In the early 1990s, a number of Presbyterian Churches in the U.S. began a partnership with the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) and Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta, leader of the Lozi people in the Sesheke District, to modernize the Mwandi hospital. These partnerships initiated a multi-year project to bring electricity to the hospital, to construct a house to accommodate visiting mission and medical groups, and to renovate the original PMS hospital facilities with assistance from Medical Missions, Inc., based in South Carolina. As multinational support for the Mwandi mission grew, an international board of directors for the Mwandi mission was formed.

In 2012, the American contingent of the international board established itself as a 501c3 charitable organization under the name, Mwandi Hospital American Partners. Since the time of our incorporation, our primary purpose has been to provide resources for the medical staff of the Mwandi Mission Hospital so that they can provide high quality healthcare to the people of Mwandi. Zambia. At the same time of our incorporation, we also established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United Church of Zambia established the American Partners as a fund-raising partner focused on fund-raising for the UCZ Mwandi hospital with the goal of supporting the hospital’s holistic healthcare by raising funds for constructing and maintaining hospital facilities.

Since 2012, the American Partners have embarked on major projects in collaboration with the Mwandi hospital local board and the United Church of Zambia. To date the total funds raised for these projects is approximately $650,000. [Note: I used the following estimates and rounded up: 1) $400,000 for the 2015 hospital renovation, $96,000 for the Water project $96,000, $140,000 for the Solar project – to date, $10,000 for the Master Plan.] Tom can provide more accurate figures if needed, but I think an approximation will work if we want to include this at all.