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Greetings!
Happy Spring to you and your family!
As usual, we have been very busy at FIRE in Arizona and Mongolia. We are in the final stretch of our project with the National Institutes of Health (NIH); have facilitated the vaccination of selected health care workers; and are finishing up a health safety and hepatitis prevention training video for health care workers.
Thank you very much for your continued interest in and support of FIRE and the people of Mongolia.
Please read below for more information about what your support is making happen or check our website, which is in the process of being updated.
We also have a matching contribution opportunity right now. Please consider making a donation today, helping us to receive a matching contribution of $6,000 by Friday, April 6!
Respectfully,
Meredith Potts
Executive Director
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Matching Contribution
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT to reach $6,000 by FRIDAY, APRIL 6!!
For our annual matching contribution, a group of donors has offered to make a $6,000 donation, with the stipulation that we raise a matching amount of $6,000 first. We have until APRIL 6 to raise $6,000. Consider the difference your support can make in the lives of others;
$50 - Friend - (Naiz)
Could provide hepatitis B testing for 4 Mongolians
$100 - Supporter - (Demjigch)
Could provide a four three supply of sharps containers (bio-hazard boxes for sharp medical waste) for one rural clinic
$250 - Donor - (Handivlagch)
Could provide one orthopedic implant to repair a broken leg and prevent permanent disability
$500 - Patron - (Iveen Tetgegch)
Could provide one year of sharps containers for one rural clinic
*Donors at this level will receive a FIRE 10-greeting card pack*
$1000 - Benefactor - (Buyanii Uilsten)
Could provide life saving Hepatitis B vaccination for 80 Mongolians
*Donors at this level will receive a signed 13 X 19 giclee FIRE print*
$100 from every 13x19 signed giclee print sold by April 6, will go towards the matching amount. Visit our on-line store.
PLEASE make a donation to FIRE or purchase a print, by APRIL 6 to insure we receive a matching $6,000 contribution. Your donation, no matter the amount, $10, $20, $50, will be doubled with the matching contribution.
You can donate directly on-line here. Checks may also be mailed to PO Box 22187 / Flagstaff, AZ / 86002.
Thank you very much for your continued support and quick attention!
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What FIRE is Doing to Help
Since August we have:
- Tested 400 health care workers for hepatitis B
- Sent 300 samples to NIH for testing and epidemiological study of hepatitis B, C and D
 - Facilitated the vaccination of 400 selected health care workers for hepatitis B
- Facilitated the distribution of 20,000 sharps containers
- Received grants from Oyu Tolgoi, Family Welfare Association of Mongolia, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the Onom Foundation totaling 19,650 for our hepatitis related projects
- Received and distributed 533 hand knitted items in Mongolia
Unfortunately we have yet to scratch the surface of this impending problem. It is a silent death. We hear and read about the tragedies caused by earth quakes in Haiti or tsunamis in Japan and Indonesia but seldom do we hear about these silent tragedies such as what is happening in Mongolia today.
One of FIRE's missions is to get the message out to the world and do what we can to make a change. Building on the past success, our goals for the spring and summer of 2012 are to:
- Complete a training video for healthcare workers on health safety practices and hepatitis prevention
 - Facilitate the distribution of 40,000 sharps containers
- Train 200 health care workers for on hepatitis prevention
- Send 500 blood samples to NIH to conduct testing epidemiological study of hepatitis B, C and D
- Continue the development of a new project with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a division of NIH, addressing liver cancer
- Host orthopedic volunteers at Trauma Hospital
- Receive and distribute 200 new wheelchairs and 300 sets of new crutches
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A Growing Problem
A recent article published in the Lancet concluded; "Mongolia has the world's highest rate of liver cancer (deaths) - six times the global average - and the number is increasing... According to the (World Health Organization) WHO, one of every ten deaths in the country is due to HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma or liver cancer) or its frequent precursor, cirrhosis. In the absence of a solid understanding of this epidemiology, the country's hepatitis C prevalence continues to rise. Dr. Tsiiregzen Enkhamgala..., asserts...'We expect 40 more years to face the same condition'." No doubt this is a serious challenge to the people of Mongolia whose healthcare system "is ill-equipped to handle" the problem. To read the complete article, please follow this link. FIRE is currently working with the National Institute of Health (NIH) and have plans to work with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a division of NIH, to study the epidemiology of hepatitis and liver cancer in Mongolia. The objective is to find a way to directly address these issues before it's too late. 
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The Dulaan Project
 Since 2005 FIRE has received and distributed more than 46,000 hand-knitted and hand made winter items from people around the world. While we have shifted our focus away from clothing distribution, we still receive and distribute items in our Mongolia office. If you mail your items directly to Mongolia our staff will happily sort and distribute all the items to those in need. For more information, please visit the Dulaan page of our website. Thank you to everyone who has kept this project going for so many years. Your items are truly heart warming and beautiful.
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On-line Shopping
Shop on-line at our store featuring 15 different signed, 13x19 giclee photographic prints, ranging in price from $100 - $250 plus 4 varieties of 10-greeting card packets, ranging in price form $30 - $45. These products are from FIRE's Founder, David Edwards and includes his image "Kosan and Golden Eagle". This image was one of National Geographic's 100 best images. Some images are also from FIRE's Executive Director, Meredith Potts. 
$100 from each photographic print sold goes directly to FIRE and will count towards the current matching contribution if purchased by April 6. Visit our on-line store here. |
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Donate NOW!
Time is short and we need your help to continue our hard work and to make a difference for the people of Mongolia. FIRE can only exist with support from generous donors like you. We need your help, today, to help offset our program costs. You can donate directly on-line here. Checks may also be mailed to PO Box 22187 / Flagstaff, AZ / 86002. You can shop for prints here ($100 from each print sold by April 6, counts towards the matching contribution)
Thank you very much for your continued support! |
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