When we asked caring friends like you to share notes of encouragement with hardworking health care heroes, you really came through! We received hundreds of heartwarming messages.
Thank you.
Your kind words meant so much to women and men working in the most challenging places in the world. Meet two of the life savers who were filled with joy to receive your kind words.
Yusta John Mkweta
Community health worker in Tanzania
Yusta spends her days traveling between households teaching parents and children about nutrition. She's the only one doing this kind of work in her village in rural Tanzania.
"What pushed me to volunteer as a health care worker was to save my fellow humans," she shared. I visit expecting mothers and educate them during their pregnancy so that after giving birth, their child will grow in good health until adulthood."
Her efforts have made an enormous difference in the health of her entire community. She said that when she started as a community health worker, most of the children she visited were in the highest risk category, the red zone for malnutrition. Today, the majority of children are back in the green zone, which means they are healthy and well nourished.
"I really try my level best to be able to reach everyone," Yusta said.
Israel Furaha
Nurse in the Democratic Republic of Congo
If you were there when Israel received this note, you would have been beaming, too. He received a note from a friend named Elizabeth that says, "I pray you have the strength to continue caring for your neighbors."
Translated to French, the message reads "Je prie pour que vous ayez la force de continuer à prendre soin de vos voisins."
Israel administers vaccines at a clinic in the DRC and says, "I have to make sure that all the children have had their vaccinations to protect them against different diseases. Before measles were common, it was frequent here, but as soon as we ... started the vaccination activities at our premises, the cases have really disappeared."
When asked what he and his colleagues at the clinic need most, Israel said, "We need a refrigerator for the vaccines … we have to drive to another place with the refrigerator and bring the vaccines back." He added, "We don't always have lights. When women give birth at night, we use the flashlight on our cellphones."
With your encouragement and support, together, we can continue to equip life savers — like Yusta and Israel — to save lives.
Thank you for being a friend and ally to health care heroes around the world. Having you as part of our team keeps life savers going — and it makes you one too.