With Rotary partners
Hospital renovation
Rotary clubs in Clackamas, Lake Oswego, and Edmonds, Washington joined the Society to fund a full renovation of the hospital — safer, cleaner wards for patients and staff.
Only together, we can go far.
We equip Brikama Health Center in The Gambia with the medical equipment, supplies, and facilities its staff need to care for Brikama and the surrounding communities.
0babies delivered each year at the center we support
0doctors, nurses & midwives on staff — 3, 10 and 23 strong
$0kvalue of our first 40-foot container of medical supplies, 2010
0years of shipments, renovations & partnership — and counting
Our flagship goal
We have the land — now we're building a hospital for Brikama and its surrounding communities
The Society has acquired land in Brikama — and on it, we will build a hospital for Brikama and its surrounding communities. Securing the land is the first step toward a facility for the whole area: the biggest step yet in our mission to raise the standard of healthcare for the town and its surrounding population, with lasting benefits for the communities we serve.
Planning is underway, and this milestone belongs to every supporter and partner who stood with us. Here's how you can help bring the hospital to life:
Who we are
A diaspora community, united for home
Brikama Society is an IRS-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, founded in Washington State in 2009 and incorporated in 2011. We are Gambians abroad, friends, and partners working as one — purely as volunteers — for the town many of us come from.
Brikama is the largest town linking urban and rural Gambia. Its health center is both the major referral facility for the region and the everyday walk-in clinic for a multitude of surrounding villages — yet it has long lacked basic supplies and equipment. We exist to close that gap, working hand in hand with the center's staff and local stakeholders on a needs list they set themselves.
Our mission
To stand with Brikama Health Center — supplying the equipment, materials, and services that let its staff diagnose and treat patients properly, and to take part in community projects across the greater Brikama region.
Our vision
A Brikama Health Center that stands as a model of quality health care for Brikama and its surrounding population — a facility fully equipped to deliver the care it promises.
On the center's current needs list
Oxygen concentratorsBlood pressure machinesWheelchairsSuction machinesAlcohol-based sanitizers+ a 30-item staff list
Our work
Fifteen years of showing up
Container by container, project by project — this is how a small volunteer association in Washington State became a lifeline for a health center 8,000 miles away.
2009
The Society is founded
Brikama Society is established in Washington State by members of the Gambian diaspora and friends, and incorporated as a non-profit in 2011.
2010
First container ships
Our first 40-foot container reaches Brikama carrying an estimated $64,000 in medical supplies and equipment — wheelchairs, bed sheets, lab equipment, and mattresses.
2012
A second container follows
Another container full of medical supplies is shipped to the hospital, deepening the supply line from Seattle to Brikama.
2014
Beds for the wards
With generous donors including Avamere of Oregon City, we ship hospital beds and further medical supplies to Brikama Health Center.
2018
Mortuary freezer delivered
We present a four-compartment mortuary freezer to the health center — and the community's response makes clear that more capacity is still needed.
2020
Solar power installed
Solar panels are installed at the health center, so care never stops when the power does.
Next
A new hospital
We own land in Brikama and are building our own hospital on it — a purpose-built facility for Brikama and its surrounding communities. Help us build it.
Projects
Bricks, beds & backup power
Beyond the supply containers, we take on the bigger builds the health center can't fund alone.
Delivered
Maternal ward handover
The renovated maternal ward was formally handed over to Brikama Regional Hospital — safe, clean birthing quarters for the nearly 7,000 babies born at the center each year.
Completed
Solar power for the hospital
Electricity at the center was intermittent — staff once worked by cell-phone light during night procedures. The solar installation is complete, and it keeps essential equipment and operations running around the clock.
Delivered
Mortuary freezers
This project is complete: the mortuary freezer we delivered to the health center gives families a dignified place to keep their loved ones for traditional rites — a need the community told us mattered deeply, and one we were proud to meet.
Partners
Stronger, together
The renovation project began with a conversation: Lamin Jallow, born and raised in The Gambia and working as a caregiver and nurse at Avamere in Oregon City, shared stories of home with Ed Gronke — a Rotarian and past governor of Rotary District 5100. The Rotary Foundation answered with a $53,000 matching grant toward safe, clean birthing quarters at Brikama Health Centre.
"We all think it's a great project… something that will make a huge difference in the small country of The Gambia."
Rotary Club of ClackamasRenovation funding & $53,000 Rotary Foundation matching grant
Rotary Club of Lake OswegoHospital renovation project partner
Rotary Club of Edmonds, WashingtonHospital renovation project partner
Avamere of Oregon CityDonor of hospital beds & medical supplies, 2014
Brikama Pupil SocietyOn-the-ground stakeholder in Brikama
Gallery
Life at Brikama Health Center
Photos from the health center and the community it serves, 2020–2022 — the wards, the staff, and the people behind every delivery and donation. Tap any photo to view it full-size.
View the full album on Google PhotosGet involved
Put a smile on people's faces
Every container, ward, and freezer started with someone deciding to help. Here's how to be that someone.
Become a member
Join a united, dedicated group working to strengthen healthcare in the greater Brikama region. Membership dues power our day-to-day work.
Annual membership dues are $120 — pay via PayPal or Zelle in the donate section below, then let us know through the contact form that you paid your membership dues so we can register your membership.
$120 / year
Join the SocietyGive monthly
A steady monthly gift — by card or PayPal — lets us plan shipments and projects with confidence, all year round. Every donation is tax-deductible.
Start givingDonate equipment
Hospitals, clinics, and suppliers: surplus beds, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, and lab equipment are exactly what the center needs most.
Get in touchDonate
Help us build a hospital for Brikama and its surrounding communities
We have the land — now we are raising the funds to build a hospital on it, one that will serve Brikama and the communities around it. We are funded by individual, member, and organizational donations, together with fundraiser events. However you give, it goes to work for Brikama and its surrounding communities.
Donate online
PayPal
Give any amount through our secure PayPal page — with a PayPal account or any credit card, no account needed. Consider making it monthly for steady support.
Zelle
Send your donation via Zelle to:
[email protected]
Offline giving
In order to make an offline donation we ask that you please follow these instructions:
- Make a check payable to ‘Brikama Society’
- On the memo line of the check, please indicate that the donation is for ‘Brikama Society’
- Please mail your check to:
Brikama Society
11 3rd ST NW
P.O.Box 1250
Auburn, WA 98071
All contributions will be gratefully acknowledged and are tax-deductible.
Make a donation
Brikama Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit — donations are tax-deductible. Federal Tax ID: 35-2427588.
Contact us
We'd love to hear from you
Questions about membership, donating equipment, volunteering, or the new hospital project? Send us a message — we're an all-volunteer team, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
You can also write to us directly at any time:
Thank you — message sent
We've received your message and will reply as soon as we can. If it's urgent, you can also reach us at [email protected].