Thank you for visiting our fundraising page!  As many of you know, we will be traveling to Ethiopia in September to volunteer with Health Volunteers Overseas.  Jennifer will be teaching physical therapists at Addis Ababa University and the goal of the program in Ethiopia is to develop the first ever Doctor of Physical Therapy program on the continent of Africa.  Currently there are only 10 countries in Africa that have bachelor level programs.  Most of these countries only have one Physical Therapy program and graduate about 15 students per year.  This has lead to a significant deficency in the number of PTs treating patients in Africa.  In developed countries like the U.S., the ratio of physical therapists to the populations is 1:1,400.  However, in the undeveloped countries of Africa it is 1:550,000 and in the Ethiopia the ratio is even worse at 1:2,833,000.  That's equivalent to Jenn treating the entire population of Houston. 

By developing a Doctor of Physical Therapy program and providing education equivalent to that received by US-trained PTs, we are hoping to increase the number of people entering the field of physical therapy and improve the care received by patients. 

Meanwhile, Darin will be working with local Ethiopian physicians and medical students to advance their knowledge.  He will provide treatment and instruction at Black Lion Teaching Hospital and the possibly the ALERT leprosy and tuberculosis hospital in Addis Ababa.  By bringing up-to-date medical information and training to the local physicians, he hopes to improve the care provided to Ethiopians.

Your donation helps make our volunteering effort possible, and helps pay for supplies and educational materials that will be provided for students.  If you have more questions or are interested in donating supplies for our trip, please let us know! 

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support our fundraising efforts.  All donations through this page go to the non-profit organization Health Volunteers Overseas, and are earmarked for our volunteering project, which means all donations are tax deductible.

Many thanks for your support - every little bit helps!  Please forward this page to anyone who you think might want to donate too!