Partnership Is Our Medicine.
A volunteer-powered team based in Lindon, Utah, with an office in Accra, Ghana, serving hand in hand with local communities since 1992.
HART seeks to improve the quality of life through healthcare.
The Humanitarian Aid Relief Team (HART) is a 501(c)(3) not for profit charitable organization: a multifaceted group of volunteers and professionals committed to making a difference through surgery, primary care, and building medical clinics in Africa.
It Started With One Mission.
HART was founded in 1992 by a group of BYU students working with their professor, Dr. Thomas Appiah, who organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit for international healthcare delivery. The first three years were spent delivering healthcare supplies to Russia. Then, in 1995, an introduction to Bossman Hammond turned HART's focus to Ghana, where a little-known disease called Buruli ulcer was on the rise.
What began there has grown into more than three decades of collaborative missions across Ghana, Kenya, China, and India, with expansion underway into Uganda and Liberia.
Our model has never changed: we don't replace local healthcare systems, we strengthen them. Every mission is planned with indigenous leaders and partner NGOs, every clinic is built with the community, and every visit ends with local providers more equipped than we found them.
- Missions co-designed with local leaders and health officials
- Training for local physicians, nurses, and health workers
- Equipment and facilities that keep serving between missions
Our Values
Cultural Humility
We arrive as guests and partners, not saviors. Communities lead; we listen, learn, and lend our skills where they're asked for.
Sustainability
Success isn't what happens during a mission; it's what keeps working after we leave: trained providers, equipped clinics, healthier systems.
Dignity in Care
Every patient deserves safe, respectful, quality care. We serve adolescents and underserved populations who otherwise have no access.
Meet the Board
Leaders in healthcare, business, education, and global policy, each bringing unique expertise to guide our mission.
Dr. Kimball Crofts
A board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Crofts joined HART in 1997 after a nurse named Jodi Bean arrived in his office with a finger injured during humanitarian work and mentioned the team had no doctor for its December surgical mission. Two months later he was in Ghana treating Buruli ulcer, and he has led HART's surgical work ever since. "To be given the opportunity to impact the world in ways I never imagined is the highest calling of my profession."
Dr. Thomas Appiah
A global strategist and educator, Dr. Appiah founded HART in 1992 together with his students at BYU. He is Founder and CEO of Appiah Consulting International, Chairman of the African Chamber of Commerce of Utah, and an adjunct professor, as well as a lifelong advocate for empowering communities through education, service, and cross-cultural collaboration.
George Boakye
Born in Sankore in Ghana's Ahafo Region, Mr. Boakye has served as Regional Minister for the Ahafo Region and Member of Parliament for Asunafo South. Since 2003, he has led numerous free medical outreach programs across the Ahafo Region, bringing essential healthcare to thousands of residents.
Dani
With HART since 2010 and a registered nurse since 2021, Dani anchors surgical care and materials coordination on our medical team. In 2023 she toured nursing colleges in Ghana, deepening her commitment to empowering local healthcare providers. She brings 16+ years of experience across OBGYN, oncology, and surgical services.
Katie Crofts
Katie blends expertise in logistics, crisis intervention, and outreach development with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. She has supervised medical missions in Kenya and Ghana, leads HART's shipment and supply logistics, and champions genuine partnerships rooted in mutual respect and cultural humility.
Want to serve with us?
Medical professionals, students, and volunteers of every background make our missions possible.
Join the TeamThree Decades of Showing Up.
- 1992
Founded at BYU
College students and their professor, Dr. Thomas Appiah, establish HART as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit for international healthcare delivery.
- 1993
Supply Missions to Russia
HART's first three years are spent delivering healthcare supplies to Russia.
- 1995
The Turn Toward Ghana
An introduction to Bossman Hammond refocuses HART on Ghana, where a little-known disease called Buruli ulcer is on the rise.
- 1997
Dr. Crofts Joins the Mission
A nurse's injured finger brings plastic surgeon Kimball Crofts to HART. Two months later he is in Ghana treating Buruli ulcer on the December surgical mission.
- 2003
Deep Roots in the Ahafo Region
Under Country Representative George Boakye, free medical outreach programs begin reaching thousands of residents across the Ahafo Region.
- 2010s
Growing Beyond Ghana
Collaborative missions expand to Kenya and India. Specialized surgical programs grow: Buruli ulcer initiatives, burn contracture releases, cleft lip and palate repair, and correction of post-traumatic and congenital deformities.
- 2023
Brong Ahafo Medical Mission
Volunteers and local professionals deliver surgical care, geriatric outreach, and education side by side, and tour nursing colleges to invest in Ghana's next generation of providers.
- 2025
Ghana 2025 & a Regional Thank-You
A comprehensive mission to Goaso and Kukuom, with mobile clinics reaching Agyrekrom and Beposo. Donated equipment is distributed to health facilities across the Ahafo Region, formally recognized by the Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council.
- Next
Uganda & Liberia
Expansion is underway to bring the same partnership-driven model to new communities in Uganda and Liberia.
The Next Chapter Needs You.
Volunteer on a mission, support a shipment, or help train the providers of tomorrow.