Press release 4.20.15 - Healey International Relief

573 Eayrestown Road, Lumberton NJ 08048
(609) 267-4104
Fax (609) 261-0799
HIRF Annual Awards Reception on April 22, 2015 in Washington, DC
LUMBERTON, NJ (April 20, 2015) – Senator Tom Harkin, Congressman Chris Smith and Mrs. Philomena
Yumkella will be honored by The Healey International Relief Foundation (HIRF) and Capital Area Reach
Program (Capital Reach) for improving the lives and making significant contributions to the people of
Africa and specifically Sierra Leone. The Awards Reception will be on Wednesday, April 22, 2015 in
Washington, D.C. at the Liaison Hotel Rooftop. Both HIRF and Capital Reach have long been doing
humanitarian work in Sierra Leone.
“The ongoing Ebola crisis has made our work even more urgent and all funds raised from this event will
go towards HIRF’s project to rebuild health clinics in Sierra Leone and Capital Reach’s effort to build a
much-needed school in Lunsar,” stated Ben Parra, Executive Director HIRF, and Kadir Mohammed,
Executive Director Capital Reach.
The theme of the event is “Rebuilding Sierra Leone’s health care system. Bright futures are built on
healthy foundations.” This effort has begun, with the recent opening of the first of what is planned to be
30 health care clinics built by the Healey International Relief Foundation (HIRF) serving vulnerable rural
populations throughout the country. The ribbon cutting for the “HIRF Monsignor Daniel Sullivan Health
Clinic” was held at St. Stephen’s Amputee Village on Saturday, March 21, 2015 in Newton, Sierra Leone.
The clinic will provide much needed primary care to the village of 300 people and the surrounding
population of 24,000 located in the Western region of Sierra Leone 24 miles east of Freetown, which
was considered an “Ebola hot zone.”
The reception will be hosted by Taylor Kinzler, Miss Massachusetts 2012 and will feature a special
musical performance by Daddy Rhymes, a Sierra Leone singer. Event partners who have made this
reception possible are the Viking Yacht Company, McGuireWoods, Tzu Chi Foundation and Brother's
Brother Foundation.
Event details:
Healey International Relief Foundation (HIRF) and Capital Area Reach Program (Capital Reach)
Awards Reception
Liaison Capitol Hill DC, 415 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001
Wednesday, April 22, 2015, 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
For more information, please contact Zoia Pavlovskaia at zoyagp@healeyphilanthropic.org or (609) 2674104 at the HIRF office.
Additional information on both organizations can be found at www.hirf.net and www.capitalreach.org.