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Blessings International’s Annual Report on Activities in 2015
Blessings International’s
Annual Report on Activities in 2015
99
COUNTRIES
254,000 lbsMEDICINESSHIPPED
100.5MILLION
HT V
A YEAR OF DELIVERING HOPE AND HEALING
All across the world people are crying out for help. Earthquakes, wars and disease wreaked havoc on many parts of the globe last year. But good people, many motivated by the love of Christ, responded to those cries. They delivered medical care and medicine that snatched many from death’s door.
At Blessings International, we strive to serve those who bring hope and healing to the hurting. As you will see in this Annual Report for our activities during Fiscal Year 2015, we shipped more pharmaceuticals and medical supplies than ever before — a total of 254,000 pounds that reached people in 99 different nations!
We are grateful to everyone who delivered medicines to those nations, to those who have prayed for our ministry, and to all who have donated to ensure that we are able to provide medicines to areas that have the greatest need.
As we look ahead further into 2016, we are excited…excited to heal even more of the hurting, to help build even more healthy communities, and to transform lives all across the world through the power of medicine and the Gospel of Christ.
Thank you so much for being a part of Blessings International’s mission to the world!
Yours in His service together,
Barry Ewy, PharmD, JD, MHA Chief Executive Officer
“LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death. Psalm 107:19-20, New Living Translation
Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2015 3 2
TOTAL NUMBER OF SHIPMENTS BY YEAR
HUMAN TREATMENT VALUE 2013-2015
Human Treatment Value
for Medicines Shipped
HUMAN TREATMENT VALUE FOR ORDERS SHIPPED BY COUNTRY
Over the last three years, Blessings International has seen a steady growth in both the total number of shipments of medicines and of the Human Treatment Value (HTV) for the medicines we have shipped. Our total number of shipments has increased by 33% over the last three years (as seen in graph at right) and our HTV value in the last three years (2012 was the first year we began tracking HTV) has grown by 28%. The graph below right shows the HTV for each of the last three years.
HTV %AFRICABenin 97,142 0.10%Cameroon 101,136 0.10%Cape Verde 127,134 0.13%Chad 26,337 0.03%Congo, Democratic Rep. 500 0.00%Congo, Republic of 107,500 0.11%Cote d'ivoire 42,344 0.04%Egypt 35,010 0.03%Ethiopia 364,479 0.36%Gambia 1,381 0.00%Ghana 776,946 0.77%Guinea 115 0.00%Guinea Bissau 7,848 0.01%Kenya 1,134,484 1.13%Liberia 45,887 0.05%Madagascar 124,643 0.12%Malawi 256,581 0.26%Mali 21,111 0.02%Mauritania 745 0.00%Morocco 16,535 0.02%Mozambique 31,688 0.03%Namibia 31,733 0.03%Niger 581,209 0.58%Nigeria 1,727,968 1.72%Rwanda 211 0.00%Senegal 47,172 0.05%Sierra Leone 168,518 0.17%South Africa 660,583 0.66%Sudan 129,764 0.13%Suriname 30,970 0.03%Swaziland 160,665 0.16%Tanzania 515,806 0.51%Togo 176,645 0.18%Uganda 470,507 0.47%Zambia 1,408,622 1.40%Zimbabwe 57,900 0.06%Subtotal 9,487,819 9.43%
HTV %ASIA & SOUTH PACIFICArmenia 47,913 0.05%Bangladesh 19,512 0.02%Cambodia 1,121,612 1.12%China 279,693 0.28%India 374,118 0.37%Indonesia 3,969 0.00%Korea, (DPR) 28,137 0.03%Korea, Republic of 1,000 0.00%Marshall Islands 11,969 0.01%Micronesia, Federal State 190,594 0.19%Mongolia 3,020 0.00%Myanmar 247,856 0.25%Nepal 912,035 0.91%Palau 2,647 0.00%Papua, New Guinea 90,200 0.09%Philippines 1,222,392 1.22%Russian Federation 3,420 0.00%Samoa 106,809 0.11%Sri Lanka 66,415 0.07%Thailand 291,691 0.29%Vanuatu 328,931 0.33%Vietnam 118,837 0.12%Subtotal 5,472,770 5.44%
SOUTH AMERICAArgentina 114,654 0.11%Bolivia 248,829 0.25%Brazil 302,947 0.30%Columbia 102,560 0.10%Ecuador 2,536,801 2.52%Guyana 161,647 0.16%Paraguay 76,289 0.08%Peru 2,648,918 2.63%Venezuela 48,320 0.05%Subtotal 6,240,965 6.20%
CARIBBEANCuba 148,594 0.15%Dominica 310 0.00%Dominican Republic 6,394,906 6.40%Haiti 23,214,519 23.10%Jamaica 1,216,054 1.21%Trinidad and Tobago 106,410 0.11%Virgin Islands, British 29,697 0.03%Subtotal 31,110,490 30.99%
HTV %EUROPE, RUSSIA & NEWLY INDEPENDENT STATES
Albania 4,798 0.00%Bosnia and Herzegovina 2,000 0.00%Bulgaria 33,998 0.03%Greece 24,456 0.02%Hungary 77,318 0.08%Kyrgyzstan 25,789 0.03%Moldova 120,399 0.12%Romania 354,840 0.35%Turkey 2,108 0.00%Ukraine 230,106 0.23%Tajikistan 8,006 0.87%Turkey 1,408 0.00%Ukraine 349,557 0.40%Subtotal 875,812 1.18%
CENTRAL AMERICA & MEXICOBelize 1,527,764 1.52%Costa Rica 547,889 0.54%El Salvador 2,627,017 2.61%Guatemala 14,131,127 14.05%Honduras 16,857,231 16.69%Mexico 2,116,655 2.10%Nicaragua 5,033,032 5.02%Panama 2,735,085 2.72%Subtotal 45,575,800 45.26%
MIDDLE EASTIraq 803,399 0.80%Israel 62,113 0.06%Jordan 45,909 0.05%Lebanon 8,100 0.01%Palestinian Territories 74,308 0.07%Syrian Arab Republic 33,962 0.03%Subtotal 1,027,791 1.02%
NORTH AMERICAU.S.A. 779,231 0.77%Subtotal 779,231 0.77%
HTV is measured in two ways:
1. By the number of Curative Treatments, which are measured as one full dosage of a treatment, regardless of how many individual pills/tablets/injections are required. Curative Treatments include items such as antibiotics and anti-malarials.
2. By the number of Treatment Days, which are the count of pharmaceuticals that treat acute or chronic issues (including items such as analgesics, vitamins, anti-hypertensives, etc.).
In FY 2015, Blessings International shipped medicines with a total HTV value of 100,570,678, which included 4.9 million Curative Treatments and 96.6 million Treatment Days. These pharmaceuticals were delivered into 100 different nations.
0
0
20
40
60
80
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Millions
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
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2904
78,909,403 87,162,683100,570,678
3138 31673599 3980
4376
2009-2010 2010-2011
2013 2014 2015
2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
71,909,403
6,567,535
6,200,000
4,941078
81,000,000 96,629,600
4.9MILLION
CURATIVE TREATMENTS
100.5MILLION
HTV
99COUNTRIES
96.6MILLION
TREATMENT DAYS
Curative treatments Daily treatments
HTV %GRAND TOTAL 100,570,678 100%
Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2015 5 4 Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2015
Financial Report Production Report
We thank the Lord that, despite some significant challenges in Fiscal Year 2015, our revenue exceeded our expenses. Through a positive net revenue in program services, Blessings was able to donate more medicine and funding than ever before to countries, villages and homes where it was most needed. By covering our expenses through our operations, Blessings continues to be able to utilize 100% of every donated dollar to support the benevolence projects detailed in pages seven through nine of this report.
BLESSINGS INTERNATIONAL FISCAL YEAR 2015 REVENUE
UNITS PROCESSED FISCAL YEAR 2015
BLESSINGS INTERNATIONAL FISCAL YEAR 2015 EXPENSES
Investment Revenue $32,150 1%
Management & General $301,331 7%
Other Revenue$2,460 <1%
Fundraising Expenses $53,137 1%
Donor Contributions $162,078 3%
Program Service Expenses $998,531 24%
Program Service Revenue$4,542,821 96%
Medicine & Gifts$2,826,320 68%
Important note: Financial graphs are based on an independent auditor’s report submitted on IRS Form 990.
The Production Team at Blessings International is responsible for rebottling, repackaging and relabeling items that we purchase directly from manufacturers and other pharmaceutical entities both in the U.S. and abroad. Blessings is licensed by the FDA as a packager and an import-exporter. Items arrive at our warehouse in large tubs, boxes or bags that must be manipulated into smaller forms that teams are able to easily distribute. In 2015, our Production Department recorded a 93% increase in the number of items processed compared to the previous year! The items that we rebottle and/or relabel are often the ones that are the least expensive for teams to purchase. By processing more through our Production Department, teams are able to purchase greater quantities of those items due to the low cost and therefore more people around the world are receiving the medicines they need!
The largest component to the increase in production can be credited to the addition of a new labeling machine, allowing for faster production times for some packages of medicine.
TOTAL: $4,739,509
TOTAL: $4,179,319
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
Rebottling Relabelling Repackaging
47,292
77,660
25,530
Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2015 7 6 Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2015
Benevolence Programs
MEDICINES TO SYRIAN AND IRAQI REFUGEES $16,115.10
The atrocities of ISIS have gripped the world. Their victims include Iraqis, Syrians, Arab Christians (including Assyrians and Chaldeans) and minority groups like the Yazidis. Thousands of people have perished directly at their hands, along with the hundreds of thousands of Syrians that have died over the years that the Syrian Civil War has dragged on. More than a million people have fled the fighting, many of whom are now refugees in northern Iraq. Last year, Blessings shipped more than 15,000 Curative Treatments and 78,000 Daily Treatments of medicine to Iraq, including more than $16,000 worth of medicine donated to teams treating refugees in northern Iraq.
MEDICINES TO NEPALI EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS$21,754.54
On April 25, 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, killing more than 8,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless. Just days later, a team traveling with medicines donated by Blessings International arrived to treat the injured. Blessings sent medicine with several additional teams who treated victims of the initial earthquake and the very powerful and damaging aftershock that hit Nepal on May 12, 2015.
FREE DEWORMING MEDICINE$24,842
Parasites and worms cause devastating diseases throughout the developing world. These tiny creatures can be the source of chronic weakness, blindness and even elephantiasis. Many of the diseases caused by worms can lead to death if not properly treated. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 270 million preschool children and over 600 million school-age children live in areas where hookworms, whipworms and roundworms are intensively transmitted. Fortunately, Blessings International is often able to provide free medicines, including Albendazole, to be used in treatment and preventive intervention programs in some of the most affected regions.
FREE MALARIA MEDICINE$7,815
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease which kills more than 600,000 people every year. Most of the victims are children under the age of five. Unfortunately, this means approximately every minute a child dies from malaria. But many lives can be saved if the proper anti-malaria medicine is given to the patient in time. Blessings was pleased to provide free malaria medicine to teams and hopes to expand this program in the years to come. We actively participate in World Malaria Day to promote the need for medicine and treated bed-nets to be made available in places where the disease is endemic.
SPONSORING DOCTORS$35,000
Blessings International believes in the power of medicine to save and improve lives, and in the power of God to transform them. Christian doctors, who serve long term in other nations, are some of the most effective missionaries. But it is difficult for young doctors, who are often laden with medical school debt, to move overseas and begin missionary careers. Blessings recently provided some funding to help pay some of the start-up costs for doctors who are moving overseas to launch their careers as full-time medical missionaries. Blessings is also helping support the cost of several local doctors to participate in Christian residency programs located overseas.
VANUATU CYCLONE DISASTER RELIEF$7,911.83
On March 13, the tiny South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu was struck by a massive, Category 5 storm named Cyclone Pam. It was the second most powerful storm ever recorded in the Pacific, and its sustained winds of 155 mph devastated the island nation of 266,000 people by destroying or damaging reportedly 90% of the buildings on the island and leaving 45% of the nation’s residents homeless. Blessings was honored to provide free medicines to a doctor traveling to serve victims of that massive storm.
A child in Ghana being tested for malaria
TAXILA CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL PAKISTAN OPTICAL WORKSHOP EQUIPMENT$25,000
In 1922, Presbyterian missionaries set up a hospital in Taxila, Pakistan. The hospital today is the only Christian ministry located close to the Afghan border and Taliban areas, and was the subject of a deadly terrorist attack in 2002. The hospital has also provided eyeglasses to those who needed them since a workshop opened in 1978. Blessings was pleased to provide a grant that enabled the Taxila Optical Workshop to obtain new equipment needed to continue to create prescription eyeglasses that restore sight to around 3,000 people a year in that region.
YWAM SHIPS — CATARACT INSTRUMENTS AND MICROSCOPE$19,400
Papua New Guinea is one of the most remote and difficult places to live on earth. Everyday life is a challenge for everyone who lives there. But imagine what life is like for subsistence farmers and jungle dwellers there who lose their sight to cataracts? That’s one reason YWAM Medical Ships exists. This floating ministry provides medical care to people living in very hard-to-reach places. When one of their ships needed specialized tools and an ophthalmic microscope, Blessings was honored to provide it. Now more people living on remote islands in Papua New Guinea will have their sight restored. One of the leaders of YWAM Medical Ships wrote Blessings to say, “We were so blessed by the generosity of Blessings International this year. Thank you SO MUCH Barry [Blessings’ CEO] for arranging this for our mission.”
GIFTS OF MEDICINE TO USA CLINICS$51,945.18
Everyday in the USA, people show up at free or reduced-cost medical clinics because they simply cannot afford to go to a regular doctor. Some of these free or reduced-cost clinics are operated by churches. Most are located in areas of high unemployment, high crime and high desperation. Blessings is honored to be able to use the donations we receive to subsidize the costs and provide many clinics with up to 50% discounts on any order of medicine that USA medical clinics treating the poor make with us. Blessings is also able to provide some medicines for free to these clinics which are coming to the aid of the less fortunate around us.
SMALL CASH GIFTS TO MULTIPLE INTERNATIONAL AND USA MINISTRIES$28,400
Every year, Blessings provides small cash grants to a number of worthwhile ministries. This includes money to help a veterinary outreach in Mongolia, a Bible school in Myanmar, an orphanage in Mozambique, a medical outreach in Blessings’ home city and more.
Meet Blessings’ Teams
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Paul Stanton, MD, ChairGastroenterologist
Bobby Watson Jr., PharmD, Vice-ChairPharmacist
Mike Smith, EA, TreasurerTax Accountant
Barry Ewy, PharmD, JD, MHACEO, Blessings International
Doreen Babo, MBA, DPHMedical Administrator
Donald Tredway, MD, PhDPhysician
Paul McClendon, PhDRetired Professor
Karen Carmichael, EsqTrust Attorney
BLESSINGS STAFFCustomer Service Team
Kara BeamAccounts Payable Manager and Customer Services
Drew ChanceyInvoicing Coordinator
Heather WallReceptionist and Administrative Assistant
Front Office Team
Bernedette MorrisChief Financial Officer
David HarderCommunications and Development Director
Sherry JacksonHuman Resources
Gayle DiGiovanniAccounts Receivable Manager
George BeanSafety Manager and Utilities/Maintenance
Jimmy MaynardCompliance Assistant
Production Team
Andrew NguyenPackaging Manager
Thad BergstromPackaging Associate
Warehouse Team
Tonya HowardInventory Control, Purchasing Agent, Warehouse Manager
Kyle FitzgeraldShipping and Receiving Manager
Jewel HarrisAssistant in Shipping and Receiving
Obadiah HagansInventory Clerk
Matt Norris Warehouse Associate
Lance Fukushima Warehouse Associate
Cody ApplegateWarehouse Associate
10 Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2015 Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2015 11
BLESSINGS INTERNATIONAL
Blessings International 1650 N. Indianwood Ave. Broken Arrow, OK 74012 918-250-8101
Code #11864
If you would like to order medicine for a medical trip or make a donation to this ministry, please go to: www.blessing.org
Blessings International is proud to have been recognized as a Four-Star Charity by Charity Navigator in 2015. According to Charity Navigator, “This ‘exceptional’ designation from Charity Navigator differentiates Blessings International from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust.” You can help deliver hope and healing to millions of hurting people around the world through your donations and legacy gifts to Blessings International.
“We have been privileged to use your services
for over 10 years, and you have always been prompt, efficient and a pleasure to
deal with. The additional information you provide on specific treatments and medications
on your website is always so helpful, and we have followed many of your suggestions as we have
treated needy patients in several countries around the world.”
Dr. Joy Angela, Baptist Mid-Missions
“We were so blessed by the
generosity of Blessings International this year.
Thank you SO MUCH!”
