aboutBaraka Canada was conceived in 2013 by a small group of enthusiastic travellers, several of whom had already served on the board of Baraka Community Partnerships in the UK. The original goal was to support medical trips to Zambia by building a working relationship between Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, BC and Kabwe Hospital in Zambia.
Over the last seven years, Baraka Canada has broadened its scope beyond medicine. As well as sending out teams of doctors and nurses to Zambia on a biennial basis, we have become increasingly involved in fund-raising activities, working with sponsored children, and providing financial aid for a learning centre and other educational projects in Zambia. With the support of a small group of Canadian ladies we are also now focusing our efforts on funding the New Dawn Safe House in Maamba, for vulnerable teenage girls. For the time being, our efforts are focused exclusively on Zambia. Thanks to a generous Canadian donor - every penny or cent donated to us impacts the children and families in Zambia with no administration or other costs taken out. One of the many aspects of our small charity that means we can punch far above our weight as an NGO. |
|
If you would like to support the vital work we do in Zambia please click here
medical trips to zambia
|
In June 2019, Baraka Canada completed its fourth successful medical trip to Zambia. Over the course of these trips, we have seen more than 6000 patients at various rural locations and dealt with a multitude of ailments, including malaria, HIV, intestinal parasites, infectious diseases and even crocodile bites.
The group travels to Zambia with a large supply of medicines donated from Canada. Clinics are set up in empty schools and youth centres in economically challenged areas where patients are triaged before being examined by doctors and nurses. A makeshift pharmacy is on hand to distribute prescribed medicines, while extra help is offered in a special treatment room where some of the doctors perform minor operations. Serious cases are referred by the medical staff to local Zambian hospitals. All medical trips are supported by a slick on-the-ground team of locals who ensure everything runs smoothly. Our indispensable Zambian colleagues help organise everything from medical licenses to lunch-time sandwiches. |
|
|
Rod and Marie Trentini, Baraka volunteers 2017 and 2019
a team effortIn tandem with our UK counterparts, Baraka Canada works to encourage local communities to come up with their own sustainable solutions. Our medical trips are excellently supported by Baraka Zambia’s on-the-ground staff, including beneficiaries of our sponsored kids programme.
These young adults act as translators for the doctors and nurses and, in some cases, help out with wound dressings, pharmaceutical distribution and surgical assists. We are proud to be involved in what has become a real Canada-Zambia team effort. |
sponsored childrenThe Canadian team has become increasingly active in Baraka Community Partnership’s sponsored children programme in recent years. Young Zambian adults lacking the means to pay for their own education are sponsored by donors in Canada who contribute to their school fees and other basic needs. The donors are often doctors and nurses who have worked on past medical trips and have forged personal friendships with the people they sponsor.
Some of the sponsored individuals are put to good use during our medical trips, acting as translators for doctors and, in some cases, helping with wound dressings, pharmaceutical distribution and surgical assists. Several are currently studying at university. Some, with donor help, are hoping to ultimately work in healthcare and Baraka Canada is currently sponsoring one Nurse and one Radiographer through College. |
"The great need in Zambia contrasted with our abundance in Canada is humbling. The Baraka team does an incredible job of improving the lives of Zambians in meaningful and lasting ways with its remarkable achievements in education, housing and medical outreach."
Kevin McElroy, Baraka Canada Chairman
Learning CentreIn 2019, the Baraka Canada medical team hosted three clinics at the new Zambian Learning Centre near Kapiri, a project it also helped to finance. More money was subsequently raised to build a much-needed dormitory at the facility, while other funds have been used to buy desks for local schools and provide aid during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fund-raising events in Canada are held several times a year and help spread the word of our medical trips through videos, talks and presentations. Past events have included pub nights, painting parties, school visits and book clubs. |
|
If you would like to support the vital work we do in Zambia please click here