John and Hank Green's community helped deliver 3,000 babies. The work does not stop there

The Paul E. Farmer Maternal Center of Excellence opened to patients on February 14 at Koidu Government Hospital in Kono District. Partners In Health built the project with Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health and Build Health International. The Greens and their Nerdfighteria community have helped fund it through donations, matching funds and the brothers' Good Store businesses.

Sources: Partners In Health

John said the first nine months included more than 1,000 C-sections, while 671 babies had received care in the neonatal intensive care unit. The Indianapolis Star also covered his update on November 13.

Sources: vlogbrothersIndianapolis Star

Partners In Health describes a facility with 120 beds across four buildings, three operating theatres and 39 neonatal intensive care beds. That capacity matters when a complicated birth requires an operating room, oxygen or specialist newborn care in the same place.

Sources: Partners In Health

The work reaches beyond the new buildings. PIH's account of the project includes training, community health workers and the systems that help patients reach care. The centre sits within a public hospital and a local health system, with Sierra Leonean health workers doing the continuing clinical work.

Sources: Partners In HealthPartners In Health

John puts the community's combined contribution at nearly $39 million, including personal giving, fundraising projects and donations. He says Good Store has donated just over $12 million, primarily through the Awesome Socks and Undies Clubs. Monthly and one-time donors have contributed more than $9 million since 2019, with that money matched by larger donors.

Sources: vlogbrothers

The business model gives customers something ordinary to buy while directing the profit to a long-running project. John describes the clubs as a possible source of continuing support if Good Store remains a healthy business that delivers value to its customers.

Sources: vlogbrothers

Those amounts sit within a larger effort. John says nearly $60 million has been needed to build and operate the centre, with about a third coming from donors identified by PIH and financial contributions also coming from Sierra Leone's government.

Sources: vlogbrothers

Nurses, midwives and doctors need to be paid. Medication, surgical supplies, equipment and laundry all need reliable funding. A building campaign has a visible finishing point; a working hospital has a new set of costs every year.

Sources: Partners In Health

John says the current goal is to raise around $4 million each fiscal year while government funding grows over time. He also says the outpatient department is scheduled to open in February 2027, adding another stage to the project.

Sources: vlogbrothers

This is a better use of creator influence than another vanity launch with a charity logo attached. The community has helped fund a working part of a public health system, with local health workers delivering the care. But the ribbon-cutting is not the finish line. Keeping the lights on is less glamorous than opening the doors. It is also the entire point.

Sources: vlogbrothersPartners In Health