Spotlight on Goodness – Samahope
Spotlight on Goodness – Samahope
We’re so happy to be starting up our Spotlight on Goodness series again. There are so many people doing such world-changing things, and it’s important to us to shine a spotlight on them and their non-profit organizations or social good companies. Today, we’re honored to introduce you to Samahope, which identifies high-impact but under-resourced local doctors around the world, and connects them to capital and strategic support.
This Mother’s Day, Samahope’s #HonorYourMom campaign allows you to do something for both your mom and moms around the world who are in need of medical treatment. The #HonorYourMom campaign is simple and powerful – you can honor your mom while saving lives.
Charlotte Brugman, the Partnerships Lead for Samahope shares with us the story of Samahope and more on the #HonorYourMom campaign.
How did Samahope begin?
On a trip to Sierra Leone, Leila Janah, co-founder of Samahope, learned that across the country, one out of every 14 women die during childbirth. There, debilitating birth injuries that rarely happen in the US are a fact of daily life. And with only three Ob/Gyn specialists in a country of 6 million people, most of the women suffering from these injuries suffer with no end in sight.
On that same trip, Janah met Dr. Darius Maggi, an Ob/Gyn surgeon from Texas who travels to Sierra Leone two to three times per year to treat women with fistula – one of the most common and devastating birth injuries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. On each of those trips, Dr. Maggi performs as many as 100 fistula repair surgeries – up to 300 per year.
When Dr. Maggi told Janah that he funds the trips and the fistula treatments by raising money from members of his local church, she immediately saw an opportunity to help: what if, instead of devoting resources to marketing and fundraising, doctors like Dr. Maggi could just focus on treating patients, building clinical infrastructure, and training local staff?
That’s how the idea for Samahope – a crowdfunding platform that raises money for these heroic doctors – was born. Leila Janah and Shivani Garg Patel joined forces and created Samahope in 2013.
Read more on Samahope and the #HonorYourMom campaign.
Explain the power of crowdfunding and how it works for Samahope?
Two billion people have no access to basic surgical care. In fact, the world’s poorest 1/3 receive only 3.5 percent of all the surgeries performed worldwide. Small-scale medical providers that serve the poor are an important component of the solution. However, they are often overstretched, under-budgeted, and poorly equipped to drive larger scale change.
That’s where Samahope fits in. Samahope identifies high-impact but under-resourced local doctors, and connects them to capital and strategic support. We pool donations made by thousands of people, collectively increasing the impact that every one of us can have. Together, we enable doctors and nurses to provide life-changing treatments for the underserved. One hundred percent of donations go to providing care to a patient in need.
How did the idea for #HonorYourMom come to life?
Samahope focuses on providing access to critical medical care for mothers and children around the world. Mother’s Day provides a great opportunity not only to honor your own mother and give her a meaningful present, but also to provide a gift to a mom on the other side of the world in need of medical treatment.
How can people participate in this Mother’s Day campaign?
Go to https://honoryourmom.samahope.org/. Upload a childhood picture of you and Mom, and tell us why she’s so amazing. You can also add an Instagram video. Make a donation to support safe births and life-changing medical treatments for other moms in need. We create a special dedication page for mom, plus she’ll get a personalized gift in the mail for Mother’s Day.
What do you hope this campaign inspires in people?
We hope #HonorYourMom inspires people to take the opportunity to tell your mom why she is so special, and to give her a very meaningful gift; a life-saving treatment for another mother in need.
What has been the greatest accomplishment of Samahope so far?
Samahope supported doctors have treated over 2,800 mothers and children in need of medical care. Also, we funded a van for Dr. Priscilla Busingye, to transport fistula patients from their village to the hospital. We are really proud of that!
Nevertheless, our goal is to reach 1 million patients, so we are working hard to quickly scale the impact of our doctors.
Thank you Charlotte for sharing the powerful story of Samahope and the #HonorYourMom Mother’s Day campaign. Visit Samahope and #HonorYourMom to find out more and make a donation.
All photos courtesy of Samahope.
