Friday Aug 30, 2013

Enhancing Medical Care in Sierra Leone

Lynn Pelton

Executive Director Greatest Goal Ministries USA

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Lynn Pelton, Executive Director of Greatest Goal Ministries USA, will discuss “Enhancing Medical Care in Sierra Leone”. Greatest Goal Ministries USA was founded by Dr. James Pelton, a radiation oncologist at Overlake Hospital (Bellevue) and his wife Lynn, a registered BSN nurse, in 2007. Greatest Goal Ministries USA is a Christian, humanitarian, non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the economical, physical, social and spiritual needs of the amputees and other victims of war-torn Sierra Leone, West Africa.

In 2009 Greatest Goal Ministries opened a free healthcare clinic in Freetown at the request of
Dr. Alhassan Sesay, Director of Hospital Services for the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.  In October 2012, Greatest Goal Ministries (GGM) met with the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Sia Koroma, toask if there was a larger building for their outpatient clinic. The First Lady in cooperation with the former Vice President of Sierra Leone, Solomon Berewa gave GGM the Lady Deborah Berewa (outpatient) Hospital located in the western rural district of Lakka, just outside of Freetown. GGM closed their clinic in Freetown and after renovations, opened the Lady Deborah Berewa (outpatient) Hospital. In addition, GGM is starting a five year journey with the Ministry of Health and the Office of the First Lady to bring a cancer center and cancer program to Sierra Leone, West Africa. GGM has asked to pilot this exciting project! More information is available at www.ggmusa.orow

Sierra Leone went through a decade long civil strife (1991-2001) which resulted in massive population displacement and the breakdown of physical structures for the effective delivery of all social services.  Ranking 180th out of 187 on the UN Index Scale of Living which measures education, income inequality, health and the basic quality of living, Sierra Leone is slowly recovering but access to health care remains severely limited.  Sierra Leone continues to have the highest maternal and infant death rate in the world with one out of five children dying before the age of five.,

About the Speaker

Lynn and her husband have made multiple trips to Sierra Leone (Lynn over a dozen and her husband 6) to support their passion. In addition, they sponsored a young man in Sierra Leone for 3 years and then to attend a US college who is now their son-in-law. Lynn will discuss the progress Greatest Goal Ministries USA has made, the programs they have developed and support and the challenges ahead.