The Foundation has focused on helping communities master basic survival skills and then develop sustaining systems for ongoing health, nutrition and education, and finally to develop micro-financing and investment opportunities that help village residents help themselves. Our outreach has always included the most vulnerable of all humans – orphans.

To help expand the impact of the sustainable village concept, One5 has merged with Global Tribe, which has tackled the same challenges as One5 — but on a global basis –  around the world for the last 20 years. The merger creates Global Tribe Partners with offices in Kansas City, Nashville and New Zealand.

“There are thousands of NGOs currently vying for the attention of potential givers,” says David Miller, One5 chairman and chairman of Global Tribe Partners. “With Global Tribe we have found a group whose vision is so similar as to be the same.  By merging the two organizations we can more effectively break through the competing messages of other organizations and more efficiently direct our efforts.”

The combined core tenets will include: health care, education, housing, economic development and leadership. These five pillars comprise the mission of Global Tribe Partners and merge the key elements each organization brings to the relationship.

Two key projects currently under way are the building of a hospital in the village of Maganga in Malawi, Africa, and the launch of a sustainable village of up to 350 homes in Mexico, to include a medical clinic, orphanage and church. Global Tribe will also continue the medical work One5 initiated 48 hours after the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

With Malawi sharing the highest Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in the world, we are continually made aware of the importance of this women and children’s hospital, which will include a birthing center. As thrilled as we are about building this hospital, we are reminded on every trip of the importance of our partners, Dr. Peter Maseko and Dr. Anne Alaniz, the heart and soul of Pothawira Foundation and this project. Great partnerships are at the very heart of what One5 is all about in our work around the globe. The life saving resources that this hospital will provide to the Salima Region is a strong testament to this!

We reported at the time that the experience was really eye-opening and that the implications would affect what we’re doing in the One5 Foundation. We’re going to live up to that promise by opening a small outreach health clinic for homeless people who are clients of the Hope Faith Ministries, which operates in downtown Kansas City.

The clinic will provide walk-in health services, management of acute and chronic illness, wellness exams including screening for diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, women’s health care, family planning, HIV screening, podiatry, immunizations, and referrals to additional medical, dental and other services. This project is under development and additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

The Hope Faith Ministries attempts to help these desperate people obtain an identity, set them up in apartments with a mailing address and give them clean clothes so they can ultimately start the process of qualifying for jobs.

These are people who deserve compassion; it is unfair to say that they are where they are because of their own choices. Obviously, many are struggling with addictions and alcoholism and the Hope Faith Ministries is also working to get them into programs that address those problems.

If they can get treatment for their immediate health problems, they will be in better shape to get started on the rest of their lives.

Last week, Art Drentlau, senior vice president of Gravitational Energy Corp. of Akron, Ohio, the pump’s manufacturer, was in town to demonstrate how the pump works.  He set up the pump at Leawood City Park and showed how the simple movement of a crank and piston could pull water from a pond and filter 1,000 gallons of safe drinking water every hour.

That’s very important because nearly one billion people in the world don’t have access to clean water. The United Nations established March 22 as World Water Day in order to focus attention on the world’s water crisis, as well as solutions to address it.

Now the One5 Foundation will be able to bring clean water to earthquake-ravaged Haiti with the help of the Feltenberger Pendulum Pump.  The manually operated pump uses a weighted pendulum to help keep the pumping action going, thus minimizing operator fatigue. It is perfect for use in areas where fuel for motorized pumps is unavailable.

We are extremely grateful to Gravitational Energy for the donation because it also acknowledges the expertise that the One5 Foundation has exhibited during Haiti’s crisis. The pump will be shipped to Haiti by the end of this month. We intend to use the pump at a hospital in Port-au-Prince where we are continuing to provide medical relief.

We encourage other NGOs and charitable groups to sponsor more of these pumps in other areas of the developing world as well as Haiti. It is a clean, quiet and green machine.

Communities cannot pull themselves out of the mire of poverty unless their residents are healthy. Clean drinking water is basic to that.

As you know, the One5 Foundation has been working with orphans in Haiti for some time and was able to make a real difference for thousands of people after the earthquake struck in January. Because of our experience in Haiti, the One5 Foundation has been selected to demonstrate an innovative water pump that could help provide communities around the world with safe sources of water.

The hand-operated Feltenberger Pendulum Pump is manufactured by Gravitational Energy Corp. of Akron, Ohio. Representatives of the company and One5 Foundation will make public demonstrations at 7:30 and 11:30  a.m., Thursday, March 18 at Leawood City Park, Shelter C, 10601 Lee Blvd.

The device uses gravity (via a pendulum) to help the operator work, making it much less tiring than traditional lever-arm pumps.  It is designed for use in areas where there’s no access to fuel to operate motorized pumps.

Built into the machine is an Aquashield water filtration system that can produce more than 1,000 gallons per hour of clean drinking water, which meets or exceeds the World Health Organization standards.  Virtually any type of contaminated water source can be filtered to these standards.  It can also be set to produce 400-500 gallons per hour of hospital-grade pure water. Larger scale versions of the pump are under development.

This particular pump, the first one manufactured, is on its way to Haiti where it will be put into action by the end of this month, donated by Gravitational Energy.

The Feltenberger Pendulum Pump is the sort of invention that is desperately needed in Haiti and other developing countries. It allows people in specific communities the means to improve their lives dramatically, giving them a foundation of basic health. We hope that other charitable organizations will take notice and sponsor pumps in communities where there is a need.

But, I never really found out the facts first-hand about domestic poverty, so I decided to do some exploring. I recently sought out homeless shelters in Kansas City and places where the homeless go for meals.

What I discovered was eye-opening and the implications will certainly influence what we do within the foundation. We’re not going to abandon anything that we’re doing in Africa and Haiti, but we will probably augment that work right here in Kansas City because there certainly is a need.

I saw people living in creek bottoms and in wooded areas near downtown. It was well below freezing, but they were living in outdoor camps. I always felt that people didn’t really have to live in such conditions, but it was their choice. I discovered something very different. The ones that I talked with seemed to be normal articulate people; but something happened in their lives that put them there.

These individuals have no identity in our society. They are without Social Security numbers or birth certificates. They have no hopes of finding a place to live, let alone a job. Consequently, they are in desperate straits that they can’t escape without outside help. And the limited help that is available is often difficult to access.

I visited with one group that is trying to make a difference for homeless individuals in the Kansas City area – the Hope Faith Ministries.  The Hope Faith Ministries attempts to help these desperate people obtain an identity, set them up in apartments with a mailing address and give them clean clothes so they can ultimately start the process of qualifying for jobs.

These are people who deserve compassion; it is unfair to say that they are where they are because of their own choices. Obviously, many are struggling with addictions and alcoholism and the Hope, Faith Ministries is also working to get them into programs that address those problems.

So in the future look for the One5 Foundation to develop strategies to fight homelessness and poverty right here in our own community. Our overall strategy will be the same – not to give a man a fish, but teach him how to fish. Our focus will be on promoting health, so they can eventually feed themselves.

We have been involved with this organization for the last several years when it was known as C3 Missions International. It is “re-branding” itself as the Global Orphan Project, just as we are repositioning our own foundation as the One5 Foundation. Both organizations have worked side-by-side over the years to fight extreme poverty.

The Global Orphan Project currently has 110 homes operating in 14 countries that are helping more than 3,500 children.

At “The Big Event,” leaders talked about our shared philosophy of philanthropy – to provide developing societies with food, shelter, clean water, so they can stabilize.  That, in turn, will encourage investment and economic growth so that a community can sustain itself.

The One5 Foundation is focused on reducing the mortality rate among children in developing nations. The new name will be used with the tagline “One Child, One World, Five Killers.” This refers to the five greatest killers of children in the developing world:

• Acute respiratory infections (pneumonia)
• Diarrheal diseases (cholera, typhoid, dysentery)
• Malaria
• Infectious and parasitic diseases (measles, whooping cough, worms)
• HIV/AIDS

We are hosting our own special fundraising event on Nov. 19 at the Boulevard Brewing Company, 2501 Southwest Blvd. in Kansas City. Find out the details and respond to an invitation here: https://www.one5.org/invitation.cfm

While we want you to have a good time, we also want you to know more about the magnitude of the problems facing children around the world. Every 15 seconds a child dies of a preventable or curable disease. Here is some information about a group that is drawing attention to the lack of sanitation in many developing countries.

Please show your support by attending the One5 Foundation fund-raiser or by making a donation.

housing, education, health care, nutrition and economic development. Countries can’t depend on international handouts if they are to pull themselves from poverty; they must learn how to do it themselves, once given the knowledge and tools

Because Nueterrra’s business is health care, our end of the bargain is to encourage our providers to donate their time, expertise and materials to directly tackle the health care needs in specific communities. Our partners build on their own areas of expertise to provide the housing, food and education needs.

In keeping with our health care expertise, we will be changing the name of our foundation from Integral Life Foundation to the One5 Foundation, which comes with the tagline, “One child, one world, five killers.” This refers to the five greatest killers of children in the developing world:

1. Acute respiratory infections (pneumonia)
2. Diarrheal diseases (cholera, typhoid, dysentery)
3. Malaria
4. Infectious and parasitic diseases (measles, whooping cough, TB, worms)
5. HIV/AIDS

We believe the new name will more accurately portray our role in the overall philanthropic strategy – health care. We will help one child at a time to make this one world smaller by connecting them to the health care they need to avoid the five most deadly diseases in the world.

It is tragic that so many children in the world must succumb to these very treatable diseases. We think the new One5 Foundation will be more descriptive of our role so we can better tell our story to potential donors. Countries can only pull themselves from poverty once their basic needs are met, which include basic immunizations, food and clean water.

We continue to support the NCM-C3 Global Growth Fund to provide the financial means to help communities sustain the move from extreme poverty.

The name is changing but our commitment is unwavering.

The ILF group also will be putting up more than 800 mosquito nets for children and mamas to prevent malaria, which is one of the biggest contributors to child mortality in Haiti. This will be hard work but volunteers will be doing it side by side with the kids and mothers from the orphanages.

Participants include: Emily Guerrero and her son Gerardo, Dr. Candice Smith, Cynthia Rudy, Anthony Walton, Brian Wallace, Brad Gautney and MaryBeth Jackson, who provided these daily updates:

Prior to departure

On Friday, Sept. 18, a volunteer group in Kansas City helped prepare medications for dispensing. They included Kathleen Shelton, Tracee Palen and her husband, Kyle, Joseph Idalbert, Altema Mackley and Jean Baptiste – three members of Glory House Services – a Haitian non-profit in Kansas City, along with Sasha Ehlers – a South African grad student at UMKC.  It was a very interesting international evening as we learned about both cultures.  Betty Goolsbee, Linda Neville, Barbara Bollier and Stephen Platt – ILF supporters – also helped prepare meds.

Day 1

Last night’s unplanned overnight in Miami turned out to be quite nice. The Miami International Airport hotel couldn’t be more convenient and the AA ticket counter was just a few steps away.

We arrived at the hotel in Port au Prince about 9:30 a.m. Brad and Brian spent the next three to four hours dealing with customs. The good news – WE HAVE THE MOSQUITO NETS! Candice, Cynthia, Emily, Gerardo and I made good use of the time waiting by counting and packaging pills to be used later.

We headed to the orphanage around 2 p.m. It was my first experience driving through Port au Prince more than just one airport to the next. There are potholes that could easily swallow our vehicle whole!! We were in two vehicles – I was in the “chase car.” If you’ve ever been in a car trying to follow DouDou – you know what I mean!

It started raining on our way to the orphanage – so a change of plans. We couldn’t do any of the planned cleaning because of the weather. So while Brad and Candice saw the kids — treating about 40 out of the 100 – the rest of us got to hug the kids. We also (finally) got to give out the one box of shoes we brought!

Tomorrow we are headed to Cherette. We are feeling so blessed to be here doing this work, and we are so thankful for all the donors who make it possible for us to do it.

Day 2 – Cherette

The weather cooperated today so we were able to get all of the work we planned for Cherette accomplished.  While Candice and Brad checked out all the kids and treated those that needed it, Emily, Cynthia and I, with the help of several kids and adults, washed down the beds (kabann) and sprayed the mattresses (matla) with disinfectant. Then we covered the mattresses with plastic.  Brian and Gerardo then installed mosquito nets.

When the girls were done with the mattresses we had several rousing sessions of follow the leader and played hand-clap games, with Cynthia as our tireless and creative leader.

While there is still a lot of work to be done to help these kids, we think we made a good start today.

Mosquito Forts

By Cynthia Rudy

Thanks to a great team today we were able to treat all the kids at Cherette orphanage, spray all the mattresses with Clorox and wrap them in plastic so the bugs won’t bite. We put up mosquito nets on all the beds. The kids were thrilled and LOVE to help us. We are not sure they understand what we were doing. But as long as their meds kill the various parasites and they can sleep at night, mission accomplished.

Of course the forts would not take care of the issue if it was not for the diligent work of Brad and Dr. Candice, whom I believe saw every child today – around 100 total.  God bless the medical team!

You would think that the way they drive here the ‘oops’ of the day would be hitting something on the road; but actually, as Brian was hanging the mosquito nets he and two kids fell through the bed. Fortunately, everyone was fine. They are lucky to have beds as many of the children down here are forced to sleep on the floor.

The backdrop of the orphanage is rich tropical foliage that continues up the mountainside. It’s truly a spectacular setting. I don’t think we will get to the beach but from the drives to and from the orphanages the view of the Caribbean is phenomenal.

I have been to many Third World countries but not to the orphanages, and it’s truly sad to see so many children that have been abandoned. As soon as I started a follow the leader game I had 100 kids following me clapping, marching and doing the twist. We then played patty cake games and realized just the simple things put a smile on their face. They have so much love in their hearts, and with God’s grace and the hard and diligent work of ILF and C3 Missions they will have a better life. There is much work to do here and the list is endless.

I know none of our lives will be the same after this trip and I will treasure the days we made mosquito forts.

Day 3 – Casa Majeur

We had a long day in Casa Majeur. We were unable to go to Arniquet or Port Salud as planned. Despite our unexpected arrival, the mamas, papas and kids all rallied to help us. Casa Majeur is a larger site. The medical team saw at least 175 kids. We installed 118 mosquito nets on beds, cleaned 144 mattresses and covered them with plastic. Great day!

While Nueterra Healthcare facilities help advance health care in communities across the country, Nueterra’s Integral Life Foundation advances better health in the developing world. Nueterra employees support the Foundation in a variety of ways and help carry its message to our physician partners, vendors and other who work with the company.

Much of the support is financial, while some is in-kind. We continually encourage our facility boards of managers to learn more about the Foundation and how they can support our outreach efforts, both personally and professionally, so they can help us carry the message to Nueterra employees everywhere. Through payroll deductions and facility matching contributions we can provide critical health care services to even more children in need around the world.

In addition, medical staffs and other employees all have skills the Foundation can use to help fight poverty and disease. For example, at home they could participate directly in treatments via telemedicine. Also, they can contribute ideas in the development and design of specific facilities. And Nueterra employees are always welcome to participate in Foundation trips abroad, as we provide healthcare services, provide clean water and education. We take several such trips each year.

So, we encourage everyone – employees and non-employees alike who share our vision — to engage your communities by spreading the word about ILF and donating resources. Help us equip and supply the primary care clinics in Haiti and the Women and Children’s Hospital in Malawi. Help raise funds by

• Hosting a fundraiser at your facility or in your home.
• Encouraging your employees to give through payroll deduction (and then match it!)
• Participating in ILF fundraising activities.
• When you travel on American Airlines, use our Business ExtrAA number to earn frequent flyer miles to help offset travel expenses.

The Integral Life Foundation is making a difference for thousands of children. If every Nueterra employee and family became involved, we could accomplish even more.