The Julia Burke Foundation has taken great pleasure in partnering with the Woodward Academy to help construct the new Julia Burke Infirmary and staff houses at the Terranova School located on the Terranova Coffee Estate in Zambia.
Woodward Academy in Atlanta GA, has adopted Terranova School in a sister school program and has helped provide Terranova School with much needed text books, computers and reading materials. This year, the combination of fundraising efforts by Woodward Academy and The Julia Burke Foundation grant have helped build a new infirmary. George Dietz, Assistant Middle School Principal at Woodward Academy, recently wrote to us:
"I know you must hear things like this all the time, but this grant will literally change the lives of thousands of individuals in this community more than you can possibly know. The impact for these people would be the same as if you had made a multimillion dollar donation to a hospital in the states. The infirmary insures that we will now have an adequate facility to test the children as well as adults, and treat the people if necessary."
If you are a parent, you have most likely awakened late in the night to the sounds of a sick and crying child. You worry and fret, and possibly you have even made the trip to urgent care. Imagine this same scenario, only you are a parent in Mazabuka, Zambia. You awaken in your mud hut, and you are worried; there is no electricity, no running water. The nearest medical officer is a four hour walk from your village, so you prepare to carry your sick child on the long walk.
When you begin your walk on a dirt road, the temperature is already 85 degrees early in the morning. There is always the chance of rain, several inches in an hour, and you have nothing but a shawl to protect your sick child. If it rains, the dirt road will become a quagmire and difficult to walk upon. Once you have seen the doctor, you will walk back to the village, hoping that the medicines will work and you will not need to return.
The Julia Burke Foundation in partnership with the Woodward Academy, in Atlanta, Georgia has changed the lives of the people of Mazabuka forever. Now, the people can walk to see a doctor in fifteen minutes. The people of Mazabuka are immensely proud of their new clinic; the Minister of Health was impressed and children beamed at the dedication ceremony.
I did not have the pleasure of knowing Julia. But I have learned that Julia was a person who was involved and a person who wanted to make a difference in the world. I think Julia would be very proud of this clinic. It will change the lives of literally thousands of people over the years. The future is looking bright for the children and community of Terranova. Thank you Julia, and thank you to The Julia Burke Foundation.
- George Dietz, Assistant Principal, Woodward Academy
For more information, visit: www.woodward.edu