ICMRT’s first fundraising gala held at the University of Washington on October 4^th in the West Ballroom of the Husky Student Union Building (HUB) was a great success. A commendable $7,500 was raised above the cost of staging this event. This entire amount will be used toward the shipment and distribution of another 40-foot container of medical supplies and medicines to the Ivory Coast. 

Additionally, ICMRT is very pleased to announce that container ‘Number 2’ left the US on September 25, 2003, and will arrive in the Ivory Coast towards the end of October. We hope to have container ‘Number 3’ shipped before the end of the year .

While the active war is over, the country remains divided and the political situation is extremely volatile. Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced from their homes and villages, and access to health care is very difficult if not impossible for a large portion of the population. The situation is dire in the Western region, where the Liberian war continues. Healthcare clinics in the area have yet to be rebuilt and supplied with medicines and equipment.  Healthcare workers are still unwilling to return to clinics in rebel-controlled zones. With very limited resources, refugee centers all over the country continue to house and care for many displaced people suffering from HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Buruli ulcer, Malaria, and gastrointestinal diseases among others.

As you can imagine, our work is not over.  The current goal is to raise a total of $48,000 to cover the cost of shipping and distributing the eight additional containers of medicine and supplies our partner Northwest Medical Team is acquiring for us. With the $13,000.00 raised during this fundraising event, we have made an important step toward our goal to ship/distribute five million dollars worth of medical aid.

We at ICMRT wish to thank “Daryl and the Diptones”, our auction donors, the many volunteers, and all of our guests for helping us make our October 4^th event a big success. We are forever grateful for your gestures of compassion and love, as are countless Ivorian and Liberian refugees caught in vicious wars. We will continue to keep you informed of our progress through these pages.