This page highlights pictures from projects supported by Acts of Grace within the most recent five years.
Photos are listed in alphabetical order by charity name. Click on the charity's name to be redirected to its website. Click on the Grant Description link to learn more about each grant. These pictures are used with the express permission of the organization that provided them and are not to be reproduced for any other purpose.
Medical Equipment for the MMI Amazon Hospital Boat (Colombia)
Grant Year: 2022
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More than 280 indigenous communities in the Amazon Region do not have access to basic health care nor simple life-changing surgeries. Many of these communities are isolated, some accessible only by boat, making respectable health care inaccessible for most. Although the indigenous people living in these villages are generally healthy, "lifestyle" injuries, hygiene and age-related issues are common (cataracts, infections, broken bones, feminine health, etc.). Most of these villages have no healthcare facilities other than traditional/natural healing (herbs) or witchdoctors. In some of the more remote indigenous regions of the Amazon, on average only 1.8% of the population have access to health care. MMI Amazon currently uses 2 boats to reach remote villages of the Amazon jungle surrounding Leticia, Colombia.
Pictured here: Life on the Amazon River.
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MMI has been providing primary, dental, nutrition, and vision screening services in this area since 2010. In this time, MMI Amazon has built deep relationships which have also led to evangelism opportunities in some of the villages. However, as the scope of health care services grows, capacity is limited by the facilities available in the villages served and the power of the existing boats to reach beyond a particular geographical radius. MMI is building a 118 foot hospital boat to increase the capacity of serving these Amazon communities. By constructing a larger hospital boat, the team will be able to provide surgical services in villages where they already serve and expand all services to wider areas yet unreached by the Gospel.
Pictured here: One of the MMI Amazon boats currently used to transport health care personnel and supplies to remote communities in the Amazon jungle near Leticia, Colombia.
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The hospital boat will be fully equipped with an operating room and consult rooms for ophthalmology and ambulatory services. This grant provides funds for the purchase of 3 pieces of medical equipment that will provide for necessary diagnostics and anesthesia to allow for service delivery to those accessing health care services on the new vessel. The boat is designed to endure the uniqueness of the Amazon River as well as handle extra cargo needed for specific times or emergency situations and for extended periods of time. The boat will be equipped with generators, solar power, and eco-friendly water treatment for both drinking water and wastewater to minimize the environmental impact of the vessel.
Pictured here: A mock-up drawing of the new MMI Amazon Hospital boat.
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For years One4Another has been limited by lack of space in its current clinic location in Jinja, Uganda. In January 2020, One4Another purchased a new property in Jinja to become the site of a larger and enhanced surgical centre to support One4Another's ongoing (and expanded) work in providing surgical care for the children of rural Uganda. Construction began in May 2020 to renovate and add to this complex of buildings and is nearly complete.
Pictured here: A One4Another staff person holds the clinic sign in front of the new building.
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The new property and facilities will significantly expand One4Another's space (10x), capacity and effectiveness including include 2 operating rooms, administrative offices, therapy and rehabilitative space and additional ward space (42 beds) which will allow One4Another to care for patients who need to stay for longer periods. The new surgical centre will be a place where One4Another patients can find rest for their bodies, their minds, and their souls; where the children and their parents feel loved and supported so that they can regain their strength and return home with a new chance at a new life.
Pictured here: Girls beds in the One4Another children's dorms.
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A second surgeon will join the clinic focusing primarily on soft tissue surgeries. One4Another will transfer all of its existing medical equipment from the previous clinic to the new surgical centre. Ultrasound and a blood lab will be added to the X-ray services offered to private patients and will increase the revenue stream from private patients.
In order to complete the new surgical centre, One4Another has identified various furnishings, equipment and other items to be purchased and installed/ implemented. These items will ensure the full functionality, security, long-term sustainability and full effectiveness of the surgical centre.
Pictured here: Operating Room #1, Blood Lab, and Ultrasound room at the new Surgical Centre.
Surgical and Operating Room Equipment Upgrade (Uganda)
Grant Year: 2019
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As One4Another continues to grow and perform a variety of surgeries so does its need for upgraded surgical tools, instruments, equipment and adequate storage. This project upgrades surgical and operating room equipment used in performing life-changing surgeries for some of Uganda’s most vulnerable children. The new equipment provided through this grant will continue to raise the standard of surgical care provided by the clinic by greatly reducing the inherent risks of performing surgeries on children with satisfactory but less precise approaches.
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New equipment will include a surgical drill and surgical power saw with innovative cover systems that are able to be fully sterilized for re-use. The surgical drill also includes several adapters that accommodate a variety of surgical needs. Designed for the developing world, drill and saw cover systems from Arbutus Medical eliminate the need to clean and sterilize the device between surgeries, thus extending the life of the drill/saw and maximizing usage time. This project purchases multiple drill and saw cover systems to facilitate back to back surgeries.
Pictured here: The One4Another surgical team receives the new surgical drill and saw cover systems, drapes and hernia sets at the clinic in Uganda.
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New operating room storage will support the further systematization of sterilization and surgery to ensure needed equipment is readily available when needed. Other upgrades include an electrocautery machine, an HD XRay monitor and networked computer, soft tissue instruments, bone instruments and surgical drapes. These upgrades will also reduce surgical time thereby increasing the number of surgeries possible so that the trajectory of even more children's lives can shift from one of certain disability to one with hope for a future.
Pictured here: The One4Another surgical team receives the electrocautery machine. The new XRAY monitor is installed in the operating room of the clinic in Uganda.
