HHA's Top Ten Highlights of 2023
05 January 2024 17:00
2023 was an incredible year for HHA. We expanded our projects and launched new initiatives, built relationships across the world, and welcomed new people to our family. Thanks to your support and prayers, we have reached thousands of individuals with health, dignity, empowerment and hope. Here are ten of our highlights!
1. GLOBAL DISABILITY CARE
We continued to provide empowerment, dignity, and support to people with disabilities in Haiti, Uganda, and South Sudan. Last year, we provided over 1,450 wheelchairs, more than 300 prosthetic and orthotic devices, and thousands of rehabilitation sessions. We also opened a new rehab garden for patients with spinal cord injuries in Haiti, hosted another wonderful 'Night to Shine' for young people with special needs, and got a new vehicle in Uganda, enabling us to reach more people through mobile clinics.
2. TACKLING HUNGER IN UGANDA
Thanks to the ongoing support of an amazing foundation, we were able to continue our ambitious Agriculture & Livelihoods Project last year, providing emergency food aid, seeds, tools, access to land and training for 1,100 of the most vulnerable refugee and host community households. We also provided over 3,400 acutely malnourished children across all 14 refugee settlements in Uganda with therapeutic food and supplements (thanks to our partnership with Edesia Nutrition).
3. SUPPORTING MOTHERS & BABIES IN HAITI
Thanks to grants from two generous organisations, we scaled up our community health program in Haiti, which provides remote communities with essential maternal and infant health care and education. We now have a team of 5 Community Health Agents and 20 Traditional Birth Attendants, and, last year alone, supported hundreds of pregnant women and mothers and delivered over 1,000 babies at our partner hospital.
4. FIRST EVER CLINIC IN SOUTH SUDAN
In March, Edward (Chair of our East Africa Board) and Isaac (Programme Manager) visited the UK to launch our ‘Rebuild Hope’ Appeal, based on the inspirational words of Isaiah 61. Thanks to your incredible generosity, just five months later we opened New Hope Kajo Keji Health and Rehabilitation Centrer - our first clinic in South Sudan, which is now caring for over 1,000 patients every month.
5. LIFE-SAVING CHOLERA TREATMENT
Heartbreakingly, 2023 saw a resurgence of cholera in Haiti, and we responded by opening a Cholera Treatment Centrer at our partner hospital in January. Cases continued to grow, and we were forced to ask for your help in July to keep the life-saving center open. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to treat over 1,000 patients over the course of the year, and we’re delighted to report a far reduced number of cases in recent months.
6. SHARING OUR IMPACT
We were so proud to publish our first ever Global Impact Report, which documents everything we’ve been able to achieve since our work began back in 2007! This was a milestone moment for HHA, highlighting how far we’ve come - not only in terms of our projects, but also as an organisation as a whole.
7. GROWING OUR TEAM
This year, we welcomed numerous new team members to the HHA family across the globe. Our incredible East Africa team now has 80 members; our partner hospital in Haiti, HCBH, employs over 350 members of staff; and our UK and US teams continue to grow too. We are incredibly proud of the network of hardworking, passionate and caring individuals that make HHA the organization that it is.
8. AWARDS, RECOGNITIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
We were extremely proud to see our CEO and Co-Founder Carwyn receive an MBE last year, a reflection not only on Carwyn’s amazing achievements, but also on HHA’s global impact. HHA East Africa was also one of four organizations globally (of over 160 short-listed) to be awarded The Ockenden Prize in recognition of our work with refugee and displaced communities. In addition, we were grateful to receive support from several trusts, foundations, including a significant 3 year commitment from one of our key strategic partners.
9. INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE
We continued to build the capacity and efficiency of our projects through key investments in infrastructure. We installed solar panels at our partner hospital in Haiti, reducing reliance on fuel; constructed buildings ranging from staff accommodation and school kitchens to wheelchair storage and accessible toilets; and installed a new borehole and water distribution system in Uganda that now provides clean, fresh water to New Hope BidiBidi and the surrounding community.
10. GIVING TUESDAY SUCCESS
We were blown away by your support on Giving Tuesday, which enabled us to raise over $31,000 from 111 donors, unlocking an additional $9,600 in match funds! This was an amazing start to our Christmas Appeal, through which we’re aiming to raise $60,000 to provide care and support to mothers and babies in Haiti, South Sudan and Uganda. If you haven’t donated yet and would like to help us reach our target, you can do so here.
As Carwyn shared in our Impact Report: ‘none of this would have been possible without God’s faithfulness and the incredible support of our amazing community’. Your generosity, passion, prayers and faith in our mission have changed and saved lives this year – we truly could not be more grateful, and we can’t wait to do even more in 2024!
