Photo by Sarah Schuyler
Urgent Medical Supplies Flown to Cape Verde to Treat Dengue Fever Outbreak
November 17 - 2009: AThe island nation of Cape Verde, located off the west coast of Africa is experiencing its first outbreak of Dengue Fever.
The infection, caused by mosquito-transmitted viruses, has affected almost 10,000 people to date.
Luis Martins, from the San Antao Community Foundation, contacted Afya asking for help with urgently needed primary and tertiary care supplies. With the incredible assistance and support of the Cape Verde Consulate in Boston, we were able pack a full pallet of supplies that were driven from our warehouse to the airport in Boston (by Luis Martin) The supplies were loaded onto a flight to Cape Verde and arrived 15 hours later. Supplies packed included those needed for basic primary care and hundreds of supplies needed to start IV’s and transfuse blood.
Photo by Sarah Schuyler
Cribs, Mattresses and Much More are Packed for Haiti
October 26 - 2009: Approximately 80 mattresses, hospital cribs, 12 centrifuges, lots and linens and boxes of medical supplies were packed onto a container heading to Haiti, to support the clinical work of Partners In Health. On Monday 10/19, Jonathan Lascher and Jesse Greenspan, from the Procurement Team at PIH, came to the warehouse to select additional inventory for the container shipment. Additional inventory included desks, chairs, medical exam tables, patient gowns, linens and surgical supplies.
Photo by Team Malawi
Afya Responds to SOS in Sierra Leone
September 22 - 2009: It’s been a year since Afya first worked with New York-based Surgeons OverSeas (SOS) to suppport their clinical training initiative at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, the capital of of Sierra Leone. Drs. Adam Kushner and Peter Kingham, founders of SOS, arrived at Afya’s warehouse with a long list of desired items that had been carefully compiled in concert with the recipient hospital’s staff. They then pored over our collection to best match those needs. Most requirements were basic – thousands of sutures, miscellaneous tracheotomy supplies, chest tubes, metal trays for instrument sterilization and IV poles. A freezer for lab specimens and 20 centrifuges were also among the items that were selected.
Special thanks to Matt at the University of Pennsylvania for racing from Philadelphia with 50 centrifuges just in time to get them loaded and on their way to Sierra Leone.
Finally, the Levowitz family, in a touching tribute to their late father, donated his entire medical library and all of his equipment to Afya, thus honoring his life-long commitment to medical education and dedication to providing the best health care, regardless of the patients’ means. We thank Dr. Levowitz’s family from the bottom of our hearts for their hard work and esteem for their father’s legacy. It will live on among doctors and nurses in Sierra Leone.
Photo by Sarah Schuyler
Afya Teams Up with Partners In Health to Help Malawi
September 15 - 2009: Afya shipped its fifth container to Partners In Health in Neno, Malawi. Contents included an entire dental suite, pallets of surgical packs and primary care supplies, desks and chairs. Also packed were 30 walkers, 20 commodes, and other rehabilitation supplies gathered largely by Gloria’s Gathering from the hospice community in the New York area – all destined to improve the lives of elders living in rural Malawi.
In what’s become something of a tradition, we also sent pallets of soccer supplies for the children. Our gratitude and appreciation to Alex, Harrison and Max; as well as to Harrison Youth Soccer for their collection efforts!
Photo by TJ Allan
Weill Cornell Staff donates supplies to support Mission to Tanzania
July 15 - 2009: Afya packed a container filled with supplies donated from the staff at Weill Cornell, to support the work of Dr. Roger Hartl, Chief of Spinal Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Hartl will lead a team of health professionals and surgeons on a teaching/surgery mission to northern Tanzania at the Bugando Medical Center. Dr Hartl's team from Weill Cornell came to the warehouse to select equipment and supplies and his lead operating room nurse, Marcela, spent hours with us-selecting instruments and supplies carefully.
The container includes 2 ultrasounds, an operating room table, a ventilator and lots of surgical instruments and supplies. An entire medical library was also donated and packed on this container. An enormous thank you to all at Weill Cornell and Dr Hartl and his team for making this incredible donation and shipment possible.
Photo by TJ Allan
AFYA watches another 40 foot container ride off to PIH in Haiti
July 10 - 2009: Afya packed and shipped another container for Partners In Health in Haiti. On this container, we packed 2 x-ray machines, 25 bed frames and mattresses, pallets of school supplies and a pallet of soap dispensers. In addition, hundreds of boxes of carefully selected inventory were also shipped. The PIH staff provided Afya with a very detailed list of what was needed at their sites in Haiti and this container was packed to the brim.
Photo by Danielle Butin
Heart Team organizes shipment of medical supplies to Dominican Republic
July 7 - 2009: Afya shipped one and one-half pallets of medical supplies to the Hospital Infantil Regional Universitario in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Supplies support the efforts of The International Children’s Heart Foundation, a highly esteemed organization founded by Dr. William Novick. Afya is proud to support the work of this mission, where they will be performing pediatric cardiac screening and 25 life-saving open heart surgeries to repair congenital heart defects.
Photo by Danielle Butin
Ghana looks forward to an AFYA container
June 29 - 2009: The Ghana container shipment was prompted by a request from John Bosco Bongnea, the Executive Secretary of Catholic Diocesan Health Service. The container, destined for the Wa District of Ghana, was packed to the brim with medical, lab and humanitarian supplies needed by two hospitals, 14 clinics, three training schools and an orthopedic center.
from left to right, Buddy, Alex Straus, Sarah Schuyler, Ellen Schorsch, Danielle Butin
AFYA sends it's first 40' container to Ethiopia
June 10 - 2009: Working with African Services, Afya packed and orchestrated the delivery of a 40-foot container filled with supplies for three HIV testing and treatment clinics in Ethiopia, located in Addis Ababa, Kombolcha and Mekelle. Located on the frontline of the war against AIDS, these clinics are devoted to erasing barriers to HIV care and eliminating its stigma.
The container was heavily packed with lab supplies, including blood drawing chairs, IV poles, refrigerators for lab samples, exam tables and hundreds of boxes of lab supplies.
The packing for the shipment was helped by Ethiopian volunteers, who live in NY and came to Afya’s warehouse for a full day of sorting supplies in preparation for the container.
Photo by TJ Allan: from left to right, Steve Straus, Nancy Kliot, Alex Straus, Danielle Butin
13 Year Old Volunteer Wins Nike Gamechanger Award
May 7 - 2009: Congratulations to Alex!! A 13 year old who completed his bar mitzvah project with us, was awarded the Nike Gamechanger Award in recognition of his incredible efforts to gather and send soccer supplies to Neno, Malawi. Four soccer leagues in Malawi now exist because of this amazing young man's efforts. Alex was chosen as one of 20 national winners (and is the youngest).
Read the Nike press announcement, Alex’s story is the 4th from the top.
from left to right: Allison Polland, Danielle Butin, Ed Bobrow, Catherine Chang, Theresa Graif
ART FOR A CAUSE Fosters Beauty In NYC
April 23, 2009: In March of 2008, The New York Times published an article about Afya and our mission to recover medical supplies from the New York healthcare market. One of the first readers to respond to the article was Ed Bobrow. Grieving over the recent loss of his beloved wife, Gloria, he sent the Executive Director an e-mail with a simple question in the subject line: “How can I get involved?”
Soon after, Ed met Danielle Butin, Executive Director of Afya, at his apartment in NYC. Ed spoke eloquently and lovingly about his wife, and pointed towards his den, which was filled with unused medical supplies, wheelchairs, commodes and walkers. Ed turned to Danielle and said, “I’m ready to let this go so it can help another.”
By donating these important life-sustaining medical supplies in Gloria’s memory, Ed felt relieved, gratified and proud. This experience, along with Ed’s extraordinary vision and leadership, inspired Afya to launch “Gloria’s Gathering”, named, in loving memory, for Ed’s wife, Gloria. Gloria’s Gathering allows us to gather vitally needed supplies from families who are grieving here in New York to save the lives of those abroad. It is a blessing for those who mourn and for those who receive.
Ed Bobrow's photographic work premiered at The Works Gallery in New York City in April. Ed's photographs, comprised of thoughful black and white prints, carefully composed New York scenics and florals wowed the audience who flocked to The Works Gallery for the premier. A portion of the proceeds generated by the sale of Ed's work was generously donated to Afya.
In addition to launching the Gloria's Gathering website, at the event we also honored 3 very special medical students from Columbia University:
Allison Polland * Catherine Chang * Theresa Graif
These Remedy Club leaders from New York Presbyterian Hospital have worked tirelessly to support our efforts to gather and recover
medical supplies that are ultimately sent to medical facilities in developing nations.
Photo by Barbara Prisament
Staff members from Partners In Health travel to Afya to help load a container to Haiti
April 3, 2009: Afya packed a container heading to Haiti with the help of a staff member from PIH, who drove a truck loaded with donated medical equipment from Boston for inclusion in this container. With the help of the PIH staff members, Afya added the additional items to the container, hand selected by a staff member of PIH. Examples included x-ray cassettes of all sizes, shelving units, tv’s for viewing training tapes and linen bins filled with sheets and blankets.
Also packed on this container were 82 mattresses, surgical packs, 3 operating room tables, cribs, stretchers and hundreds of boxes of supplies.
Photo by Barbara Prisament
Rwanda benefits from another Afya container bound for Rinkwavu
April 1, 2009: While visiting PIH in Rinkwavu last November, Danielle Butin met Dr Bonnie Keeler, Executive Director of Edgewood Health Initiatives. Dr. Keeler contacted Afya to explore the possibility of sending surgical equipment and supplies to Rinkwavu, to support the capacity of their surgical team. Dr. Keeler led an extraordinary effort which resulted in the shipment of a 40' container filled with operating room tables, highly sophisticated operating room lights, suction machines, anesthesia machines, surgical instruments and much more.
Photo by Nick Lo
Partners In Health Recieves another 40' Afya Container in their Neno, Malawi facility
January 28, 2009: Sandy Do, a New York based physical therapist, who played a large role in building rehabilitation services at a PIH health facility in Neno, Malawi worked with a team of Occupational Therapy students from Columbia University in a Wheelchair Rescue day for the Afya Foundation. The students repaired 26 wheelchairs that were loaded in the container bound for the facility in Malawi.
One student’s photographs and description of the day can be viewed here.
Container also included mattresses for hospital beds, industrial size shelving units and conference room tables that will provide a “home” for case conferences and as a result, professional development.
Also packed on this container were bins of linens, huge plastic containers of toys (to be used as child-life supplies) and these were donated by an incredible community of donor families in Hastings-thank you!
Photo by Barbara Prisament
Volunteers heed President Obama’s request to give back on Martin Luther King Day
January 19, 2009: In celebration of President Obama's National Day of Service, Afya opened its doors and welcomed hundreds of volunteers at the Yonkers warehouse. Volunteers of all ages generously helped us to sort pounds of donated supplies, label inventory and box inventory for shipment to African nations and Haiti.
Afya now has a whole new community of volunteers-youth groups, families and individuals all came out to give back and at the end of the day, over 250 boxes of supplies were created and sealed up for shipment,
Our day ended with loading a 40' container for Haiti, to support the work of Partners In Health, and was filled with many of the boxes packed during the day.
An enormous thanks to all the volunteers and community service groups who participated in the effort.
Afya, meaning good health in Swahili, is now possible for thousands of people abroad, because of the heart and commitment of exceptional and dedicated volunteers.
Photo by Barry Mason
Columbia Occupational Therapy Students Help With Shipment to Malawi
December 21, 2008: A recent visit to the Partners In Health medical facility in Neno, Malawi garnered Executive Director Danielle Butin a robust list of needs and requests from the PIH team. The PIH Program Director asked Ms. Butin to meet with everyone at the facility, from the midwife to the hospital cook, to help create the thorough list of servicable needs and supplies to gather. This container was loaded again, by a great team led by Buddy Schultz from the Children's Village, all in 12 degree weather! Their fortitude is amazing!
Our gratitude to the Jewish Home Lifecare for the donation of 33 hospital bed mattresses, so vital to the wellbeing of patients. Carpenters in Malawi are working on building beds and these mattresses will provide the finishing touch for the addition of 33 beds to the district health center. Also included on this container were 5 cribs from Remedy at Yale. Afya packed warehouse shelving units for their brand new warehouse in Neno, this heavy duty shelving allows for large volume storage and will maximize the organization of supplies. Kitchen and office supplies were sent in addition to donations of rain boots that will be used as protective footwear for midwives and surgeons. Over 30 ambulatory devices were sent (walkers, canes and crutches).
Afya also thanks the faculty and students at Columbia University's Programs in Occupational Therapy for volunteering time to re-build and repair over 20 wheelchairs for shipment to Rwanda and Malawi. After being repaired, each chair had a sticker placed on it that indicated the patient details/needs that would be best matched by the unique structure of the chair. As seen in the photo (above), every wheelchair, like every person, is different. The PIH rehabilitation technician in Neno will be thrilled with the arrival of these supplies!
Photo by Barry Mason
Rwanda Shipment Special For Many
December 19, 2008: During her visit to Rwanda, Afya's Executive Director Danielle Butin spent vaulable time with Josh Ruxin's team at The Access Project. Ms. Butin took the opptortunity to visit many district health centers, meeting with staff to identify supply/equipment needs to help build capacity. Some of the facilities have been up and running for years, but under sourced and under staffed while other centers were just being built. (Learn More About The Access Project)
This container, to be divided by the The Access Project, amongst a number of district health centers included stretchers, 6 exam tables, cribs, an ultrasound, x-ray machine, x-ray light box, many primary care exam room furniture set-ups. Linens, paper and other basics were included to help build capacity with simple solutions for big needs.
This container was the focus of a very moving story. The family of a beloved physician in Westchester County, Dr Meredith Sirmans recently passed away, his wife Gail offered Afya his entire office as a donation to build capacity in Africa, a part of the world Dr. Sirmans supported generously. His surviving wife and son, along with friends, came to witness the loading of the supplies to Rwanda and Afya Board member, Reverend Willard Ashley, blessed the gift of the supplies and the safe passage as the family entered the container and held onto the patient scale (shown above), donated from Dr. Sirmans' office.
Load in help was provided by Children's Village, thank you!
Photo by TJ Allan
Malawi gets Afya's 10th Container Shipment
October 15, 2008: Our latest shipment on October 15th, marks the 10th container shipped, filled with supplies recovered from the NY healthcare market. Dr Keith Joseph, of Partners In Health, sent Afya another comprehensive and extensive request list for collection and packing. On this container, we were able to recover and pack used carpentry tools to be used to source Carpentry Training Workshops for HIV positive men in Malawi.
Lots of rehabilitation and medical equipment was shipped and in November, Danielle will visit this site in Malawi and other PIH sites in Rwanda to determine and support supply needs moving forward.
Teenagers from the Childrens Village played an awesome role in helping us to invemtory and pack this container-great thanks goes out to our helpers!
Photo by TJ Allan
Hurricane Relief Container
October 6, 2008: Partners In Health requested hurricane relief supplies for the thousands of families they help in Haiti. Many partners came together to make this container possible. Huge thank you to the Big Y and to the Community Outreach Team at USA Red Cross in Greenwich, CT for donating a total of 4 pallets of bottled water. Kudos to the Nyack School District, in Rockland County, for running a major community clothing drive that led to the donation of over 40 boxes of sorted clothing. Afya usually packs delicate medical items in clothing, knowing that it can serve as a safe padding while reducing waste on the recieving end. For this container, Afya packed and sent every item of clothing in the warehouse for the purpose of clothing people who had lost everything they had in their homes. Meritex has done it again-saving the day with a donation of hundreds of sheets. blankets, towels and washcloths to be used in relief shelters.
In addition, exam tables, baby warmers and heating lamps for newborns were also sent. The owners of Half Moon Restaurant in Dobbs Ferry donated a natural gas stove to the main hospital kitchen in Haiti, in addition to many large food preparation bowls.
Photo by TJ Allan
3 Shipments in Two Weeks, Rwanda benefits from Afya efforts
August 6, 2008: Afya supplied equipment and resources needed to build the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village Health Center, a structured residential community being built for orphaned children in Rwanda. This special project of The America Jewish Joint Distribution Committee will provide housing and care for 150 orphaned children. Afya worked closely with the lead nurse supervising the health center to ensure resources matched the needs of the center. Afya shipped a variety of vital equipment including Ultra Violet Lights used for treating Tuberculosis, exam tables, IV poles, stretchers, pediatric crutches, walkers, masks, gloves, syringes and much more. This wish list, generated meticulously by the lead nurse, will help the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village Health Center provide better care to children. http://www.agahozo-shalom.org
August 8, 2008: A significant Day for Afya's founder Danielle Butin.
Ms. Butin's background as an Occupational Therapist made the prospect of filling a container with rehabilitation supplies incredibly meaningful. The lead Physical Therapist for Partners In Health in Rwanda sent Afya his wish list for rehab supplies and as a result, Danielle reached out to her OT and PT colleagues in the New York area. The rehab community responded in an extraordinary way providing 9 treatment tables, 20 adapted seating chairs for children, whirlpools, paraffin hand treatment machines and 30 walkers that were subsequently shipped to Rwanda. Three sepearate rehab departments in Rwanda will be constructed from these supplies. An enormous thank you to all OT's and PT's who committed to making this possible. Function, quality of life and independence can now be a possibility for thousands.
August 8, 2008: Launching a Training Center in Rwanda.
As Partners In Health expands programs within Haiti and into Africa, they have experienced a surge of inquiries from non-governmental organizations and ministries
 in developing countries (especially in Africa) who are interested in their health care model. Over the past few years PIH has invested significant time and resources in developing new resources and training curricula for practitioners in the field—at their sites and far beyond. In 2006 a three-year grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation officially launched the expansion of a PIH training program in Rwanda. Partners In Health reached out to Afya for assistance in equiping the Rwinkwavu Hospital training facility with a stove, pots, pans, dishware and kitchenware. Afya thanks The Garland Group for their generous donation of an industrial 10 burner electric stove.
photo by Jim Metzger
Afya Sends 20' Container to Island Nation of Cape Verde
July 23, 2008: Marking a wonderful milestone in Afya's history, a 20 foot container left the dock in support of the island nation of Cape Verde. Numerous volunteers from Cape Verde descended on the Afya warehouse to load supplies in the container. The effort began when the San Antao Outreach Foundation approached Danielle Butin to work on creating a container of supplies for their home island San Antao in Cape Verde. Working from the wish list of their lead physician in the regional hospital we packed everything from simple items like an exam table, IV poles, walkers, canes to a dialysis machine. Currently, there is no technology available on the island to sustain the health of patients with kidney disease and the delivery of the machine is perfectly timed with a Cape Verde physician finishing her training in protocols of treatment for advanced kidney disease and dialysis. The physician will be returning to her home island of San Antao to work as a kidney specialist. Every inch of available space was carefully packed-knowing that every box would make a difference for their family and friends at home.
photo by Jim Metzger
Afya Ships It's First 40' Container To Sierra Leone
June 9, 2008: Afya teamed up with the New York Society of International Humanitarian Surgeons to fulfill their request to send a container to Connaught Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone Dr Peter Kingham, after conducting a thorough needs assessment at the hospital (using World health Organization criteria), submitted a significant “surgical suite” wish list to Afya in order to create improved surgical capacity with improved access to essential items for care. The container included an operating room table. 40 IV poles, vital sign monitors, medical refrigerator, centrifuge, computer and hundreds of medical textbooks. We even packed adult mannequins for CPR training, In addition, hundreds of boxes of consumable supplies were packed. The supplies will arrive in time for Dr. Adam Kushner to lead a surgical training program at the hospital this summer. 
Special thanks goes out to the Yonkers Fire Department for their incredible assistance during the load process. The load team consisting of Afya staff, Dr. Peter Kingham and numerous volunteers organized by Dr. Kingham were subject to 98 degree heat while loading the container. Our friends from the Yonkers Fire Department Jef Campion, Gene Kelly and others mobilized industrial misters to keep the Afya team cool and safe.
photo by Jim Metzger
Partners in Health to Receive 2nd Malawi Shipment From Afya
May 30, 2008: Afya successfully packed and shipped a 2nd container of medical and community health supplies for Partners In Health in Malawi. The supplies sent represent a continuation of our effort to match the “wish list” provided by their lead physician in Malawi. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Bishop Francis J. Mugavero Geriatric Center in Brooklyn, NY for their outstanding donation of 27 crank beds, mattresses, and wheelchairs, all included in this container. This shipment included many items essential for rehabilitation medicine, including
18 well repaired wheelchairs, 23 canes, and 22 walkers.
Dr Joseph of Partners in Health in Malawi, also requested assistance with the creation an outdoor entertainment center, to be constructed in the fields around the hospital. The aim of the entertainment center is to project DVD’s of American performers who clearly demonstrate and emulate the influence of African heritage on their aritsic expression and creation. The goal is to build a sense of pride for local residents. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem and Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center donated DVD’s to support this effort. Sam Ash donated the outdoor speakers that made this initiative possible.
Many medical supplies were also packed such as primary care supplies, IV bags, and sutures. Medical ware, donated by Unitex, included patient gowns, scrubs, and lab coats for staff.
A generous donation of cooking supplies, from Whole Foods, was send to the hospital’s kitchen. A big thanks goes to Ethan from Northern New Jersey as well for collecting soccer balls and cleats for children in Malawi. These sporting goods will raise the spirits of children who have parents being treated in the hospital and gives them a game to play.
photo by Jim Metzger
40' Container Leaves Afya for Malawi
April 18, 2008: Afya's second container left the loading dock in Yonkers on it's way to Malawi in Africa. Beds, stretchers, linens from Hilton, office supplies from Staples, office desks from CORT, consumables, chairs, and much more were included in this latest shipment. Dr. Keith Joseph from Partners in Health visited Afya's warehouse in early April to generate a wish list of supplies needed to support hospitals and medical initiatives in the east African nation. An army of volunteers arrived at the dock to sort, load and secure the huge 40' long shipping container readying it for the long journey.
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