The idea for CareNow came about following a trip that Ed and Wendy Bjurstrom made to Africa in 2004. That trip was a life-changing experience for both Ed and Wendy. They went to Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. They visited with doctors and nurses and went to clinics, AIDS treatment centers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. They spent time with caregivers, church pastors and people dying of AIDS in their mud huts. They came face-to-face with the harsh reality of the devastating affect of AIDS and other healthcare issues in Africa. When they returned home, Ed was compelled to take action, and the creation of the CareNow Foundation was a natural outcome.
Ed and Wendy were deeply moved by the reality that the majority of people in Africa simply do not have access to even the most basic healthcare, especially the poor and those in rural areas. This gave rise to the CareNow Mission statement and the focus for CareNow which is simply “to provide essential healthcare to the world's least served.”
The name “CareNow” was chosen because we wanted a name that would instantly convey the message that we are an “action-oriented organization.” CareNow’s primary focus is to find where the gaps are in healthcare for the least served populations and fill those gaps, quickly. Our strategy is simple. We don’t build buildings. We focus on identifying the real needs of existing community-based essential healthcare and address them. A life-saving clinic can be conducted in a mud hut or under a tree.
We believe every person deserves reasonable access to basic healthcare. As an organization we seek to build up and support what already may be in place and to provide for basic health services to begin where none exists. This is a beautiful model because we instantly have partners all over Africa, and we compete with no one.
CareNow is an action-oriented organization focused on providing solutions to healthcare issues in remote regions of the world in a timely manner. Our focus is to act NOW and not later.
