Support Ethiopia Outreach 2017

This year, Ethiopia Outreach medical students and physicians from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio will travel to rural Ethiopia for 3 weeks to provide free medical service and education to under-served populations. Ethiopia Outreach has partnered with Common River, a non-governmental organization based in Aleta Wondo, Ethiopia. Common River’s goal is “to create balanced, productive, and self-sustaining communities for others to witness and replicate.” At the same time, our program works to train physicians who are not only competent, but also compassionate, patient-driven, globally-minded and responsive to the health care needs of our society.

Each year, Ethiopia Outreach brings direct patient care to some of the world’s most impoverished families. We view our mission primarily as one of empowerment: empowering the clinics with the means to be successful via supplies and education, empowering Ethiopian communities with the confidence to use these clinics as a resource and empowering other medical providers in the area with the opportunity to serve the people of Ethiopia.

Our team maintains the highest degree of professional and fiscal responsibility; with this kind of outreach, we additionally ensure that our efforts provide real benefit to the communities we serve. For example:

• Along with our current medical education, our team participates in extensive preparatory sessions with doctors at the Health Science Center that train us on the most common diseases in Ethiopia, cultural traditions and language.
• Our food and lodging will parallel local norms – we will live in huts and eat local food. Our team is committed to minimizing costs and using most of the funds raised to directly benefit local families.
• Our team has planned for and participated in various fundraising efforts to raise the funds needed. This includes planned social events for students and faculty, food sales and physical work for local families and businesses

The total cost of the medical trip will be $25,000. These efforts continue the medical infrastructure built by past teams and are critical to the well-being of the villagers of Aleta Wondo. Realizing that we cannot achieve our goals without the help of our community at home in the United States and the aid of generous sponsors, we humbly ask for your consideration in supporting the Ethiopia Outreach program.

Sincerely,
2017 Ethiopia Outreach Team

1. http://ethiopia10.blogspot.com/
2. https://www.youcaring.com/ethiopiaoutreach2017-708791