The Origins and Activities of Hope International Medical Mission (HIMM) Inc. and The HIMM Clinic
Beginning in 2015, Seth and Joy Ablordeppey began organizing and taking annual medical mission trips to the region of Ghana where they grew up. Each year, several volunteers from Tallahassee First Baptist Church, as well as other members of the Ablordeppey family and volunteers from within Ghana, would travel to the Volta region of Ghana and provide medical screening, medications, reading glasses, medical insurance cards, dental hygiene products, etc. to the village residents free of charge, along with important information to enhance their health care education.
Each year, when the mission team had assembled in Ghana, for several consecutive days the team set up operations in a different location each day. The locations were chosen to be central to the remote villages of the region. Typically, the mission set up in a local school or church, and villagers, often on foot, gathered to receive the provided services. And each year, by word of mouth, more villagers availed themselves of the mission’s services. For example, in 2018, the mission served over 1950 people and in 2019 the number increased to over 2600 people.
With the increasing numbers served, in 2018, the mission registered as a non-profit entity under the name Hope International Medical Mission, (HIMM), Inc.
After an elaborate assessment of its activities, the HIMM Board voted in 2020 to begin building a Health Center in Agordome to continue its activities which ended after the mission was over. Below, is the plot of land donated to HIMM by the village of Agordome, next is the sod-cutting ceremony and initial stages of building the physical structure for the clinic.
It took just about a year for the clinic to be completed and below are some pictures of the clinic building.
Below are pictures of parts of the outside of the HIMM Clinic in Agordome in the Volta Region of Ghana.
While the primary goal of the HIMM Clinic is to treat the physical ailments of the people in the area, the clinic provides an opportunity to share the love of Christ with people under the burden of poverty and an easy access to people in need of healthcare in their community. To accomplish the twin goals of providing access to healthcare and attending to the spiritual needs of the people, HIMM has been providing healthcare cards to the needy which allows patients access to health clinics in Ghana for one year before renewal. As indicated earlier, in 2019, the last year HIMM sponsored this, prior to the building of the HIMM clinic, health cards were provided to over 2,600 people and the number continues to increase each year beginning at about 250 cards, in 2015. In addition, with the presence of the completed clinic, this past January and in memory of Dr. Edem Ablordeppey, HIMM provided 2099 health cards to the people, and opened the clinic to the public for the first time. Over 500 patients were attended to, and their medications were supplied to them free of charge.
Meanwhile, HIMM has now hired a medical Director who is a pastor and a physician assistant of the clinic. In the picture above, PA James Nkrumah is shown treating patients in the HIMM clinic.
A unique feature of the HIMM Clinic is its design to provide opportunities for volunteer medical practitioners in the United States, Ghana and elsewhere to treat patients from where they are. Telemedicine will be operational and usher in the first of its kind in the region. Below Dr. Enyo A Ablordeppey, an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, USA, is seen using the HIMM Clinic telemedicine capabilities to treat patients shown in the picture.
Even more interestingly, local physicians operating at the clinic would have the opportunity to consult with specialist doctors in the United States who may provide additional guidance in treating some specialized ailments. In addition, the clinic will provide much needed health care educational resources to its patients. The clinic will be stocked with health education flyers, and its practitioners will stress the need for preventive care practices.
Below are people waiting patiently to receive one of our services.
Sundays during the medical mission trip, and at the completion of each medical trip to Ghana, we participate and lead a worship service giving thanks to the Lord and asking for His favor for His people as we depart. Below are pictures of some of the activities during some of those services and the jubilant atmosphere that accompanies the end of the medical mission work. My senior brother, Pastor Francis Ablordeppey led the congregation in worship.
Overall, we have been blessed to see the mighty hand of the Lord, over and over again! One of the most heart-warming events displaying the assurance of the Lord over this mission was what happened when we opened the clinic the very first day on Edem Ablordeppey’s birthday. It turned out the first admission to the clinic was a young man who was in a sickle cell crisis. And this in a clinic dedicated to the memory of Edem! Given Edem lived much of his adult life battling through uncountable numbers of sickle cell crises, it was obvious to me that the Lord was drawing our attention to His presence there! And by the close of the day this young man went home with the crisis behind him. Who would have thought that was possible in a village setting in Ghana? I can’t thank the Lord enough for revealing Himself to us in this and several other ways. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to serve the Lord through this ministry.