I think you'll agree with me when I say that 2020 has been one for the books.
For me, it was a bitter-sweet year. The sweetness of becoming a mother, against the backdrop of challenging circumstances. The funny thing about babies, they will always come regardless of what's happening around.
For Freedom Tree, in 2020 we welcomed over 700 healthy babies in our clinics in Sierra Leone, continued to sponsor 100 children's education, piloted a program aimed at 300 teen girls, employed a dozen interns, completed pre and postnatal classes for a few thousand villagers, provided covid prevention supplies for those same villagers and a local hospital, packed and delivered 400 hampers for vulnerable families in the Calgary area, and partnered with a local non-profit to bolster mental health for 30 teens. We did lose 1 mother to maternal death in one of our clinics, the first death in 6 years. She lost her life and that of her child waiting for an ambulance that took 2 hours to arrive.
With your support and encouragement, we continued to press forward toward our goals, whilst also retooling our strategies. We chose to have FAITH when we were not sure of what the future held, GRATITUDE for the continued support we receive from you, and STEWARDSHIP of a vision that remains alive.
Thank you for a great 2020, and look forward to doing 2021 with you.