I am a native of Mount Pleasant, SC. I have over 30 years of experience from critical care nursing and & ER, clinic, research and disease prevention and community outreach. I have served as State Health Director for the AME Churches (634 churches – 276,000 members ) in SC for the past 7 ½ years and have worked with a number of faith groups to provide health ministry training and health workshops around prevention.
I want to share with you an incredible mission’s opportunity that God has presented to me. I have accepted an awesome opportunity do a 2 year mission trip to the country of Malawi in Southeast Africa. I am scheduled to leave in March 2008.
The first year of this mission trip will be to volunteer as a school nurse for 1,000 students at Kalibu Academy, Blantyre, Malawi. I will also be working with several faith-based organizations and neighborhood organizations throughout Malawi to help them implement a health ministry within their place of worship and community centers where health issues will be discussed weekly and printed information will be readily available. It will be my responsibility to teach health classes for students, as well as to the people of Malawi of how to practice good habits, which will include prevention related to HIV/AIDs and more. The planning process for the clinic will also be initiated in this first year to begin seed money effort for construction as soon as possible. The infant death rate is 94.4 deaths per 1000 births. A key request to me from Malawi is for help to build a clinic for the children. The median life expectancy 16.5 years and most don't live to be 40 years old.
The second year of the trip will include the above and the completion of the Rose Of Sharon Project is a special project of building a health clinic for the people of Malawi through the Caring Community Development Coalition, Inc. The initial focus of the clinic is for the children and will be expanded to the whole family. This will allow more people to have access to a health care facility located within their community. More details for the clinic is forthcoming.
The purpose of this letter is to ask you to contribute to a fund that will be used to provide health care opportunities through teaching and demonstration for people living in Malawi and the building of the clinic. My family and I cannot cover the cost of many items the people need and have requested for this trip. It is our goal to raise $14,000.00 by January 15, 2008 to cover the cost of this mission trip. This cost covers my food housing and transportation for one year.
We've accomplished a great deal. But so much more must be done. To continue our work, we need help urgently from people like you who care about quality of life and who are willing to support us in this struggle to make life better for the people of Malawi. Think about it. Then think about giving us the largest contribution you can.
On behalf of the Rose of Sharon Project for the people of Malawi and me, we thank you! Your gift will be both life giving and lifesaving to the people of this area.
Thank you. God bless you.
Rosetta Swinton
P.O. Box 669
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29465
[email protected]