Editor’s Note: Today’s guest article comes from Julia Guth, whom many of you likely remember as The Oxford Club’s former CEO and Executive Publisher.
Julia is now working closely with a cause that’s been near and dear to her heart for many years: The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic.
She’d like to let you know about the life-saving work the Clinic is doing… and give you an opportunity to become a part of it yourself.
Please consider making a donation to the Clinic here. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
– Rachel Gearhart, Publisher
| DONATE TO THE CLINIC HERE |
Springtime is renewal time, and we can’t put it off any longer…
Our dedicated medical and operations teams need more donations this year to renew and refurbish our small medical facility in Nicaragua.
It’s been 20 years since we opened our doors, so we’re due for some much-needed upgrades – especially to the electrical system, HVAC and roofing.
It doesn’t take a lot to repair and modernize a building in Nicaragua. But thanks to inflation and supply shortages, it certainly takes more than it used to – hundreds of thousands of dollars. That means we have to do a focused spring campaign to get the needed funds to revive the facility.
The local communities deserve our attention. Many impoverished Nicaraguan families and workers have come to depend on us for urgent and primary care.
They deserve a modernized, safe, clean and decently equipped health clinic. And by giving today toward this special Spring Renewal Campaign for our Roberto Clemente Health Clinic, your donation will be doubled, thanks to generous matching funds provided by The Oxford Club, a longtime supporter of our Clinic.
Here are some grim statistics…
An astounding 2.2 billion people still live without safely managed drinking water, including 115 million people who drink surface water, according to the WHO/UNICEF 2023 report. And roughly half the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year.
The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic team sees the effects of poor water firsthand.
There is no public water well system for these poor communities. The well water there is very calcified and usually contaminated by nearby septic leaks and storms.
So we had to step in, knowing that consuming clean water reduces the risk of sickness and promotes better hygiene. It was simply a matter of public health.
We started the Clinic’s Aqua Azul clean water program over a decade ago with help from generous donors like you. We established our own water well and filtered purification system to distribute clean water to local schools, libraries, families and other public health facilities. Now families can more easily access safe drinking water.
Our dedicated team of doctors, nurses and outreach staff meet the local health challenges daily with patience, perseverance, warmth and skill.
They tend to patients suffering from kidney stones, dengue, respiratory infections, diarrhea and other illnesses, all of which are exacerbated by the lack of clean water.
And they respond to emergencies of all kinds, from families losing their homes in natural disasters to the diabetes crisis to moto accidents.
The Clinic also has a nutrition program that provides healthy meals and education to undernourished families. Our mobile medical team traverses rugged terrain to bring care to isolated communities. In the past year, we’ve served over 10,000 patients who required emergency care – and reached 17,000 more patients through outreach wellness checks and medicines. Our pharmacy has served over 9,000 locals and foreigners in need of urgent care.
We also run holistic programs focused on education, nutrition and sustainable food sources with our community garden. The Healthy Eating Initiative trains over 60 families in organic gardening, providing tools, seeds and land to cultivate nutritious crops. And through sponsorships, we’ve supported over 47 families, enabling children to pursue university degrees.
But as I mentioned above, we need to repair and restore the facility that houses not only our water purification system, but our medical offices and patient rooms.
So I’m writing you today for your help, especially as we enter the spring, a time of renewal for our team and facility. Please help us make this happen.
We need continued support for the processing facility, the distribution vehicles and repairs to the main clinic building.
I’m happy to say that we’ll receive matching funds of up to $20,000 from The Oxford Club for this spring campaign, so your tax-deductible donation today will have double the impact!
The need in challenged regions of the Americas like Nicaragua is immense. But you can directly impact lives there in a very positive way for relatively little.
Here’s a breakdown of how contributions of any size can help.
| Resource | Annual Donation | Monthly Donation |
| Replace the Clinic’s roof | $8,000 | $667 |
| Repair the Clinic’s electrical system | $7,000 | $583 |
| Provide clean water for school and health centers for one month | $3,000 | $250 |
| Provide food for 50 families for one month | $2,100 | $175 |
| Fund one community healthcare outreach event | $1,200 | $100 |
| Support one Padrino child for one year | $600 | $50 |
| Support one community organic farm plot for one month | $120 | $10 |
Please join us in continued support for this life-saving work. Your tax-deductible gift to the Roberto Clemente Health Clinic, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will help deliver clean water, health services and urgent care, and greater empowerment to the most vulnerable in Nicaragua.
Together, we can help strengthen these deserving communities with greater health and hope.
Thank you for your continuous attention to this impoverished region of the Americas!
| DONATE TO THE CLINIC HERE |
With warmest regards,
Julia Cooke Guth
Chair, The Oxford Advisory Council
Founder & Board Chair, The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic
jguth@nicaclinic.org
P.S. The Oxford Club has generously pledged to match the funds for this campaign – up to $20K! Go here to contribute now and potentially double your impact!