#LaureninMalawiRound3

My name is Lauren Rissman and I'm a 3rd year pediatrics resident at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.  I have a love for pediatrics, global health and dancing. 

I am humbled ... by the number of people who donated to #LaureninMalawi Round II. As people saw from the number of instragram and facebook posts, the money went to both investments in ipads and in soap products. Ultimately, you are saving lives!  The project could not have functioned without your help. 

To date, your contribution affected hundreds of people in vulnerable communities.  Our mission was to educate caregivers at St. Andrew's Mtunthama Anglican Orphanage (AMAO) on hand hygiene education. Then, we taught the caregivers how to teach the curriculum in hopes of developing a sustainable project. The caregivers then taught the children at the orphanage about hand hygiene. Our ultimate goal is to improve education and reduce the incidence of pneumonia and diarrhea amongst vulerable children (According to the WHO: The #1 and #2 causes of death in children less than 5 years old).
During my time in Malawi in March 2017, something remarkable happened-- the children at the orphanage were asked to educate people at church and the local schools.  This was a truly amazing and unanticipated aspect of our project. 

This is an image of James, a 16 year old boy who lives at AMAO teaching the local church community in Mtunthama, Malawi. 

As of today, we have decreased the incidence of disease, improved education, and our vulnerable children are now leaders in their community.

In October 2017, I am going back to "spread" the project amongst other orphanages in Malawi in hopes of developing a sustainable hand hygiene initiative.

This is where I need your help-- again. We need help bringing materials for education and soap for donation.  
Please help in any way you can! I can't express enough thanks for your support.