettlement” areas. New sites are sprouting like mushrooms – many with zero basic services. That means no water, no shelter, no sanitation or latrines, little available food, and no health care services. Diarrheal diseases are becoming commonplace and, without adequate sanitation, the potential for an outbreak is significant. At night, the temperature can drop to the low 40s. Without blankets or enough clothing, children are suffering from upper respiratory infections. I watched children run around without shoes, playing amid burned-out buildings littered with broken glass. Their arms are covered in chiggers. They haven’t bathed in weeks.

The “emergency phase” of this crisis was supposed to be over. But anyone who looks at these sites and talks to those living in them knows this emergency is far from over. If these people stay where they are, their health is at risk. If they return home (if they even have homes), violence could re-ignite.

I spoke to a woman named Rosanne, in Eldoret’s largest displacement camp, dubbed Showground, where International Medical Corps is providing primary and mental health care services to about 13,000 people. Rosanne’s arm was in a cast, she had a huge scar along the left side of her head, and a gaping black hole where her left eye used to be. She was attacked during the violence and her husband was killed. She has three children with her in the camp, but she has not been able to locate her fourth, a 16-year-old boy.

Rosanne and her children are being told they have to leave Showground soon. She angrily exclaims: “We cannot go home. We have nothing and it is not secure. How can we leave?” I ask her where she is going to go next, she just looks away and sighs.

We visited a small settlement near Burnt Forest, which became infamous during the conflict after a church was burned to the ground and 30 of those inside were killed.
At this settlement, just a couple of days ago, a few hundred people arrived and began erecting tents. Their only available water for drinking, cooking and cleaning was what they could hoist up from a deep well – the water inside was the color of milk chocolate. A little boy we saw wandering around had large, fresh gashes on his knee and stomach that had yet to be treated.

Seeing how desperate the conditions were, our program coordinator got on his cell and had one of our medical teams diverted from another camp to this site for at least a couple of hours to provide treatment. But this was just one of about 100 such remote sites where the population had left a camp with some services and relocated to an area with none. International Medical Corps and other relief groups are doing their best to reach these people – or create some sort of central point where they can go and get the help they need. But it’s frustrating and disheartening.

I have been asked many times how I avoid getting overwhelmed by the scope of the need. This is one of those times that tests me. We’re always trying to make the biggest impact, multiply our efforts, reach as many people as possible. In just one month in Eldoret and Kitale we saw more than 11,000 patients. And yet, we can’t always solve all the problems or help everyone we want. I remind myself that this is significant and certainly better than no help at all.]]> Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:45:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/media/detail/1825/ Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:15:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/article/detail/1824/

-- Money and Products to Support work of International Medical Corps--

Total GE assistance in the region surpasses $5 million

Fairfield, CT -- Today the GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of General Electric Company, has awarded International Medical Corps (IMC) $700,000 in an emergency grant directed toward humanitarian efforts for the impacted population in the Darfur region of Sudan. In addition, the GE Corporation will be donating nearly $500,000 in health care equipment, training and supplies to support the organization’s efforts in the region.

“By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk in the region, International Medical Corps has the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations,” said Bob Corcoran, vice president of corporate citizenship at GE and president of the GE Foundation. “Through this financial and equipment support, our hope is that International Medical Corps will continue to rehabilitate the devastated health care system in the Darfur region.”

The grant will allow International Medical Corps to continue its existing activities in response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in the region, including assisting the displaced population in the areas of health and nutrition, emergency supplies and other critical needs. Health care equipment included in the donation to International Medical Corps includes mobile x-rays, ultrasounds, baby warmers, patient monitors, electrocardiogram (ECG) and related supplies and training.

“Once again, GE and the GE Foundation have stepped up in an extraordinarily generous and timely manner,” says Nancy Aossey, President & CEO of International Medical Corps. “GE’s support enables International Medical Corps to provide life-saving health care services alongside valuable health training for local doctors and nurses who are, and will be in the future, a critical lifeline for their communities in this fragile region.”

These grants, in addition to $4.1 million in GE Foundation grants awarded since late 2006, bring to $5.3 million the amount of financial aid and product donation by the GE Foundation and GE Corporation to organizations whose mission is to alleviate the humanitarian crisis among the population in the Darfur region.

About International Medical Corps
Since its inception nearly 25 years ago, International Medical Corps’ mission has been to relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated populations to self-reliance. For more information, visit www.imcworldwide.org.

About the GE Foundation
The GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company, works to strengthen educational access, equity, and quality for disadvantaged youth globally, and supports GE employee and retiree giving and involvement in GE communities around the world. In 2007, the GE family of businesses, employees, retirees and GE Foundation contributed more than $210 million to community and educational programs, including $93 million from the GE Foundation. For more information, visit www.gefoundation.com.

GE is Imagination at Work – a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world’s toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.ge.com.]]> Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT http://www.imc-la.com/content/media/detail/1822/ Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:30:00 GMT