Development Committee Member

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Background: In many rural communities, medical facilities are too far or too difficult to reach. This distance prevents pregnant women and patients from receiving the care they need and contributes to high maternal mortality rates. Pregnant women choose to give birth at home rather than risk walking in pain or riding on a motorcycle, only to give birth on the side of the road. This is unacceptable. The Okoa Project is a nonprofit based in Boston, MA and Accra, Ghana. Our mission? To develop innovative solutions to increase access to healthcare. We started as a group of women MIT engineers who were working in collaboration with Tanzanian innovation centers and community leaders to achieve this goal. Over the last four years, we developed two different styles of motorcycle ambulances, each co-designed by the Ghanaian and Tanzanian communities we partner with. We work with engineers on the ground to manufacture our motorcycle ambulances so that they are made and can be repaired locally.

Your role: This year we have a fundraising goal of $371,000. This is our largest fundraising goal for the organization, so far, and we're actively building a development committee across the US to help us achieve it.

What will you do? You will attend virtual meetings with other, like-minded individuals who believe in women helping women. You'll reach out to your network, help plan our signature fundraising events (virtual!), bringing a hefty dose of creativity and insight. You'll network with your friends, neighbors, colleagues, and other people in your life, telling them about the important work we're doing here. You can be part of our future! Other activities include planning our annual appeal and Giving Tuesday campaign. You can introduce us to your LinkedIn connections and help target individuals who have a passion for global healthcare and women's issues. You'll help us expand our social media following.

Your take-away? You'll have the satisfaction of knowing your role helped contribute to alleviating one of the most significant barriers to healthcare for women in Africa: access to safe transportation. Now that the pandemic is easing, we are all acutely aware that no matter where we live, no matter what our ethnicity or income, we all need to be able to access medical care.

The Okoa Project is still in its startup phase. Our team is small; we welcome the support of volunteers during this crucial time in our history.

Please send an email to Rebecca Lynch at rebecca@theokoaproject.com. Include your geographical area and any personal/professional information you'd like to share with us. Thank you.