RAPID CITY, SD – Volunteers with Bridges of Hope West Africa, a Rapid City-based non-profit, boarded an airplane Thursday to travel to West Africa for the fourth medical mission there since 2021.

Bridges of Hope West Africa was founded in 2005 as Hope International Christian Academy in Liberia but has grown to provide healthcare services and general care in the West African country.

The Rapid City medical group will be working Oct. 15 to Oct. 31, delivering healthcare services and medical supplies to the underserved communities. Of the 13-member team, 11 are from Rapid City including two nurse practitioners, a physician’s assistant, an MD, and a general surgeon.

“Last year, we served over a thousand patients,” said Jessica Hart, a nurse practitioner who serves as Secretary on the board and as the organization’s medical missions clinical coordinator. “The year before that was over 700. We’re anticipating between 1,200 and 1,500 this year.”

Hart said the group will likely tackle malaria and typhoid or other forms of dysentery and help educate the community about childcare, pre-natal issues, nutrition, and more.

“Number one, our primary goal is spread the gospel,” Hart said. “We’re spreading hope and giving hope… through medical expertise. Medical care is a huge need in Liberia.”

The 501(c)3 nonprofit was built on three pillars: education, healthcare, and faith. The organization’s first major initiative was the Hope International Christian Academy, a school in Liberia that now serves about 400 students. Alongside the school, the organization established a church and a village where teachers can live safely.

Around 2017–2018, a medical mission component began to take shape — and it has been growing ever since.

The organization owns the land adjacent to the school, and plans are underway to construct a physical clinic on that property. About 50% of the needed financing has been secured. The goal is to have the clinic built and operational within the next three years — and eventually staffed year-round by trained local Liberians, with oversight from the Bridges of Hope West Africa team.

“Our plan is to staff that clinic year-round, train local Liberians, give back to the country with employment, and provide quality products and education as well as medication,” Hart said. “We’re giving back to the community in every way we can.”

While the medical team is onsite this week, the school will be on break, allowing the team to transform the school building into a pop-up clinic. Hart said word spreads about the free healthcare clinic through word of mouth and local radio, and patients come — sometimes walking six hours to reach the clinic.

Hart said health education is woven into every clinic visit. Patients receive instruction on hand hygiene, the importance of clean drinking water, proper toilet hygiene, and nutrition.

“We’re trying to really empower and educate, not just hand out,” she said. “That’s super important.”

Hart is on her third trip to the Bridges of Hope West Africa compound in Liberia.

“When I came back from that trip, I thought, okay, I have to look at this totally differently,” she said. “We’re serving from our heart, and they’re blessing us almost as much as we’re blessing them — just in a completely different way. …And they’re so thankful for the little things you can do for them. It totally just changes everything.”