The African Diaspora Medical Project

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about The African Diaspora Medical Project

What does the term Diaspora mean?

The word Diaspora literally means "scattering" and in our context refers to the scattering or dispersion of a people outside of their homeland and those people attempting to maintain their cultural identity. This dispersion may be either voluntary (emigration) or involuntary (expulsion, flight from oppression, kidnapping into slavery). The African Diaspora had its origins with the beginning of the African slave trade. The African Diaspora is global in its dimension and includes North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

What is the African Diaspora Medical Project (ADMProject)?

The ADMProject is a nonprofit, 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization that is committed to addressing the healthcare problems of the neediest in Africa and the Diaspora. Our mission is "to identify and/or develop health-related projects to address the needs of the medically underserved in the African Diaspora that can be supported with technical, personnel, and materiel assistance; this will be done in response to and in collaboration with our medical colleagues in the affected regions".

What inspired you to form the ADMProject?

In the spring of 2005 the founders of the ADMProject were asked by an evangelical ministry to organize a medical mission to the Mangu and Abakaliki areas of Nigeria; this was to be a part of a spiritual crusade to those areas. After several weeks of planning the mission - in collaboration with Nigerian medical colleagues - it was decided by the ministry that the medical component would be canceled due to lack of available financial resources. By this time, we had not only developed a relationship with our colleagues, but had also come to realize the magnitude and urgency of the medical crisis and entered into a commitment to provide medical assistance. We also found, while organizing the project, that there was a tremendous amount of recognition of the need for such an endeavor and we received many offers of support. We therefore decided to form an organization that would not only allow us to fulfill our commitment to the physicians in Nigeria, but to also broaden our scope and take on larger and more complex initiatives.

Why is the work of the ADMProject so important?

In sub-Sahara Africa, a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds--over 1 million deaths yearly. It is estimated that 30 million Africans have the HIV virus; this represents two-thirds of the world's total. There have already been 12 million deaths attributed to AIDS, and in some areas more than one third of the adults are infected. 50 percent of Africans lack access to safe drinking water, resulting annually in the deaths of more than 1.5 million people, mostly children, to cholera, dysentery and other water-borne illnesses. Unknown more die annually of preventable disease and treatable illness. Life expectancy is the lowest in the world. These numbers indicate a holocaust of immense proportions. Lack of medicines, supplies, equipment, adequate facilities and providers, poor nutrition and sanitation, inadequate housing and lack of healthcare delivery systems suggest that the situation will predictably worsen. Any help that we, and others, can render is of critical importance.

Does the ADMProject provide services and medical relief efforts only in Africa?

No. The African Diaspora Medical Project has as its mission developing projects in response to, and in collaboration with, our medical colleagues throughout Africa and the Diaspora. We emphasize Africa because we realize that it is there that the crisis is most urgent and the need greatest. We will, however, respond to requests for assistance from anywhere in the Diaspora.

What is it that you hope to accomplish?

Our ultimate goal is to improve health indicators among the most needy in the African Diaspora. Our projects will be designed so as to have a measurable impact on health care delivery and medical outcomes and we will provide support as necessary to ensure sustainability of those projects. As stated earlier, we will be responding to specific requests for support from our healthcare colleagues and will collaborate with them in the design and implementation of the initiatives. We also recognize the fact that economic development is inextricably related to improvements in health. Therefore, we also seek improvement of economic indicators in the areas that we will be working.

What are your strategies?

There are five areas that must be addressed which are key to our ultimate success:
1. Mobilize and organize our communities through information and education. We realize that there is considerable potential to stimulate support from our communities that will benefit our efforts with financial and volunteer assistance.
2. Create linkages with individuals, institutions, businesses, and corporations that will give us the capability and capacity to reach our project goals.
3. Cultivate collaborative relationships and partnerships in the global community, especially in Africa and the Diaspora.
4. Identify and develop projects to address the health and economic needs of the affected areas.
5. Seek funding through government and foundation grants, public and private monetary donations.

What makes you unique?

The ADMProject is designed to respond to requests for assistance, not requests for proposals. Our work is in response to specific needs as defined by those in need and affected, and not to initiatives defined by others. We have created a very simple Request for Assistance (RFA) application that, when completed, initiates the process. This RFA component of our organization provides, in effect, an access point to those who would otherwise have to sit and wait passively for relief to seek them out. We believe that ours is a much more logical and humane approach. It offers hope. In addition, a viable ADMProject gives those in need another option in their quest for assistance. Desperation, given no alternative, often accepts relief that, in the long-term, exacerbates the problem. We seek to provide a no-strings-attached option with projects that are designed in collaboration with those they are designed to benefit.

What have you accomplished thus far?

In the first year of our existence the ADMProject underwent significant organizational development and growth - we moved into 4500 square feet of office space, began the hiring of staff, applied for and received our 501(c) 3 non-profit tax exempt status, defined and established our programmatic direction, and benefited from the support of community and friends. In our second year we began forging partnerships, most notably that with the Center for Social Concern at Johns Hopkins University that provided, through the work-study program, much-needed student research assistants. We responded to our first request for assistance - seeking help for orphans in Cameroon; this resulted in our traveling there for a site visit and needs assessment. And we continued to benefit from the support of community and friends. Now in our third year, we are following up on our Cameroon trip with the Cameroon Orphan Relief Project (CORP) – now in its development phase; we are receiving additional requests for assistance and will be initiating new projects; we continue to form alliances and partnerships and are expanding our community outreach efforts to a national audience. The ADMProject takes great pride in the realization that we are in step with a world-wide movement; that we are, through our work and efforts to reach out to one another, contributors to the realization of this essential goal – Diaspora mobilization and unity.

How can the public be of assistance?

We would like to hear from any individual, business, or organization that understands the urgent and critical need for our involvement and who would like to assist us by volunteering, raising or donating monies, offering their expertise and other services, or by assisting us in developing our networks and relationships. Financial contributions are appreciated; checks can be made out to The ADMProject and mailed to the address cited below or can be made online. Click here to donate now!

How can you be contacted?

The African Diaspora Medical Project
PO Box 27637
Baltimore, MD 21244-0637
Email: info@admproject.org
Phone: (410) 303-5053
Fax: 410 922-3518