On Tuesday, September 10th, Kupona Foundation hosted our fourth Upstate New York event at The Docksider Restaurant in Lake George, NY.

Thanks to the generous support of our Saratoga Springs community, we raised over $28,000 to provide life changing healthcare services to children living with disabilities, women and newborns, and life-saving training to empower frontline healthcare workers.

Guests enjoyed picturesque views of Glen Lake with a delicious buffet and cocktails served by our friends at The Docksider. Handmade items from The Mabinti Centre were available for purchase, and guests bid in a silent auction on a stunning hand thrown vase from local artist Linda Demers of Oakley Way Pottery, with all proceeds going to support the women and children we serve in Tanzania.

We are so grateful for this community of supporters and friends. Thank you to everyone who attended on Tuesday, donated in honor of the event, and to each and every one of you who has supported our Upstate New York events in the past. A very special thank you goes to Tom & Laurie Longe and to Steve & Debby Seaboyer for their generosity and for helping mobilize such an incredible community of people in Upstate New York.

On Tuesday evening, Steve Seaboyer welcomed guests and thanked them for their many years of support before introducing Kupona’s Executive Director, Abbey Kocan. Abbey shared an update on the impact that the Upstate New York community has had, thanks to their generosity. These accomplishments include helping to provide:

  • Comprehensive, holistic fistula surgery and treatment for 3,358 women living with obstetric fistula, (a traumatic birth injury that results from prolonged, obstructed labor).
  • Sight restoring surgeries, such as cataract surgeries, for 28,500 children and adults, who are now able to go to school, be active in their communities, and support their families.
  • Critical training and capacity building for over 5,000 community health workers.

Abbey also expressed her excitement about the planned opening of the new CCBRT Maternity and Newborn Hospital in 2020, which will provide 12,000 safe deliveries for mothers in need every year, and the CCBRT Academy, which officially opened this week.  The CCBRT Academy will play an important role in strengthening human resources for health in Tanzania and more broadly in the East African region. The continued generosity of Kupona’s supporters will help us to equip clinical and managerial teams with the live-saving skills they need to provide expert, quality care to those most in need. By training healthcare workers to train others, we ensure that quality healthcare will be available for years to come.

We invite you to stay involved with this work. Why? Because it’s your support that is breaking the cycle of poverty for thousands of people in Tanzania every year. Here’s how you can help:

We have a goal of raising another $5,000 to enable us to invest in what it will take to ensure that the opening of our new Maternity & Newborn Hospital in 2020 is a success, and to reach more children with the life-changing care they need today.

  • Donate today! A gift of $160 will support a child living with a disability like clubfoot, improving his mobility and give him the chance to learn and play.
  • Join us with a donation of $5,000 to help make the necessary investments in critical start-up costs for the new maternity hospital.
  • Learn more! Read about your impact in our 2018 Annual Report.
  • Follow us on social media. We’re on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn, and Twitter

We’re proud to call Saratoga Springs home and we are so grateful for the generosity and support of this community.  Thank you.