<![CDATA[Kateri Clinic - News]]>Sun, 31 May 2026 21:06:16 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Message From the President & Executive Director]]>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/message-from-the-president-executive-director9444663Serving More People Than Ever Before: 41,575 in 2025
Dear Friends and Supporters,
If you have been reading this newsletter or keeping up with international news over the past couple of years, you will know that these are very challenging times for most people living in Nigeria.
Severe economic challenges, ruinous inflation, especially in food prices, and an epidemic of violent banditry, kidnapping, and terrorist attacks on rural villages have all affected the poor most severely. These are the same people we are trying our best to serve.
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When building new clinics, we have deliberately chosen some of the most difficult places because that is where the greatest need is. There are approximately 97 million people in Nigeria who live on less than $3 per day. That is about 42% of the population. This is our target population, and it has not been easy. We have faced many unexpected challenges with local government officials and with recruiting competent health workers.
That is the challenging news. Now here is the encouraging news.
First, we are serving more people than ever before. Here is a summary of recent years. The numbers include full-time clinics, mobile clinics, and medical outreach missions.
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Second, after several difficult years, we are finally making progress in constructing new clinics in Muslim-majority areas. (Read more on pages 2 and 3.)
Times are tough in Nigeria. We are not giving up, and we are not going away. Perseverance pays off.
Thank you for your generous donations. Please keep giving as generously as you are able.
Sincerely,
Rev. Tom Furrer
President and Executive Director
]]><![CDATA[After a Long Wait, We Are Building a New Clinic in an Underserved Area]]>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/after-a-long-wait-we-are-building-a-new-clinic-in-an-underserved-areaFour years ago, we began a planning process to build new clinics in the northwest of Nigeria. This area has some of the worst health-care indices in the entire country. We began by improving the human infrastructure through training local health-care workers and potential future employees.
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We also started building support and acceptance among the indigenous population. As with all of our clinics, we are working in partnership with the local Anglican Diocese. However, this area has a 90% Muslim majority, and there is a high degree of mistrust and suspicion toward Christian missions of any kind. Because of this, we have had to work patiently and respectfully with local government officials to build trust.
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After three years, we finally received the permits required to move forward with construction. We began by drilling a well, both for our construction needs and as a resource for the surrounding community.
Here are a few words from one of our board members regarding this new development:
“When you gave a health clinic to the multidimensionally poor people in rural Nigeria, did you know that you were also giving clean, potable water to communities? This year, we witnessed children as young as four and five years old running around a clinic construction site with joy and laughter as they watched clean water gush from the ground. It was probably the first time they had seen jets of clean water in their lives.
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Our hearts rejoiced with them as we watched, sometimes with tearful eyes. First because of their joy, and then because we knew many of them would escape preventable death from diarrheal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation in their community.
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How amazing to know that a new rural clinic is already blessing the community with joy and health before the building is even completed. No longer will women gather with animals around shallow and polluted water sources to collect water for their families. No more illness from contaminated water for young and old alike. Health and life have begun.”
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This is the first of three new buildings we are constructing in this rural area. There are already existing clinics here, but all are in serious need of renovations or entirely new buildings. (Note: We are not publishing the names of these locations for security reasons.)
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]]><![CDATA[Welcome to Our Newest Board Member]]>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/welcome-to-our-newest-board-memberDeborah began working as a volunteer on our medical missions in Kaduna Diocese when she was in her early twenties. During her college years, she earned both a Bachelor of Public Health from Osun State University in 2022 and a Master of Public Health from the University of Ibadan in 2025
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Since 2021, Deborah has been employed with The Damien Foundation, a Belgian NGO focused on the eradication of leprosy, tuberculosis, and HIV. She has served as a Research Assistant Intern, Programme Assistant, and Sample Referral Consultant for the foundation, working in rural communities throughout Oyo State, Nigeria.
In 2025, Deborah founded the “Light-Reach Initiative” to provide medical care and health information outreach to rural residents in Oyo State. Through this initiative, she has recruited medical professionals to volunteer their time and expertise for community events.
We are very happy to welcome Deborah to our board of directors. One of the many strengths she brings is her experience in grant writing, an area where we recognize there is room for growth and improvement
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]]><![CDATA[Spring 2026]]>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/spring-2026
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]]><![CDATA[Planning for Our Future: Our Younger Board Members]]>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/planning-for-our-future-our-younger-board-membersIn recent years, we have begun planning for a transition in leadership. Our founding generation of leaders are now in our mid-70s to early 80s. One member has recently passed away, and others have retired after many years of faithful service, for which we are deeply grateful.
We are also thankful for our “retired but not tired” group of six board members, all of whom bring a lifetime of professional experience in business and healthcare.
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Five of our twelve board members are under the age of 45. All of these younger members began serving on our medical missions as teenagers or in their early twenties.
Every board member takes an active role in running our organization. All of us serve as volunteers, which helps keep our administrative costs extremely low, averaging about 4% over the past three years. This means that 96% of every donated dollar goes directly toward building clinics, purchasing medicine, and paying medical workers in Nigeria.
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Your donations make an immediate and direct impact on helping vulnerable people.
Please continue donating generously. We need your help more than ever, and with your support, we are serving more people than ever before.
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]]><![CDATA[2025 Outreach Statistics]]>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/2025-outreach-statisticsHere is a summary of our outreach missions and mobile clinics in the first 10 months of 2025.
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Arthur and Esther Bradley Memorial Anglican Hospital in Gidan Waya
Four-week medical outreach in June / July.
1,443 people served

St. Thomas Clinic in Eleme / Port Harcourt
In Partnership with FaithCare
One-week outreach in July/August
2,041 people served

“Kick Out Malaria” Outreach
Mother’s Union in Diocese of Kafanchan
Fifteen outreach events in October / November
3,978 people served

“Light Reach” Medical Outreach
in Ladunnie, Oyo State
One-day outreach in October
241 people served

Kaduna Diocesan Medical Outreach
Two-week outreach in October
1,874 people served

Cornerstone Health Foundation
Ten mobile clinics in urban and rural locations
18,015 people served

Total served in the first ten months of 2025
​27,592. People served

]]><![CDATA[Rebirth of Outreach Missions and Mobile clinics in 2025]]>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/rebirth-of-outreach-missions-and-mobile-clinics-in-2025In every one of these outreaches, Kateri Medical Services works in partnership with local friends who have worked with us for many years. We provide the funds for medicine and medical consumables. The local partners recruit volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists and eye specialists. Our US team joins one of these outreaches each year.
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In the wake of the COVID crisis and the subsequent security crisis, we were forced to reduce our clinic hours and eliminate our outreach missions and mobile clinics. But we have gradually and cautiously been resuming our work. In 2025, we have sponsored more outreach missions and mobile clinics than ever before in our 22 years of health care ministry.
 We need your help. Please continue supporting our work of love.
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]]><![CDATA[We Invite you to Share the Love Of Christmas Through Medical Care]]>Mon, 29 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/we-invite-you-to-share-the-love-of-christmas-through-medical-careEvery year, we dedicate our December donations to our “New Horizon Fund” which is designated for salaries for our clinic employees. In 22 years, we have never missed a day in paying our faithful and heroic clinic workers.
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Double Your Impact
This year, one of our donors has offered a “matching gift” of $10,000. For every gift we receive up to $10,000, our donor will match your gift. So. Please give as generously as you are able.

Consider donating your MRD to Our Work
If you are over the age of 73 1/2 , the IRS requires you to take a Minimum Required Distribution (MRD) from your retirement savings and that you pay tax on the amount withdrawn. However, when an MRD donation is made directly to a charitable organization, the donation is not taxable income This kind of donation can be arranged by your financial advisor or bank.

The Impact of Larger Legacy Gifts
Kateri Medical Services deeply appreciates every donor and every donation. We are greatly helped by steady and consistent donors, many of whom give monthly or quarterly donations. Your steady donations help us to pay our faithful workers and maintain our clinics in a predictable and stable manner.


We have also been helped by several larger gifts, which have helped us to build more clinic buildings and to educate young people for medical careers. In many cases, these larger gifts have been given in memory of the departed loved one.
If you would like to speak with us about a larger legacy gift, please call the Rev. Tom Furrer at (860) 212-6994.

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]]><![CDATA[LOVE CAME DOWN AT CHRISTMAS]]>Thu, 25 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/love-came-down-at-christmasDear friend and supporters,
The first verse of one traditional hymn declares “Love came down at Christmas” in the person of Jesus. The last verse of the hymn speaks of the transformative effect that Christmas can have on our lives and behavior: “Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine; love to God and neighbor, love for plea and gift and sign.”
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When I think of the one word that summarizes Kateri Medical Services work, it is Love. Love for God and neighbor. Love as plea (for kindness in a cruel world). Love as gift (from God to be shared with others). Love as sign ( of God’s love working through us humans to help others). There has been a lot of attention in American news media recently about the persecution and genocide of Christians in Nigeria. And it is true. Our clinics have helped the refugees who have lost everything in these attacks. I have seen with my own eyes the burned out villages and the people who have survived the brutal violence.

​Readers of this newsletter will know that, over the last five years, security conditions have grown steadily worse in many areas of Nigeria. Many Western charitable organizations have abandoned, or scaled back, their operations in Nigeria as a result. This year, our federal government has eliminated the life-saving work of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the result will be many more vulnerable people – most of them small children - living and dying in misery.

Here is my message to all of our donors: We are not giving up. We are not abandoning these vulnerable people we love. In fact, we are helping more people than ever before.  

Love came down at Christmas. Love works through you and me. We share that Love with our suffering brothers and sisters through medical care. We need your help. Please continue supporting our work of love with hurting people.

Sincerely yours,

Rev. Tom Furrer

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]]><![CDATA[A tumor removed - a changed man]]>Fri, 19 Sep 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.katericlinic.org/news/a-tumor-removed-a-changed-manRichard came to the outreach wearing a big hoodie and a dark and dejected look on his face.  He had a very large and unsightly tumor attached to his ear and neck. The tumor was not cancerous and relatively easy for our surgeons to remove.
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Picture of Richard and Fr. Tom
A few days later. Richard was a changed man.  No more hoodie and a big smile on his face. He told us that he was “very happy to be set free” from the ugly tumor that he has carried for years.
These are a few of the thousands of people Kateri Medical Services has helped in the past few weeks. Your donation makes this work possible.  We could not do this without you.  You are providing real help to real people in the real world.
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