We are launching a new T-shirt designed by Mahlet?s friend, Netsanet Tesfay, an artist based in California. We are thankful to her for designing this simply beautiful piece showing Mahlet in traditional Ethiopian dress relaxing among beautiful flowers. The key message is to ?Get Checked!? as early check ups can prevent breast cancer. Let?s make Mahlet proud and keep her legacy by encouraging the women in our lives to get screened for breast cancer!

About this Campaign:

Mahlet, a Public Health professional, was living in San Francisco when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2017 at the age of 42.  She turned her pain into purpose, using her journey to educate and encourage others as well as to raise awareness and funds to help organizations dedicated to help those impacted by Breast Cancer in both Ethiopia and America. 

?Team413ForMahlet? is a group of volunteers (family and friends) who came together to help realize the legacy project that was started by our sister and friend Mahlet Girma to fund breast cancer prevention initiatives in her birth country of Ethiopia. Mahlet was in communication with the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia to secure funding and grants to purchase mammogram machines to be installed in various public hospitals in different regions across Ethiopia when she unfortunately passed away from Breast Cancer in September 2021. 

We, her family and friends, quickly came together with a full commitment and eagerness to make her dream come true and are giving our time and money on a voluntary basis. We call ourselves "Team413ForMahlet" as her favorite bible verse was Philippians 4:13 ?I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me? and she always referred to her supporters as ?Team413?. 

As we are not a formal non-profit organization, when Mahlet passed away and many people wanted to honor her legacy by contributing financially, we teamed up with one of the organizations Mahlet was closely supporting, Alem Fre PinkHouse Cancer Foundation Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit, to set up a mammogram account to store the funds raised for the purchase of a mammogram machine. Many family, friends as well as companies, contributed a generous amount to the mammogram account. 

Another wonderful organization, Alpha Breast Cancer Support Services, with whom Mahlet had also worked with to raise awareness, had also raised some funds for the same purpose of purchasing a mammogram machine to serve our sisters without access to mammography in Ethiopia.

In late 2024, Team413ForMahlet and Alpha Breast Cancer Support Services signed a contract with a supplier to purchase a GE Healthcare Senographe Pristina mammogram machine (and related breast imaging equipment) for St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The machine is scheduled for delivery in mid 2025 and it will be of service free of charge to the low-income residents of the country who seek services at St. Paul Hospital. 

Meanwhile, as April 11, 2025, marks the 50th birthday of our dear sister Mahlet, in her honor, we are teaming up with Pioneer Diagonistic Center in Addis Ababa to provide access to mammography at a discounted rate to the women who currently do not have access to mammography at St. Paul hospital. We are also arranging with the wonderful and dedicated medical staff at St. Paul Hospital to have training for the mammogram techs in preparation for the delivery of the new machine.

To donate or help our efforts, please send donations vial Zelle or directly to Bank of America at the account number listed below. 

Zelle Account for the Mammogram Machine project : [email protected]

or Bank of America Account number: 3340 6207 7102 ?Mamogram account Mahlet?