Powering Breath: Affordable Ventilators for Africa
Powering Breath: Affordable Ventilators for Africa
Hi. My name is Hank DeBey. My team and I are in Africa, and we have developed an amazing new medical device to treat the most lethal diseases in Africa, lung diseases. Lung diseases kill more than three times as many people as malaria. An essential tool for treating lung diseases is the ventilator, but in Africa, ventilators are virtually non-existent. In Africa, there is less than one ventilator for every 100,000 people, while in the USA, there are 35 ventilators for every 100,000. The primary reason ventilators are rarely found in Africa is they are very expensive, ranging from $20,000 to $55,000. Another factor contributing to the scarcity of ventilators in Africa is the fact that they require a procedure called intubation and people sufficiently trained to carry out intubations are about as scarce as the ventilators themselves. We have developed a ventilator that is perfect for use in Africa. We call it the Afri-Genie ventilator, and it offers a truly life-saving solution for millions of people across Africa each year. Our Afri-Genie ventilator is incredibly low-cost at less than $3,000 and it doesn't require intubations to be performed, yet it achieves the basic specifications of conventional ventilators. Those two factors mean that it can be deployed not only in big city hospitals but it can even be used by minimally-trained community health workers in small rural clinics. A key design principle of our Afri-Genie ventilator is the use of locally available materials common across Africa, such as plumbing pipes and automotive repair parts. This eliminates complex, expensive supply chains and simplifies manufacturing and ongoing product support. We urgently need your help to carry out clinical trials of our new ventilator and to start deploying it as widely as possible. Here is How Your Contributions Will Be Used: - Upgrade to fair salaries for our dedicated volunteer team - Upgrade our production capabilities - Conduct 24-hour stress testing of multiple ventilators to prove durability and reliability - Install solar panels to ensure uninterrupted power for testing, despite daily power outages - Relocate to a larger facility that can support expanded operations - Cover clinical trial expenses, including regulatory approvals, supplies, and logistics Of course, these aspirations hinge upon the help you can give us and the actual level of these activities will be scaled according to the donations received Please click the donate button now.

$100 raised

I don't know who will read my message, but I hope

Animal

I don't know who will read my message, but I hope
I’m Mohammad, and I Need Your Help to Rebuild My Life My name is Mohammad, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, born in Gaza. Recently, I was forced to leave my homeland and leave some of my family and friends behind in search of safety. Now, I live in Egypt, far from them and from everything I once loved. Life here is tough, and every day I live, I miss their faces and dream of returning, but the circumstances are stronger than me. A long time ago, I went through a painful experience that still haunts me to this day. I was walking down the street when a police car next to me was hit by an airstrike. It wasn’t just a car; it was, for us, a symbol of safety amidst the constant fear. In a single moment, I watched four people lose their lives right before my eyes. The days passed, but that scene has never left my memory, and the symptoms of the trauma still follow me to this day. Animals have always been an important part of my life. I had two beautiful cats, Besa and Snow, and two wonderful parrots, Coco and Lulu, and they had little chicks at the time. They were my real source of happiness, especially amidst all the pain we lived through. When we were forced to leave, we thought we would return in just a few days. For that reason, we left our little birds with enough food, believing we would return quickly to take care of them. But I had no idea I would never see them again. Due to the long period of displacement, the pair of birds and their chicks all died from hunger, after their food ran out, without anyone to take care of them. Today, I live without them all, and I miss their presence that once filled my life with joy. Despite all these losses, I still hold onto hope. I dream of going back to studying, returning to my hobbies, and building a future despite everything. That’s why I’m asking for your help. Any support, no matter how small, could make a real difference in my life. I’m not asking for much... just a chance to start over. Please, be a part of my story. Let’s write a new chapter together, filled with hope. Thank you to everyone who reads my message and extends a helping hand. — Mohammad from Gaza

$0 raised Of $600

Save Khawla and Khalil's lives from illness.

Emergency

Save Khawla and Khalil's lives from illness.
UPDATE: This was fund was initially created for Khawla, whose story is written further below, but has been updated to include her brother, Khalil, the youngest of the family and the only one born during the genocide. Unfortunately, Khalil suffered from a growth in his skull since he was a baby, and his parents had hoped that it was benign. After consulting with numerous doctors and undergoing tests and scans, they have been informed that he will be in need of surgery as the tumour is connected to his brain. This fund is set up to help the Al-Muranekh family with their medical woes. The following is the initial message of the fundraiser, detailing Khawla's plight: Khawla is a sweet child who has lived a third of her life under genocide. Her family has undergone unspeakable horrors, having their homes destroyed, their father grievously injured, and being forced to evacuate multiple times and live on the streets. Only yesterday they were forced to evacuate again. A few months ago, Khawla was seriously wounded by a bomb dropped on the tents of the displaced, along with her siblings, Razan and Maria, who also sustained injuries. Her injury has left her with terrible scars and a disability: she can no longer walk properly and is no longer the happy child she once was. Medical documentation is available in the photos attached to this campaign. Khawla's parents want her to have a chance at life. They want her to receive treatment abroad as the health system in Gaza has been decimated by the occupation's policy of eliminating Palestinian society by rendering life impossible. Please help Khawla and Khalil get the treatment they need and deserve.

$3,406 raised Of $15,000

Help Salem, who fights malignant liver disease
Help Salem, who fights malignant liver disease
hello, I'm Kaci, I'm the one running this campaign for this family. This is his story:  My name is Salem, I am 48 years old, I live in Gaza, in the heart of war and destruction. Life here is full of challenges and difficulties, but I still fight every day to survive, not only against the harsh conditions, but also against a merciless disease.     I suffer from chronic heart disease and *malignant liver cancer* that threatens my life. Doctors told me that I am in an advanced stage of the disease, and that if I cannot get treatment in time, it will be too late. In Gaza, where wars devour our lives and medical resources are scarce, getting treatment has become very difficult.    I have tried to withstand these conditions, but the situation has become more difficult day after day. The pain does not leave me, and it has become difficult for me to continue my daily life with my family. I suffer from constant fatigue, loss of appetite, and significant weight loss, and every day that passes I feel that I am further away from my dreams and the dreams of my family.   Today, I am writing to you from a heart full of hope, hoping to find  Who can help me in this ordeal? I have decided to open my heart and ask for your help in this difficult time. I need the treatment that could save my life, give me another chance to live, and I ask you to stand with me in this fight, every donation, no matter how small, will make a huge impact in my life. Donations will help me get the necessary and expensive treatment that I cannot afford on my own. With you, I can fight and dream of a recovery that will restore my life and open up new opportunities for me to live with my family.    I only ask for another chance in life, a chance to survive for my loved ones, a chance to raise my family's head after wars and disease have destroyed it.  Please, do not leave me in this darkness, and be a light in our path.  *Help me complete this journey.*    Thank you to everyone who contributed, whether by donating or by sharing the campaign. Your support could be the reason for giving me a new life. May Allah reward you.

$119 raised