Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Come to our Thanksgiving Day 2012 Fun Run !!!
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We have been praying for expansion of our free primary care clinic and had decided to go straight to the top and see if there was a building with adjacent land that we could build a cancer center on as there is currently no cancer care anywhere in the country. To our amazement I was told by the First Lady that I was the answer to her prayer.
After 3 meetings with the First Lady and 4 meetings with the former Vice President we went to work preparing the building with painting, cleaning, and renovation to the ceiling, electrical and water. On Friday, Nov. 2 all parties, the Minister of Health, the First Lady, the former Vice President and myself, Lynn Pelton-President and founder of GGM had signed off on a 20 year Memorandum of Understanding with 1.5 acres of land available for a future cancer center.
I would like to invite you
and your family to join us for our third annual, Thanksgiving Day “Beat the
Bird” 5K Fun Run/Walk at the Larson Lake Blueberry Farm benefiting the 501c3
that we founded in 2007, Greatest Goal Ministries USA www.ggmusa.org
Can’t join us, please consider sponsoring
the bird for $25.00 by heading to our web site and clicking on the donate
button. 100% of the proceeds will be
used at our NEW Lady Deborah Berewa Hospital in Sierra Leone.
I just returned from 6 weeks in Sierra Leone and it was an incredible trip. Jerry Staples, Sierra Leone in country Operations Manager and myself, had arranged a meeting with Her Excellency, H.E. Sia Nyama Koroma , the First lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
I just returned from 6 weeks in Sierra Leone and it was an incredible trip. Jerry Staples, Sierra Leone in country Operations Manager and myself, had arranged a meeting with Her Excellency, H.E. Sia Nyama Koroma , the First lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
We have been praying for expansion of our free primary care clinic and had decided to go straight to the top and see if there was a building with adjacent land that we could build a cancer center on as there is currently no cancer care anywhere in the country. To our amazement I was told by the First Lady that I was the answer to her prayer.
3 days later
were given this building by the former Vice-President of Sierra Leone, Mr. Solomon
Berewa. The 24 bed hospital had been
built in memory of his late wife in 2006.
It had never been opened.
After 3 meetings with the First Lady and 4 meetings with the former Vice President we went to work preparing the building with painting, cleaning, and renovation to the ceiling, electrical and water. On Friday, Nov. 2 all parties, the Minister of Health, the First Lady, the former Vice President and myself, Lynn Pelton-President and founder of GGM had signed off on a 20 year Memorandum of Understanding with 1.5 acres of land available for a future cancer center.
More pictures and information will be posted
soon.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Fall visit to Sierre Leone
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October 10th
Hi all,
I apologize for the blog not being up
yet. Days are full, the Internet is slow—when we have it. Jerry's house is
the new S.O.S. children's home for the kids in his compound and beyond, and
EVERY night I am the teacher. We average 12-15 kids, ages 8-20, and I give
math problems, teach English and play jacks, board games or read stories, often
until after 10:00 pm. Then we are up by 7:00 or before. I must admit that
I am guilty of having brought all those children to Jerry's house, and he has
enjoyed allowing me to have my time with them. They have all given me
pictures, and they hang on the walls of his house. And, here’s the best
news—they are learning and engaging. I’m having a blast!!!
I’m using Sandra Moreano's math
book to teach the older ones at Jerry's compound, but I’ve also started
math classes at the clinic’s educational center for the staff and any amputees
or older students. We had 15 people last week and will hold class this Thursday
and Friday. We are starting with place value and it has been going VERY
well. I only wish Sandra or Brooke were here to help teach. I’m sure
they would love it.
Big updates:
Healthcare
We met with the First Lady of Sierra Leone on
Monday. Five of us were there: Jerry, Milton, Phillip and David. I brought
along a gift bag with smoked salmon, Aplets and Cotlets and a couple
postcards. The president’s birthday is this week and she was having a
party. She said she would serve what I had brought. I told her
that after the election when she had won I would bring a larger salmon as
a form of congratulations. We all had a good laugh. She was a nurse from
England before becoming First Lady and is working with Israel on a dialysis
building at Connaught Hospital.
Disability Sports Association:
Yesterday the SL Deaf Team played against
Gambia at the National Stadium. This was organized by the SL Deaf Association. GGM
donated $250. The rest came from a grant and the SL government. GGM was asked
to take gate tickets, as we were considered the most honest and trustworthy. All
the staff participated. Mr. Campbell, the secretary general for the Paralympic
Committee, informed me that I would sit with the Gambian Ambassador in the
presidential area of the stadium. Along with that, I would be doing the KICK-OFF.
I was escorted to the field, chairs were
brought for us, and we were seated next to the ambassador. We shook hands with
the referees and met all the players. It was really quite exciting. SL lost 3-1
but it was a great game. The polio and amputee teams played a great match
during half-time and our staff said that they heard people talking about this
fantastic event. There were many journalists present but nothing in the papers
today.
We leave to Makeni on Saturday with Mr.
Campbell and others from GGM to sign up polio and amputee teams. We are
expecting to form at least three teams from each group. Next weekend we will be
in Bo and Kenema. Thank you, Werner, and Mel and Annie for all your work. The
energy among the disabled groups is palpable and there is a new outlook. There
were important people at the National Stadium, and word has it we are really
being looked at, which could be good or perhaps bring new challenges. In any
case, the disabled are starting to work as one body, and it is fantastic.
Cruise Ship:
Fantastic, fantastic! Go to Zeghram Expeditions
sent a cruise ship off the west coast of Africa . The link below will lead you
to an article written about GGM and the DSA soccer league.
Bimbola,
a local SL resident, arranges for cruise ship passengers to see chimpanzees
along with a stop to the DSA soccer
match. He said that once again passengers find their trip to Sierre Leone a
real hghlight. He actually asked for more information as he was going to start
including it as a tour stop for other groups. Once again we are seeing huge
connections and positive responses. This is great.
I just want to conclude by saying the integrity
and honesty of GGM is beginning to spread. God is using the people we are
meeting and others to begin a change of heart. At a meeting with the amputee
team the Flying Stars, they stated that the compassion being shown to the
disabled is how Jesus loved His people and they are excited and ready to do
everything in their power to do the same. They said they know they need to heal
in their minds and we talked about a time to begin talking as a group about the
past. I have difficulty finding the words to explain what is happening, but
with Jerry's continual love and support and unconditional time, and the example
set by our staff, there is a movement taking place, and all of you reading this
are now a part of it.
After four days without running water and a
week and a half with a broken kitchen faucet, intermittent
electricity, and a broken refrigerator, Jerry has almost gotten everything
fixed. Because of heavy rains we have running water now, and hopefully we will soon
have a new pump. But I love it all and at the end of the day Jerry and I just
smile and comment on how much we love the Sierra Leonean people. We are in our
second home!!!
God Bless,
Lynn
.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Highlights from Spring 2012 GGM trip and dates of fall trip
On September 22, 2012 I will leave on my 11th trip to Sierra Leone since Greatest Goal Ministries was formed in 2007. I have added here highlights from our Spring trip in April/May 2012.
One on one staff evaluations and goal setting was completed with each of our 14 staff members at the GGM clinic and Freetown office. Statistical clinic data collection for a one year period was completed and will now be analyzed. Initial clinic data indicates that approximately 1323 new patient visits for the under five year olds and over 8,000 over five year olds were seen from April 2011-2012. These do not include repeat visits or circumcision patients.
With the arrival of our 3rd, 40ft. supply container in
October, came new file shelving units and empty charts as well as medical,
school and office equipment and supplies including an autoclave donated by a
church member from a Bellevue Orthopedic group.
This shelving unit was donated by a retired
orthopedic surgeon who is a member of our congregation. Thanks to the hard work of our Sierra Leone
staff all the past paperwork has been filed and patient’s charts are now easily
accessible.
An education area was constructed to provide
health education and staff development classes as well as benches for
seating. Funding for the construction of
this center was provided by First Presbyterian church. An OB/Gyn physician from our congregation
donated teaching materials and education dolls for pediatric teaching. We now have a space to begin this teaching.
GGM was thrilled to
welcome a SL woman now living in London who taught 4 half day sessions in the
area of honesty, integrity, forgiveness, and hospitality. It was a very well received program.
A visiting podiatrist from the USA who was directed to our
clinic by individuals in the disabled community gave an impromptu wound care in-service
to the clinic staff.
Outreach into the community and health education remains a high priority as well as funding for medications and laboratory testing supplies. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who knows how we can have access to both or either one on a reduced or free basis.
Education: LEAP-Lansana Education Assistance Program
In addition to the clinic, GGM has an office in Freetown with seven paid SL staff. Our Operations Manager is an American who resigned as laboratory director from Overlake Hospital to follow God’s calling in Sierra Leone. GGM has 40 children of disabled parents or they are disabled enrolled in community schools. During this trip we made one of our monthly visits delivering letters from their sponsored families and giving a brief health assessment.
9 of our sponsored children with
our Office Manager Milton Kepler after distribution of letters and general
physical assessment
A tool exchange program was
established with carpentry tools and
mortar tools donated by First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue and an
organization on the East coast called
“Hope For Lives in Sierra Leone”. These
tools and the program was introduced to craftsmen from the deaf, polio and amputee
community.
Dress A Girl Around the World Partnership
We are working in partnership with “Dress a Girl Around the World”. This organization encourages women to sew dresses using pillow cases as the basic dress and then adding lace, pockets and ribbon. To be delivered to girls around the world.
We delivered 100 dresses in October and another 100 on this trip. 20 were distributed at the GGM clinic in Freetown.
and the remainder at a polio victim
community. A building in this
community also cared for children with a variety of disabilities.
The dresses were enthusiastically received by the community. The boys were given a tattoo and a piece of candy.
A 6 week disabled mentoring program was started with 20 disabled women. We attended a conference on HIV/AIDS Education and discussed the following topics; discrimination, basic health education and how to prepare for a job interview.
We have set up a computer with internet access at our office available to the disabled on a sign in basis to look for jobs, update their resumes and receive one-on-one computer training.
The office has an open door policy and individuals from all disability groups visit often looking for assistance for any number of reasons. As an example from this visit, young man with a club foot named Foday. Foday came to the office requesting legal assistance.
His father had been murdered and the family home burned to the ground by three individuals who wanted to take Foday’s property. The murdering threesome were bribing the village authorities and although it was clear what was happening Foday could find no justice and no assistance for the crimes committed against his family. Because the land was now in dispute he and his family had been forced to leave the land. After a session of prayer with this man we left the office and there out the front door, on our busy street was a civil rights activist I had met 6 months earlier. She agreed to help us contact a lawyer. He turned out to be one of the best lawyers in the country. This lawyer agreed to help Foday free of charge. I am happy to report that the family is now back on their land and have started to rebuild and farm. God is so faithful!
Disability Sports: Creation of the "GGM Disability Sports Association" in SL
GGM has been active in amputee football (soccer) since we were formed in 2007. It became clear however that all the disability groups wanted to be a part of a larger organization and that corrupt practices had also affected the previous amputee football club. Knowing this, GGM created a Disability Sports Association constitution and applied to the Minister of Youth and Sports for recognition.
The Ministry as well as the Paralympic/Olympic committee were thrilled with this concept. The GGM Disability Sports Association is the first of its kind for the country. The constitution provides a framework to distribute and oversee sporting equipment and manage the formation of teams across the country. The Ministry of Sports plans to give us an office at the National Stadium to manage the association.
A meeting held to be formally
introduced to the Minister of Youth and Sports for Sierra Leone
Milton Kepler our SL office
manager receiving our official recognition papers for the GGM Disability Sports
Association from Mr. Campbell, Secretary General of the Paralympic Committee
under the SL Ministry of Youth and Sports 
GGM was invited to a cocktail party to honor the SL Olympic
Association President; Mr. Henry G. Moore in the Presidential Lounge at the
National Stadium. Mr. Moore was recognized
with an Award by the International Olympic Committee for his leadership and
contributions toward the Olympic movement.
It is given by the International Olympic Committee to only 3 people in
the world every 4 years.
We hosted the second cruise ship
to make port in Sierra Leone. From Zegrahm Expedition Cruises. The 120 guests visited a chimpanzee sanctuary.
From the chimpanzees they traveled by bus to our clinic where we had the
opportunity to share our work with them.
After the clinic we all proceeded
to the beach to watch an exhibition match between the polio and amputees soccer
players both teams under the new Disability Sports Association.
In exchange we make many contacts with the
cruise ship guests and also receive some funding from the cruise ship. We now have a ship scheduled for late
September and two ships in the spring.
The German Ambassador and politicians from Germany also came
to watch a polio and amputee exhibition match through an organization called
GIZ based out of Germany.
They came with soccer equipment,
uniforms and medical kits which will be distributed among the various newly
formed teams involving the deaf, polio, amputee and eventually blind disability
groups. The formation of teams will
begin in the 4 largest cities, Freetown, Bo, Makenio and Kenema. This process has already begun.
Greatest Goal Ministries USA (GGM USA) founded by Dr. Jim
and Lynn Pelton and sponsored a small team to Sierra Leone for six weeks from March
28th through May 10th. GGM is working in
4 areas-Healthcare, Education, Disability Sports and Disabled Advocacy. Here are a few of the highlights from each of
those areas.
Healthcare:One on one staff evaluations and goal setting was completed with each of our 14 staff members at the GGM clinic and Freetown office. Statistical clinic data collection for a one year period was completed and will now be analyzed. Initial clinic data indicates that approximately 1323 new patient visits for the under five year olds and over 8,000 over five year olds were seen from April 2011-2012. These do not include repeat visits or circumcision patients.
An education area was constructed to provide
health education and staff development classes as well as benches for
seating. Funding for the construction of
this center was provided by First Presbyterian church. An OB/Gyn physician from our congregation
donated teaching materials and education dolls for pediatric teaching. We now have a space to begin this teaching.GGM was thrilled to
welcome a SL woman now living in London who taught 4 half day sessions in the
area of honesty, integrity, forgiveness, and hospitality. It was a very well received program.
The clinic staff now includes a community health officer
(CHO), clinic director and nurse, a registrar, two laboratory technicians (one
is deaf), a pharmacy assistant/health educator, a clinic assistant for cleaning
and a an amputee grounds keeper and general electrical maintenance.
A visiting podiatrist from the USA who was directed to our
clinic by individuals in the disabled community gave an impromptu wound care in-service
to the clinic staff.Outreach into the community and health education remains a high priority as well as funding for medications and laboratory testing supplies. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who knows how we can have access to both or either one on a reduced or free basis.
Education: LEAP-Lansana Education Assistance Program
In addition to the clinic, GGM has an office in Freetown with seven paid SL staff. Our Operations Manager is an American who resigned as laboratory director from Overlake Hospital to follow God’s calling in Sierra Leone. GGM has 40 children of disabled parents or they are disabled enrolled in community schools. During this trip we made one of our monthly visits delivering letters from their sponsored families and giving a brief health assessment.
9 of our sponsored children with
our Office Manager Milton Kepler after distribution of letters and general
physical assessment
A tool exchange program was
established with carpentry tools and
mortar tools donated by First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue and an
organization on the East coast called
“Hope For Lives in Sierra Leone”. These
tools and the program was introduced to craftsmen from the deaf, polio and amputee
community.
Dress A Girl Around the World Partnership
We are working in partnership with “Dress a Girl Around the World”. This organization encourages women to sew dresses using pillow cases as the basic dress and then adding lace, pockets and ribbon. To be delivered to girls around the world.
The dresses were enthusiastically received by the community. The boys were given a tattoo and a piece of candy.
A 6 week disabled mentoring program was started with 20 disabled women. We attended a conference on HIV/AIDS Education and discussed the following topics; discrimination, basic health education and how to prepare for a job interview.
We have set up a computer with internet access at our office available to the disabled on a sign in basis to look for jobs, update their resumes and receive one-on-one computer training.
The office has an open door policy and individuals from all disability groups visit often looking for assistance for any number of reasons. As an example from this visit, young man with a club foot named Foday. Foday came to the office requesting legal assistance.
His father had been murdered and the family home burned to the ground by three individuals who wanted to take Foday’s property. The murdering threesome were bribing the village authorities and although it was clear what was happening Foday could find no justice and no assistance for the crimes committed against his family. Because the land was now in dispute he and his family had been forced to leave the land. After a session of prayer with this man we left the office and there out the front door, on our busy street was a civil rights activist I had met 6 months earlier. She agreed to help us contact a lawyer. He turned out to be one of the best lawyers in the country. This lawyer agreed to help Foday free of charge. I am happy to report that the family is now back on their land and have started to rebuild and farm. God is so faithful!
Disability Sports: Creation of the "GGM Disability Sports Association" in SL
GGM has been active in amputee football (soccer) since we were formed in 2007. It became clear however that all the disability groups wanted to be a part of a larger organization and that corrupt practices had also affected the previous amputee football club. Knowing this, GGM created a Disability Sports Association constitution and applied to the Minister of Youth and Sports for recognition.
The Ministry as well as the Paralympic/Olympic committee were thrilled with this concept. The GGM Disability Sports Association is the first of its kind for the country. The constitution provides a framework to distribute and oversee sporting equipment and manage the formation of teams across the country. The Ministry of Sports plans to give us an office at the National Stadium to manage the association.
A meeting held to be formally
introduced to the Minister of Youth and Sports for Sierra LeoneMilton Kepler our SL office
manager receiving our official recognition papers for the GGM Disability Sports
Association from Mr. Campbell, Secretary General of the Paralympic Committee
under the SL Ministry of Youth and Sports 
GGM was invited to a cocktail party to honor the SL Olympic
Association President; Mr. Henry G. Moore in the Presidential Lounge at the
National Stadium. Mr. Moore was recognized
with an Award by the International Olympic Committee for his leadership and
contributions toward the Olympic movement.
It is given by the International Olympic Committee to only 3 people in
the world every 4 years. 
After the clinic we all proceeded
to the beach to watch an exhibition match between the polio and amputees soccer
players both teams under the new Disability Sports Association. In exchange we make many contacts with the
cruise ship guests and also receive some funding from the cruise ship. We now have a ship scheduled for late
September and two ships in the spring. 
They came with soccer equipment,
uniforms and medical kits which will be distributed among the various newly
formed teams involving the deaf, polio, amputee and eventually blind disability
groups. The formation of teams will
begin in the 4 largest cities, Freetown, Bo, Makenio and Kenema. This process has already begun.
We are so grateful for the financial and prayer support we have received. Please follow this blog on the Fall GGM trip in September/October. I will be traveling without additional team members on this trip as I will be making the travel arrangements for our next team visits in 2013.
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