One Global Village is a small but mighty nonprofit organization that relies solely on volunteers. As we celebrate National Volunteer Week, we salute those volunteers that help us to provide education, health, and hope globally. These volunteers include mission participants, the families of our mission participants, people that help us to gather supplies for our missions, those that support us in telling our stories, and of course those who organize fundraisers and support our efforts monetarily. These volunteers span the globe and 2020 has been off to a whirlwind start.
We kicked off 2020 with volunteers celebrating New Year’s Eve in Dagabo, Western Mali. A team of 11 traveled to Mali to work with local partners and to provide surgical and clinical care in Ouéléssébougou and Dagabo, respectively. We were thrilled to welcome our partners from United Aid Foundation to the Village. UAF independently raised funds to travel and purchase supplies to build a much needed “canteen” for Siraba School students to use as a dining hall and nighttime study hall. We worked with students, teachers, and school, village, and government officials as we continue to collaborate with our partners on the ground. Read more about the Mali Mission here.
In February, we dusted off the red dirt from our bags and headed to Bhopal, India. For many of us Bhopal is an annual mission trip but this was the first year with an India Mission organized and supported by One Global Village. A team of 25 along with our partners at Sewa Sadan Eye Hospital worked long and hard hours to complete 176 surgeries in one short week, and to bring Fire Safety and Menstrual Health Management education to local and rural schools. Read more about the India mission here, Fire Safety and Burn Prevention training here, and the MHM program (supported by Rounding Up Undies for India) here.
Shortly after our return from India, COVID-19 quickly spread and began to impact our lives directly: here in Kansas City, across the country, and in the countries where we work. Today we are all under some sort of shelter in place. Our friends in India at Sewa Eye Hospital have pivoted their mission of providing healthcare and are now distributing meals and PPE to area slums and villages every day. In Dagabo Mali, while school is canceled, we have provided hand-washing teaching materials to our COVID-19 ambassadors (teachers and school coordinators), soap to all families and compounds in the Village, lunch daily to Siraba School students, and we continue to pay all Mali OGV staff salaries. Read more about preventing coronavirus in Dagabo here.
As National (Global for us) Volunteer Week kicks off, we are humbled and grateful for all of the volunteers that make One Global Village a team, a team of villagers that together can help fulfill our mission – Empowering the Underserved Through Education, Health, and Hope. For all of this and more we say THANK YOU!