Copernica Adventures Aid Project drives €2.000 in clinic supplies from Budapest to Bamako!
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Feb 20, 2010 Posted by Erica TraubaRecently, two adventurous and philanthropic Norwegian medical students from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland embarked on a tremendous journey - a 9,000 km charity road race from Budapest, Hungary to Bamako Mali, all to benefit MHOP.
MHOP congratulates Sebastian Orskaug and Johan Hjort for successfully completing their ambitious goal and thanks them for the €2.000 worth of supplies and medication that they donated to our new clinic.
Best with your continued medical studies and keep in touch!
Here's more about Sebastian and Johan:
We Are Home - Copernica Adventures Aid ProjectWhen we started planning our participation in the Budapest Bamako more than a year ago we had a clear vision of what we wanted. Following the spirit of the original B2, the "Caravan Humanitaire" was essential to us. By collecting small donations from friends, fans and family we managed to raise €2.000 before departure.
MHOP: While searching for a partner in Bamako that we could cooperate with we came across the Mali Health Organizing Project. Neither of us are big fan of the classic or the way many NGO's spend their money, but we found MHOP to be very different. Their way of involving the slum residents in building, funding and administrating their own projects made us chose MHOP as our partner - a US founded but locally run non-profit organization that fights the ongoing health crisis in Bamako. Adama Kouyate is the communications coordinator of MHOP and has been our contact throughout the planning of this project. Without his help we would not have been able to accomplish what we have done.
The Asacosisou Clinic: Just recently the MHOP finished building a health clinic in Sikoroni, one of the slum quartiers of Bamako. Fighting Malaria, infectious gastrointestinal disorders and broncorespiratory diseases it is the sole nearby place for the local residents to seek health care. The clinic will be open for patients within March, under the charge of Dr. Diakaridia.
€1.000 for medical equpment: Before we left Krakow we spent half of our collected money on medical equipment. We chose to buy it in Europe and not in Africa to make sure we would get the items we wanted and to ensure good quality. After talks with Dr. Diakaridia we made sure we bought exactly what the clinic needed.
€1.000 for medications: The last half of our collected money was to be spent on medications. Dr. Diakaridia placed an order at a Bamako Pharmacy two weeks prior to our arrival. Focus was on antibiotics that are difficult to obtain, expensive drugs that can be stored and drugs that are frequently used. Glucose fluid, co-trimoxazole, ceftriaxone for meningitis, ciprofloxacine for typhoid fever, dexamethasone for respiratory diseases and promethazine antiallergics. Since the medications were given to the clinic, we were assured that they would be given for free to patients who could not afford to buy them at the normal rates.
Accomplishing our goal: Arriving in Bamako was a wonderful feeling after the long trip and hardship we endured. But it wasn't until we arrived at the Asacosisou clinic the following day that we felt we had truly reached our goal. It brought meaning and substance to our journey and made the perfect ending to an almost perfect trip. We were humbled and honored by the gratitude from the clinic and it far exceeded our expectations. Finding a suitable organization was one of our most difficult tasks and it wasn't until two months before departure that we succeeded in this, with help from friends with good contacts.The summer Sebastian was working in India he was taught a very important lesson by Dr. Sujit, from the IIMC. In essence he was saying that "one person cannot save the world, but he can make sure that the help he gives will be given in the most beneficial way." Those words of wisdom were shared when we met and sat down with the staff from the clinic. We both felt very moved by the moment. Our help had landed in the best hands and we had achieved what we set out for.
We would very much like to thank everyone who helped us with this project. The support has been overwhelming and very much needed. Looking back at the beginning, we realize that we had no idea of what we were getting ourselves into. The amount of time and effort put into the project far exceeded our expectations. And some of you know first hand about all the ups and downs we had to go through to actually get to the finish line. It is not an exaggeration to say that we wouldn't have done it without you. The list of names is long and for now it will have to suffice to say;
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Final words: This trip had it all. Deserts, camels, sandstorms, bandits, mechanical breakdowns, wonderful people, intrigue, terrorist threats, cancellations, rebels and a lot of drama. We would like to say a few words about that for now. The day before start, the race was partially canceled. Allegedly due to a terrorist threat. Later it turned out that this threat was never confirmed by either official or unofficial channels. We and most of the participants had to endure a lot of criticism for continuing the rally. Friends and family worrying over us didn't make it any easier. There was a lot of conflicting information and rumors and the overview of the situation was chaotic at best. With time we realized that an internal struggle between the organizers spawned a lot of the rumors that were going around and neither party acted in a professional manner. One thing was for sure: the responsible organizers proved over and over again that they were not to be trusted and most certainly were not acting in the best of our interest.
Most of the participants in the adventure category (100 cars) had set out on this journey with a charity aspect in Bamako as a very clear goal. Many of them felt direct obligations to these goals, us included. We felt directly bullied by the organizers and the way our category was treated was nothing but insulting. After careful consideration and guarantees from the one good organizer continuing to Bamako, we decided to go and that we would stay together as a new group. Looking back at the point where we separated from the race we realize it was the right thing to do. The organizers failed us and the Budapest Bamako in so many ways that it is unforgivable. With them loosing sight of the humanitarian aspect, we are proud to have fulfilled our duty and accomplished what we set out for;
We didn't change the world, but we gave the help we could in what we saw as the most beneficial way, hoping that it will make a change for the better.
Picking up medications from the Laborex Mali Pharmacy
Loading the car before driving out to Sikoroni
€1.000 worth of medical equipment and €1.000 worth of medications
Entering Sikoroni, one of the slum quartiers of Bamako
The MHOP office in Sikoroni
Arriving at the Asacosisou clinic. One year of planning, 9000km of driving.
Unloading the Phoenix
Sebastian, Dr. Diakaridia and Johan
Sebastian and the Sokoroni kids
The clinic and the surrounding area of BamakoVisiting one of the families in the area