annual report on activities 2018 fiscal yearthis past year, we saw an increase in all areas of...

ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES

2018 FISCAL YEAR

Fiscal Year 2018 was a year of service which I am pleased to present not only in terms of reports, but in the form of lives impacted. Something I appreciate about Blessings is that, before the facts and figures, we foremost consider the people we serve and work with. They are more than names and faces to us; they’re individuals we hope to stand alongside in eternity.

The reports, stories, and pictures within this report represent what Blessings was called to thirty-seven years ago and how that mission has continued every day since. We are witnesses that the Lord takes what we give and brings our service to life.

With His blessing and guidance, we had an impacting year. As you’ll see in this report, during Fiscal Year 2018 (September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018), Blessings shipped 316,990 pounds of medicine, vitamins, and medical supplies to 101 nations. Moreover, the human treatment value of our orders was more than it’s ever been: over 116 million! That’s estimated to be over eight million lives affected.

We saw service come to life in a variety of ways this year, from our first Mobile Kids Health Day to seeing our medication repackaging service (MRS) in its first year of operation, and many other examples which are mentioned in the following pages.

We praise the Lord for how He continues to use our efforts, and we look forward to how He works through Blessings International in 2019.

Yours in His service together,

Barry Ewy, PharmD, JD, MHA Chief Executive Officer

“He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.”

Acts 17:25b NLT

Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2018 3

Team members from Church of the Resurrection serving in Malawi.

In Fiscal Year 2018, the human treatment value (HTV) of the medicines we shipped was 116,319,508! That is over 116 million courses of medicine and vitamins Blessings International shipped to medical teams, clinics, and hospitals around the world. Medicine and vitamins from Blessings went to 101 nations, six more than last year. The chart on the opposite page details exactly how many dosages went to each nation.

HTV is our measurement for the number of lives affected by a product ordered through Blessings International. It is measured by totaling the number of medicines shipped that fall into one of two categories: curative treatments and treatment days.

• Curative treatments are defined as one full dosage of a treatment, regardless of how many individual pills/tablets/injections are required. For example, one course of antibiotics to treat an infection may require multiple tablets given to a patient over multiple days, but for HTV accounting purposes, it will only be counted as one treatment. Curative treatments include items such as antibiotics and anti-malarials.

• Treatment days are defined by the number of days a medicine is used. Total treatment days are the number of pharmaceutical dosages that are used to treat acute or chronic issues (including items such as analgesics, vitamins, antihypertensives, etc.) For example, if Blessings ships a bottle of 500 vitamins and someone takes one multi-vitamin per day, that bottle will equal 500 treatment days.

Out of FY 2018’s total human treatment value, 4,936,293 were curative treatments and 111,383,215 were treatment days. With the medicines Blessings International shipped in FY 2018, an estimated 8,649,067 people were treated!

H U M A N T R E AT M E N T VA L U E F O R M E D I C I N E S S H I P P E D

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Millions

87,162,683

2014

6,207,593

80,955,090

100,570,678

2015

4,941,078

96,629,600

102,122,981

2016

97,915,831

4,207,150

116,319,508

20182017

111,383,215100,030,615

4,573,772 4,936,293

Curative treatments

Treatment daysHUMAN TREATMENT VALUE 2014-2018

104,604,387

4.9MILLION CURATIVE

TREATMENTS

111.4MILLION

TREATMENTDAYS

8.6MILLION PEOPLETREATED

4 Blessings International Annual Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2018

H U M A N T R E AT M E N T VA L U E F O R O R D E R S S H I P P E D B Y C O U N T RYHTV %

CARIBBEAN & CENTRAL AMERICA

Antigua and Barbuda 4,046 <.1%

Bahamas 19,483 <.1%

Belize 1,624,802 1.40%

Costa Rica 652,907 0.56%

Cuba 181,573 0.16%

Dominica 92,1090 <.1%

Dominican Republic 6,606,473 5.68%

El Salvador 2,917,905 2.51%

Guatemala 15,878,799 13.65%

Haiti 26,752,419 23.00%

Honduras 18,357,687 15.78%

Jamaica 1,844,216 1.59%

Nicaragua 4,538,569 3.90%

Panama 2,207,618 1.90%

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines 159,466 0.14%

Trinidad and Tobago 11,520 <.1%

Subtotal 81,849,573 70.37%

EAST ASIA & PACIFIC

Cambodia 314,157 0.27%

China 201,565 0.17%

Fiji 10,846 <.1%

Indonesia 58,796 <.1%

Micronesia 15,135 <.1%

Mongolia 35,561 <.1%

Myanmar 300,157 0.26%

Papua, New Guinea 124,921 0.11%

Palau 948 <.1%

Philippines 2,189,207 1.88%

Thailand 56,374 <.1%

Vanuatu 9,409 <.1%

Vietnam 683,823 0.59%

Subtotal 4,000,899 3.44%

EUROPE

Bulgaria 9,616 <.1%

Greece 74,318 <.1%

Hungary 2,404 <.1%

Kosovo 55,836 <.1%

Romania 488,255 0.42%

Subtotal 630,429 0.54%

HTV %

SOUTH AMERICA

Argentina 37,391 <.1%

Bolivia 471,218 0.41%

Brazil 489,827 0.42%

Chile 46,706 <.1%

Colombia 276,360 0.24%

Ecuador 2,968,266 2.55%

Guyana 298,495 0.26%

Paraguay 148,145 0.13%

Peru 2,398,760 2.06%

Suriname 106,498 <.1%

Venezuela 572,170 0.49%

Subtotal 7,813,836 6.72%

U.S.A.

Guam 90,851 <.1%

Puerto Rico 473,585 0.41%

U.S.A. 1,243,101 1.07%

U.S Virgin Islands 7,370 <.1%

Subtotal: 1,814,907 1.56%

RUSSIA AND INDEPENDENT STATES

Kyrgyzstan 135,241 0.12%

Moldova 49,627 <.1%

Ukraine 423,540 0.36%

Subtotal 608,408 0.52%

SOUTH ASIA

Afghanistan 6,000 <.1%

Bangladesh 69,475 <.1%

India 1,479,058 1.27%

Nepal 424,831 0.37%

Sri Lanka 26,000 <.1%

Subtotal 2,005,364 1.72%

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

Jordan 446,817 0.38%

Iraq 16,710 0.29%

Israel 96,640 <.1%

Lebanon 385,851 0.33%

Morocco 64,572 <.1%

Palestinian Territories 4,579 <.1%

Saudi Arabia 432 <.1%

Syrian Arab Republic 34,040 <.1%

Subtotal: 1,049,641 0.90%

HTV %

NORTH AMERICA (NOT U.S.)

Mexico 2,180,538 1.87%

Subtotal 2,180,538 1.91%

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Angola 148,368 0.13%

Benin 454,593 0.39%

Burkina Faso 167,141 0.14%

Burundi 13,286 <.1%

Cameroon 58,498 <.1%

Central African Republic 111,021 <.1%

Chad 127,833 0.11%

Congo, Democratic Republic 238,146 0.39%

Congo, Republic of 6,723 <.1%

Ethiopia 433,177 0.37%

Equatorial Guinea 39,614 <.1%

Gabon 11,626 <.1%

Gambia 407,298 0.35%

Ghana 1,320,795 1.14%

Ivory Coast (Cote d'lvoire) 908,558 0.78%

Guinea 12,558 <.1%

Kenya 1,379,071 1.19%

Lesotho 70,934 0.55%

Liberia 641,271 0.29%

Malawi 339,798 <.1%

Mauritania 101,105 <.1%

Niger 475,294 0.41%

Nigeria 3,006,010 2.58%

Senegal 207,881 0.18%

Sierra Leone 264,778 0.18%

South Africa 274,821 0.23%

South Sudan 181,483 0.24%

Sudan 85,984 <.1%

Swaziland 31,872 <.1%

Tanzania 628,983 0.54%

Togo 612,561 0.53%

Uganda 648,521 0.56%

Zambia 903,020 0.78%

Zimbabwe 37,606 <.1%

Subtotal 14,365,913 12,35%

HTV %

GRAND TOTAL 116,319,508 100%


Atlantic Humanitarian Relief reaching lives in Jordan.

F I N A N C I A L R E P O RT

BLESSINGS INTERNATIONAL FISCAL YEAR 2018 FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

We are grateful that Blessings International’s revenue exceeded its expenses in 2018. By covering our expenses through our operations, Blessings continues to be able to utilize 100% of every donated dollar to support benevolence projects (detailed on pages 8 through 10).

Transparent integrity is one of our core values. From our finances to our communications, we are open and honest in our operations, transactions, and dealings. Blessings International undergoes a financial audit each year by an independent public accounting firm. This independent auditor also prepares our IRS Form 990, which the graphs below are based upon.

The Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability accredits its members and holds them to high standards of accountability with respect to governance, financial management, and stewardship/fundraising practices. Blessings International is proud to have achieved these standards and has been a member of ECFA since March of 1990.

SUPPORT & REVENUE

Program Service Revenue

$4,982,381 96.2%

Donor Contributions

$148,978 2.9%

Investment & Other Revenue

$49,776 <1%

Total $5,181,135

EXPENSES

Medicine & Gifts

$3,328,732 66.1%

Program Service Expenses

$1,277,963 25.4%

Management & General

$356,066 7.1%

Fundraising Expenses

$71,330 1.4%

Total $5,034,091


P R O D U C T I O N R E P O RT

Tablets being sorted on MRS equipment.

The production department at Blessings International is responsible for rebottling, repackaging, and relabeling items that we purchase directly from manufacturers and other pharmaceutical entities both in the United States and abroad. Blessings is licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration as a repackager and is authorized to import medicine and medical supplies for exportation. The production department works hard to carefully relabel, rebottle, and repackage each item swiftly so that we are able to get the products out to the medical teams as quickly as possible. These items, which we are able to purchase in bulk, are often the most affordable for teams to purchase. By processing more items through the production department, teams are able to purchase greater quantities of the lower-cost, high-quality medicine, and therefore are able to help more people receive the medicine they urgently need.

This past year, we saw an increase in all areas of production. We also added an Autobag® bagger for increased productivity and service.

Fiscal Year 2018 was the first year of our medication repackaging system (MRS), which allows medication to be repackaged in individual, fixed quantities with a labeling choice of twenty-two languages. We were able to provide over two million tablets prepared into 60,000 units of these individual packages, and in the next year, we expect an increase of MRS units supplied as our products’ beyond-use dates expand.

UNITS PROCESSED BY PRODUCTION

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

90,000

80,000

100,000

110,000

120,000

2015 2016 2017 2018

Robottling Relabeling

239,910 Total units124,582 Total units156,824 Total units150,482 Total units

Repackaging MRS

47,292

77,600

25,530 28,338

102,044

26,442

31,062 33,962

118,091

29,118

57,517

78,094

15,426


Emergency Disaster Relief$36,966

Blessings International is committed to supplying medical teams with the medicine and supplies needed to respond to the acute recovery phase following natural disasters in developing nations. Teams responding to disaster situations quickly need items to treat emergent maladies, as well as routine medicines to replace destroyed prescriptions.

In Fiscal Year 2018, many teams responded to the need for help in countries such as Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti in the aftermath of destructive Hurricanes Maria and Irma in September/October 2017. There was also the devastation that occurred in Guatemala as a result of the eruption of Volcán de Fuego in June 2018 which required the attention of relief volunteers.

Blessings International staff member Laura Berry was one of the volunteers who went to help in Guatemala. She states, "When we arrived in Guatemala shortly after the eruption of Volcán de Fuego, our medical team was set to care for individuals displaced by the volcano. I am thankful for Blessings International and the quick response to deploy the medicines needed in-country for that particular disaster. Medicines that we easily take for granted in the United States were unavailable for first responders. We were able to bring the critical medicines and distribute them to different teams that were serving in communities close to the volcano.”

Collaborative Relief Efforts

$64,720Blessings International collaborated with several organizations during FY 2018. In the aftermath of the eruption of Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala, we were pleased to once again partner with Health Talents International, who stepped in to offer aid. Executive Director, Rick Harper tells us, “Health Talents International, with the aid of Blessings International, will fill more than 200,000 prescriptions in 2018. To say you are a valued ministry partner is an understatement. Following the eruption of Fuego, you not only honored a request to fill an emergency order, you generously gifted a sizable portion of the order. Within five business days, our order was filled and five days later, it was in Guatemala.”

Likewise, the team affiliated with Messengers of Mercy responded to the crisis in Haiti following Hurricane Irma, at which time Dr. Choi, president of Messengers of Mercy, said, “The ministry we do around the world is greatly expanded and fulfilled through the medicines and medical supplies we receive from Blessings International each year, and we are eternally grateful to God for our partnership.”

As a result of partnering with organizations so willing to serve, Blessings Inter-national helps thousands of people receive a caring hand while restoring health.

B E N E V O L E N C E P R O J E C T S

"I am thankful for Blessings International and the quick response to deploy the medicines

needed."


A team distributing medicines and supplies to the people affected by Volcán de Fuego.

Dr. Choi and a Messengers of Mercy team in Haiti with suitcases of medicines. Messengers of Mercy helps many Korean American churches with their mission outreaches.

Haiti Orphanage Medical Support (HOMS) $63,837

The HOMS project provides consistent medical care and supplies to orphans in seventeen different Haitian orphanages. The program’s primary purpose is to provide basic medical care and to monitor the orphanage to ensure it is providing a sufficient level of care for each child.

From April through August 2018, the HOMS project hosted multiple Mobile Kids Health Day events at orphanages to test for tuberculosis and malnourishment. Because of the work done through the Mobile Kids Health Day, Blessings International was able to help provide significant care to 640 orphans and minister to their spiritual needs

Deborah Lammert, APRN-CNS, director of the HOMS project, states, "The longer we implement the HOMS project, helping care for vulnerable children in Haiti, the greater the impact we have seen. Through HOMS, the Mobile Kids Health Day provided additional screening and critical nutritional support. We are having a positive impact on the health of these children, as the simple but crucial interventions are performed. It's great to see kids tell us how much better they feel, how they've grown, and see how they are developing physically, socially, spiritually, and relationally."

Malaria$33,761

Globally, malaria is one of the top five causes of fatality for children under five. In 2017, there were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria that occurred worldwide, with 435,000 deaths. Unfortunately, 61% of these deaths (266,000) were children under the age of five. There are currently almost 3.2 billion people at risk of contracting malaria, which is nearly half of the world’s population.

Blessings is committed to fighting malaria, and in FY 2018, we gave away anti-malarial medicine to teams serving in fifty-one different countries. As a result of these gifts, approximately 17,400 people received treatment for malaria. One very special case was a little boy in Togo, Africa. When his mother brought him to a Medical Missions International clinic, he was unresponsive, running a high fever, and dehydrated. She held his hand as if to say goodbye. That is, until Madeleine Allard, RN, BN, CWS, director of Medical Mission International, came into the clinic with antimalarial medicine she had received from Blessings International. Goodbye was no longer necessary after he received the treatment which led to his full recovery.

“Thank you for donating Artemether tablets to our ministry for Togo, Africa,” Allard says. “It is indeed a gift of life. We serve people living in the bush, and malaria is quite rampant in this area. People are extremely poor and it is not uncommon for them to ‘pay’ for such medicine with a few yams. Thank you for loving our patients and for this gift!”

A mother prepares to say goodbye to her son. After receiving malarial treatment, the boy made a full recovery.

"Thank you for loving our patients and for

this gift!”


Since the inception of the HOMS project, nearly 1,000 Haitian children have directly benefited from evaluation, care, treatment, medicine, and vitamins.

Clinic Expansion and Support $162,515

Blessings International believes in the power of medicine to save and improve lives. An adequate facility and properly trained staff are critical components to saving and improving those lives, and are part of our vision to “build healthy communities.” For these reasons, Blessings International is proud to collaborate with medical organizations worldwide to provide exactly these things. For example, this fiscal year, Blessings partnered with Heal Our World to provide ultrasound equipment for a clinic in India.

Blessings International also links arms with local Oklahoman ministries that we feel complement our vision or are likewise working to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ. Whether monetarily or otherwise, Blessings International proudly supports these ministries to further their work for the Lord.

USA Clinic Support $46,565

While “International” is a part of our name, we recognize there are a lot of people hurting and in need here in the United States. This year, Blessings contributed toward Hurricane Harvey relief with our USA fund, and we came alongside new clinics.

Blessings works with charitable clinics located throughout the USA that provide care and treatment to those who are underserved or cannot afford healthcare. Through donations, Blessings is able to provide free or heavily subsidized medicines to these clinics.

The young lady pictured was one patron of Care Net Pregnancy Center, a clinic Blessings International partners with. Sandy Christiansen, MD, FACOG, medical director of Care Net, says, "This young woman, like many of our clients, is pregnant and without health insurance and very much in need of support. She was grateful to be able to come to our center where she received an ultrasound to confirm her pregnancy and prenatal vitamins, all free of charge. Thank you, Blessings International, for helping us serve our clients well!"

A Care Net patient receiving pre-natal vitamins.

Staff outside of the Anugrah Mission Clinic in India.

Thank you, Blessings International, for helping us serve our

clients well!


Donald Tredway, MD, PhDChairPhysician

Karen Carmichael-Lorenz, Esq.Corporate Secretary Trust Attorney

Barry Ewy, PharmD, JD, MHACEO, Blessings International

Clay Powell, MDPhysician

Doreen Babo, MBA, DPHMedical Administrator

Geof Jackson (Not Pictured) Pastor

Kyle Panter, PharmDPharmacist

Paul Stanton, MDVice- Chair Gastroenterologist

Mike Smith, EATreasurer Tax Accountant


Christ Centered – We desire to share the love and compassion of Jesus Christ with all those we serve, whether serving our customers, co-workers, vendors or donors.

Customer Focused – We desire for our customers to have an excellent experience working with our ministry through each and every encounter.

Quality Driven – We aim to provide high quality products to the right customer at the right time, every time.

Transparent Integrity – From our finances to our communication, we will be open and honest in our operations, transactions and dealings.

Donor Appreciation – We are grateful to those who support our ministry through gifts and prayer and will use all gifts in a responsible manner to benefit persons around the world in need.

Celebrate Success – We will celebrate the successes and milestones of our ministry, each other and our lives.

All of Blessings’ employees and board members strive to keep our core values at the forefront of our ministry, but we know we alone could not have made this ministry into what it has become without the Lord’s blessing and the significant involvement and support of many individuals. We would like to thank everyone who has ordered, donated, and prayed for our work of bringing healing to the hurting. To each of you we say, “Thank You!”

B L E S S I N G S I N T E R N AT I O N A L B OA R D O F T R U S T E E S

B L E S S I N G S I N T E R N AT I O N A L C O R E VA L U E S

BLESSINGS INTERNATIONAL1650 N. Indianwood Ave. Broken Arrow, OK 74012, 918-250-8101

[email protected]

Code #11864

THE VISION OF BLESSINGS INTERNATIONAL IS TO HEAL THE

HURTING GLOBALLY AND LOCALLY BY PROVIDING LIFE-SAVING

PHARMACEUTICALS, VITAMINS, AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO

MEDICAL MISSION TEAMS, CLINICS, AND HOSPITALS;

TO BUILD HEALTHY COMMUNITIES BY TREATING THE POOR

AND VICTIMS OF ENDEMIC MEDICAL PROBLEMS, OUTBREAKS

OF DISEASE, OR OVERWHELMING DISASTERS; AND TO

TRANSFORM LIVES BY ACTIVELY DEMONSTRATING THE LOVE

AND COMPASSION OF JESUS CHRIST.

If you would like to order medicine for a medical trip or make a donation to our ministry, please go to: www.blessing.org

annual report on activities 2018 fiscal yearthis past year, we saw an increase in all areas of...

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