Global Health Charities: Saving Lives One Kit at a Time – Novi, MI.

Since 1990, Patricia Williams has been on a mission to create a lasting global impact in healthcare.

Having spent much of her life living in Asia, her passion for healthcare grew through her studies in healthcare management and her work with hospitals, governments, and health clinics in Africa and Pacific Asia. Following a career with the Sisters of Mercy and Trinity Health International, she dreamed of improving healthcare in underserved regions, and that dream became reality when she founded Global Health Services Network (GHSN) in 2006, and later, with the help of two Detroit Catholic Central Highschool moms, founded Global Health Charities (GHC) in 2013, who has been a recipient of the Basilian Human Development Grant since 2016.

While GHSN focuses on planning and operating hospitals, Global Health Charities quickly identified critical issue of maternal and infant mortality that needed immediate attention.

“Every day, approximately 13,000 infants and mothers die due to preventable causes, such as hemorrhaging and infections. Hemorrhaging is a particular challenge, as the necessary medication is temperature-sensitive and difficult to store in tropical climates, but infections are entirely preventable.”

Despite being easily preventable, poor environmental conditions and lack of resources during child labor are the leading cause of deadly infections.

“The problem is that many women are in a remote community and cannot get to the clinic in time. They use unclean material to cut the umbilical cord– broken glass, rusted metal, and often even hardened cow dung, which then cause infection.”

Lacking access to antibiotics, these mothers and their newborns often succumb to infection, often leaving other adolescent children behind without any available support.

GHC addressed this crisis head-on by dedicating its mission to creating and distributing clean birth kits. Each kit includes essential items such as plastic sheeting, gloves, soap, gauze, and clean razor blades, following the World Health Organization’s guidelines for safe childbirth. These kits are a lifeline for women who cannot reach clinics in time. They’re also used as incentives—women who attend prenatal checkups receive a kit, which in turn reduces the cost of their labor procedures at hospitals, when they can reach one.

Each kit includes essential items such as plastic sheeting, gloves, soap, gauze, and clean razor blades, following the World Health Organization’s guidelines for safe childbirth. These kits are a lifeline for women who cannot reach clinics in time. Photos generously provided by GHC Staff.

Since its inception, GHC has distributed over 25,000 kits across 25 countries, including Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Syria, Haiti, Brazil, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic. Through Patricia’s continuing work as a healthcare developer, GHC established relationships with local organizations to ensure the kits reached mothers in need.

“We don’t want them to be sold so we always work with trusted faces. This ensures the kits get into the hands of mothers who rely on them for their survival and are not sold.”

The success of GHC has been volunteer-driven, with donations funding the kits. Each kit, costing only $5 (supplies only) to $10 (includes shipping), is assembled with basic supplies purchased from local hardware stores. Large corporations like Ford and Chrysler have also supported the effort, hosting events where employees volunteer to build the kits. Photos generously provided by GHC Staff.

The partnership with the Basilians began at Detroit Catholic Central, where all of Patricia’s five children have graduated, with the youngest set to finish next year. They have all been actively involved in assembling birth kits through the school’s HOSA (Future Health Professionals) Club, Rocks Vitae Club, and Day of Service.

Fr. John Huber, CSB, recognizing their impactful work, nominated GHC as a candidate for the Basilian Human Development Grant on three occasions. Since then, 281 Detroit Catholic Central volunteers have assembled more than 1,250 kits.

“What first caught my attention was how many Catholic Central students and parents were involved in helping to assemble the live birth kits for pregnant women around the world, especially in places where they have no access to basic health care needs, a doctor or even a midwife. I thought it was a wonderful thing that young men were doing something for women’s needs in faraway lands. It helped them to discover how interconnected we all are and how we are responsible for one another, especially from the Gospel perspective of what Jesus has taught us. I am so proud of the good things this program has accomplished over the years and will continue to support it far into the future.” Fr. Huber reflected.

Patricia expresses deep gratitude for the role the Basilians have played in expanding GHC’s mission, and for the impact of the Basilian Education on her sons,

“The impact The Basilians had on the lives of my sons, giving them a foundation spiritually and educationally – and our family’s and our life have allowed us to reach out and do so further. They’ve allowed us to expand Global Health Charities’ mission and have a much more global impact. I’m so grateful for all they have done.”

The partnership with the Basilians began at Detroit Catholic Central, where all of Patricia’s five children have graduated, with the youngest set to finish next year. They have all been actively involved in assembling birth kits through the school’s HOSA (Future Health Professionals) Club, Rocks Vitae Club, and Day of Service. Photos generously provided by GHC Staff.

Patricia’s journey from a passionate healthcare advocate to a global force for good is a testament to what can be achieved through collaboration, compassion, and a commitment to making the world a better place.