Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Patricia Bailey.
It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?
I was invited to go to East Africa on a missions trip that eventually was canceled. I was stuck with a cheap apex non refundable or transferrable ticket. Long story short, this resulted in me taking a leap of faith and going to East Africa alone, not knowing anyone. I only one contact who was a refugee from Uganda who fled the war. My initial lens of Africa was through the eyes of a displaced family. He took me into a slum and there I saw a level of living beneath the poverty level that I never knew existed. My heart was captured by the cry of the poor.
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
My biggest challenge has been getting the support needed to meet the vast needs of the underserved and the constant challenge of reminding myself of who my source is.
Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?
My thrust and focus is the wholistic approach of International Community Development. My developmental goal is to provide sustainable Eco-Village Communities and equipping people to live independent of aid and transforming their mindset into trade. Through our approach, we allow people to follow their social investment by extending the invitation to come and experience the hands on encounter.
What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success in their life?
Never quit and always challenge your yesterday by your tomorrow.
Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?
Lifting people and helping them to find their purpose.
What’s next for you?
I am building a women’s clinic in the most remote interior region of Liberia. The closest proper access to a hospital is 9 hours away. I heard a story of a woman that literally bled out in the backseat of a car trying to get to the hospital to deliver her baby. She left behind 8 children who were left in the care of their 85 year old grandmother. We found the grandmother and the children, moved them out of a thatch roof shack into a proper home, dug a well for clean water, paid the children’s school fees for 2 years and purchased a generator so they can have power. This is what motivated me to start the women’s clinic which is now the first clinic in a 200 year old village. Majority of the residents have never seen a doctor or a nurse. The infant mortality rate in this region is off the charts. The average baby does not live to the age of 5 due to the lack of clean water and proper healthcare. We have built 18 boreholes and wells throughout this region. The number one cause of death to the babies is diarrhea due to the lack of clean water. We are now working on our 57th well in the continent of Africa, providing clean water from the Sahara Desert of Niger and Chad to the western shores of Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?
People can connect with me through social media or by simply visiting my website patriciabailey.org