About the Foundation
The friends of Panguma foundation was founded in may 2009. Working in Panguma as a tropical doctor together with other health care workers and some visitors we became involved in projects to support the hospital and the community and improve the health care in the area.
Coming back to the Netherlands we decided to start a foundation to continue our support to the people of Panguma, who captured a special place in our hearts.
The 140 beds hospital is situated in a very isolated area and serves many people who otherwise have no access to any health facility in the area. The conditions of the roads are poor and there is not much transport, people sometimes walk for days before they reach the hospital to seek treatment for themselves or a family member. For some of them treatment comes to late.
It can be very difficult to live and work in these conditions with shortages of medication, medical equipment, and hospital staff.
The Hospital although supported by the Dutch NGO CORDAID and Irish Aid, is continuously suffering from a shortage of funds. The post war situation in Sierra Leone has lead to destruction of many facilities, infrastructure and villages. Rebuilding a country after 10 years of civil war takes a lot of time, strength and effort by the local people, and ofcourse costs a lot of money. And although Sierra Leone has many valuable natural resources, such as diomonds, gold and bauxite, unfortunately it is not always the local people who are profiting from these rich resources.
As a result of the violence in the 90s, the economy and the social structure of Sierra Leone were totally dislocated. Everything ceased to function and everyone’s life was in danger. Sierra Leone even fell to the bottom place on the Human Development Index, the list of the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) which classifies countries by subjects such as literacy and availability of healthcare. The average lifespan in Sierra Leone was the shortest in the world: only 27 years. In 2004 Sierra Leone still stood at the bottom of the list with an average lifespan of 39 (M) and 42 (F) years. Of course, cessation of hostilities has had a major beneficial influence on the overall economic and social situation, but major investment is needed for many years before Sierra Leone can recover from poverty. Rebuilding society and the economy with comprehensive aid from the international community will be central in years to come.
To give our share in this major process and be able to help a small part of the people in the eastern part of Sierra Leone the foundation is trying to realise small projects together with the local people to make sure the hospital in Panguma can keep running and to improve quality of healthcare in the area, and being able to serve the very poor.
It is amazing to see how strong and dedicated the people in Panguma are in rebuilding their lives it is wonderful to be able to be a part of that.
The projects will be monitored by the foundation and the hospital management team.(including the director, a Dutch tropical doctor and the matron of the hospital)
All money will be spend directly on the projects and in this way the people will benefit most. The overhead costs are very minimal, and everybody working for the foundation is a voluntary.
Do you want to support us, read more in how to donate.
You can always contact one of us for more information or ideas.
Thank you for your interest!
Carolien Sluimers
Contacts:
Carolien Sluimers
Denneweg 15a
2514 CB Den Haag
0626978679
csluimers@hotmail.com
Statistics Sierra Leone:
Total population: 5,743,000
Gross national income per capita (PPP international $): 610
Life expectancy at birth m/f (years): 39/42
Healthy life expectancy at birth m/f (years, 2003): 27/30
Probability of dying under five (per 1 000 live births): 269
Probability of dying between 15 and 60 years m/f (per 1 000 population): 556/460
Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2006): 41
Total expenditure on health as % of GDP (2006): 3.5
Figures are for 2006 unless indicated.
Source: World Health Statistics 2008