For 62 years Chantou hid her face.

Shunned by her community, Chantou spent the majority of her life alone and socially isolated.

Born into one of the poorest communities in northern Cambodia, she suffered from the cleft palate that left her face deformed. Unable to attend school, she lived most of her life as a farmer on her family’s land and never married.

Growing up in a resource-poor community, the lack of consistent healthcare her entire life meant there were no treatment options. There was never enough money. Her parents struggled. The pain they felt not being able to help their daughter was unbearable.

For six decades, Chantou waited for God to answer her prayers.  

The young mother drew the blanket close to shade her baby. The sun burned down on Susanna and the hundreds of others waiting patiently in line, hoping to see a doctor. Born just weeks before in rural Honduras, her baby boy was a gift from God. As her stomach throbbed in pain as she held her child, she prayed the line would move faster.

Worldwide, the need for medicines in resource-poor communities continues to grow. Combine this with an increasing number of natural disasters, and it's easy to understand why MAP’s outstanding performance in providing medicines and health supplies to people in need has earned us the highest levels of recognition: 

GuideStar 2019 Platinum Seal of Transparency 

MAP is honored to announce we have again earned GuideStar’s Platinum Seal of Transparency for 2019. This is the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar who is the world’s largest source of nonprofit information. By sharing metrics that highlight the progress MAP is making toward its mission, GuideStar is helping donors move beyond simplistic ways of nonprofit evaluation such as overhead ratios.

To reach the Platinum level, MAP added extensive information to its Nonprofit Profile on GuideStar including in-depth organizational and financial information; qualitative information about goals, strategies, and capabilities; and quantitative information about results and progress toward its mission.

By taking the time to provide this information, MAP has demonstrated its commitment to transparency and to giving donors and funders meaningful data to evaluate MAP.

Forbes Magazine

Once again, MAP made Forbes magazine list of “America’s Top Charities.” MAP ranks #23 on the list scoring 100 percent in fundraising efficiency (percent of private donations remaining after fundraising expenses) and 100 percent for its charitable commitment (charitable services as a percent of total expenses).

Good stewardship is a key tenet of our corporate beliefs. We are committed to the highest levels of transparency and accountability; we value every donation made to MAP.  Thank you for continuing to put your trust in MAP and our mission.  

For MAP International board member Abidemi Oseni-Oyebode (“Abi”), the organization’s mission is personal. The daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, Abi has lived in a number of countries, and knows that access to quality medicine is something we take for granted in the US.

Chagas disease is common in places where you find the triatomine bug, often called the “kissing bug” or the “blood sucking bug” that transmits a parasite. It is mostly found in South America, Central America, and Mexico and infects as many as 8 million people. The disease can cause swelling and fever, and without treatment can be long lasting. Left untreated, it can cause congestive heart failure.

Celestina was sound asleep when the winds began to shake her simple home. Within minutes, the water rushed in and she realized that she and her baby were in grave danger.

What Celestina didn’t know was that she was in the middle of Cyclone Idai, one of the most powerful and deadly storms to ever hit Africa last March.

Living in rural Mozambique, she had no warning system and no way to prepare for the winds that reached 175 mph and floods that would displace more than 1.85 million people and claim more than a thousand lives.

All Celestina (shown below) knew--as she grabbed her two-year-old son, Manual--was that she needed help.

Clarkston, Georgia is often referred to as "the most diverse square mile in America" and "the Ellis Island of the South." With one of the highest refugee populations in America, it also has one of the highest uninsured rates and one of the lowest rates of access to health clinics. Ironically, it is less than 20 miles from Atlanta, one of the world centers of medical care and innovation.

Brenda, a single mother of two, is employed as a domestic worker, washing and ironing clothes. She makes just $19 per week, barely enough to feed her and her two children, a daughter age 2, and a son age 10. Her job offers no benefits. She has no vacation, no insurance, and no job security. If she misses work due to illness, she loses her job. Neither child is able to attend school because she cannot pay the school fees.

Brenda, a single mother of two, is employed as a domestic worker, washing and ironing clothes. She makes just $19 per week, barely enough to feed her and her two children, a daughter age 2, and a son age 10. Her job offers no benefits. She has no vacation, no insurance, and no job security. If she misses work due to illness, she loses her job. Neither child is able to attend school because she cannot pay the school fees.

When fourth-grade teacher, Nafi Espana, from St. Simons Elementary located in St. Simons, Georgia wanted to conduct a school fundraiser with MAP to help survivors of Hurricane Dorian, we enthusiastically said yes. Moved by the images of destruction and devastation across Grand Bahama and Abaco islands, the students wanted to help those who lost everything. Dorian narrowly missed the Georgia coast and St. Simons Island; residents knew they had dodged a bullet.

Soon the student’s allowance money and dollars received for “extra chores” began pouring in. Ms. Espana was moved to help her students find an organization that was providing direct relief to people whose lives were devastated by Dorian. MAP’s immediate assistance to the people of the Bahamas was the ideal fit.

What started as a coin drive became a fundraiser where nearly $2,000 was raised to help provide Disaster Health Kits (DHK) to affected residents. Because of their generosity, 200 additional Disaster Health Kits were shipped to the Bahamas. Each kit contains basic hygiene items to help prevent the spread of illness and disease for one person for one week.  

But the elementary students gave more than their money; they showed a level of compassion and caring equal to adults. They proved even the youngest are moved by people who lost everything. God is truly visible everywhere and through everyone.

In addition to the 200 DHKs these children helped send to the Bahamas, MAP has provided:

• Nearly 14,000 DHKs to the survivors of Grand Bahama and Abaco islands
• Three Interagency Emergency Health Kits for Project Hope in the Bahamas. These three kits combined will provide enough medicines/supplies to meet the basic medical needs of 30,000 people for 90 days
• 400 Sawyers filters and 84 Uzima backpack filters were sent with partners Sol Relief and World Hope International due to the growing need for water filtration in the Bahamas. 

Thank you for your support of our efforts to help the people of the Bahamas. Together, we can continue to provide more medicines, relief aid, and Disaster Health Kits to those who still desperately need help.