MANAK COMMUNITY HEALTH ORGANIZATION (MaCHO)
ABOUT US
Manak Community Health Organization (MaCHO) was founded in March 2020 by Kadija and Nathaniel Conteh-Barrat (front right and left). After our first medical mission to Sierra Leone in June 2021, we realized that the healthcare need was far greater than we ever anticipated. We also realized that we needed to establish clinics within the communities we serve in order to achieve continuity of care and sustainability.
So, we recently established our first temporary community clinic in the village of Yurika during our second Medical Mission to Sierra Leone in March 2022. The clinic serves a total of 84 villages, provides maternal and child care, chronic and infectious disease management, as well as acute care. All services provided by the clinic are absolutely free to all patients (zero out of pocket cost) who access our care. We also function as a mobile clinic to the other communities we serve, where we hope to establish additional clinics in the future.
We are currently working to raise funds to build an expanded permanent clinic in Yurika, as well as the Steven Klass Library, and Hatsie's Women's Empowerment Center. Eventually, we would like to support the community to add a marketplace and school. These are truly community-based efforts. We have been inspired as we have seen all community members, even children, pitching in to start these projects by clearing the land and making hand-made bricks.
Together this whole-person, whole-community approach will lead to sustainable improvements in quality of life for all those MaCHO serves. We envision a future in which this holistic, compassionate, and cost-effective model is replicated in other parts of Sierra Leone and elsewhere in the world where people do not currently receive the high quality care that should be their right.
Thank you for joining us on this journey toward better health for the people of
Sierra Leone!
Dr. Kadija Conteh-Barrat, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
Founder and CEO
Manak Community Health Organization
Dr. Kadija Conteh-Barrat (DNP) is the founder and CEO of Manak Community Health Organization (MaCHO), founded in 2020 to advance health equity and drive better health outcomes in the most underserved communities in Sierra Leone. Dr. Conteh-Barrat’s work to help those in crisis and to increase access to quality health care in Sierra Leone was inspired by her life-changing experiences during Sierra Leone's civil war and as a refugee in Guinea. Kadija's medical missions and community clinic are helping to address health care needs in Sierra Leone, advance health equity, decrease mortality, and improve health outcomes in these hard-to-reach communities. In March 2022, Dr. Conteh-Barrat completed her second medical mission in Sierra Leone and established a health clinic in the Yurika community, serving 84 villages. She has partnered with US non-profits and the local health district to ensure sustainability, increase capacity, expand care in isolated communities, and provide lifesaving medications, ongoing chronic disease management, and maternal childcare.
Dr. Kadija Conteh-Barrat is a family nurse practitioner with a doctorate degree in nursing. She is currently working on a postgraduate certificate program with a concentration in Psychiatric and Mental Health from George Mason University. She is also an Adjunct faculty at George Mason University, College of Health and Human Services. She has achieved numerous awards and recognized for her excellence in nursing, scholarship, and leadership. Kadija is the mother of two wonderful children and married to Nathaniel Conteh-Barrat, Co-founder of MaCHO. In 2021, she was recognized as an Emerging Leader in Healthcare by United Health Group. In April, 2022, she was recognized as an Outstanding Public Health Nurse by George Mason University, College of Health and Human Services, for her outstanding contributions to the field of public health for her work in Sierra Leone.
RECOGNITION
KADIJA'S FAMILY
KADIJA'S FAMILY
On April 28th , 2022, Kadija was recognized with The Most Outstanding Public Health Nurse Award by George Mason University, College of Health and Human Services.
KADIJA'S FAMILY
KADIJA'S FAMILY
KADIJA'S FAMILY
Kadija's Husband, Nathaniel Conteh-Barrat and their two daughters, Saldija and Shekirah.
Grandma Haja Kadijatu Jalloh
Grandma Haja Kadijatu Jalloh
Grandma Haja Kadijatu Jalloh
"One of the biggest influences in my life is and has always been my grandmother. Through her words and actions, she taught me kindness, compassion towards others, and how to be a strong independent woman. The organization's name "Manak" is in her honor and the Village she cherished so much." - Kadija
Mr. Bernard A. Conteh-Barrat
Grandma Haja Kadijatu Jalloh
Grandma Haja Kadijatu Jalloh
Mr. Conteh-Barrat was an executive director of a non-profit organization in Sierra Leone. He taught Nathaniel the importance of giving back to your community through kindness and acceptance.