By Leila Hawken | Executive Assistant
This week in June has been highlighted by two distinctly fabulous visitors to our project where we are completing the equipping and furnishing of our new Pediatric Heart Center of Nicaragua. Construction was completed in late 2013. Now, in 2014, we have installed the new Philips Catheterization Lab valued at $1M and we are installing state-of-the-art sterilization equipment. Thanks to Global Giving donors for providing your hard-earned support to this work. Your dollars continue to make a difference.
Paying our project in Nicaragua a visit this week was Lydia Sorensen of Global Giving during her swing through Central America to visit selected projects. Our Nicaragua program director, Philippe Lerch, was pleased to give her the grand tour of the new facility and to explain how it all came to be. He had watched the new, modern hospital rise on the site of a former cow pasture adjacent to the public children's hospital, La Mascota. Now, he could proudly show Ms. Sorensen the reality of a Center where that country's poorest children (Nicaragua is the 2nd poorest country in the western hemisphere) can receive modern heart care from fully trained staff. On that site, Surgeons of Hope has fulfilled its promise of bringing surgery, training the local staff, and constructing a modern facility to carry on the progress. Mr. Lerch explained the cooperative spirit offered by the Health Ministry of Nicaragua, an essential ingredient in the success.
In an interview this week as she completed her visit to the Center, Ms. Sorensen said, "It is really wonderful what Surgeons of Hope has been able to accomplish through their cooperative understandings with the government to help the people who truly need it." In a note to our offices, Ms. Sorensen wrote, "The heart center is beautiful, and I know that having it there will save the lives of many Nicaraguan children who otherwise would not get treatment."
We could not have said it better. You, our Global Giving donors, can take pride in these positive comments that you have helped to bring about. There is more to be done though. There are so many ways in which your Global Giving donations can be put to work.
Also visiting Nicaragua for two weeks is a tremendously talented high school Senior from New Jersey, Joe Maggiore. Joe was there when Ms. Sorensen visited and he captured her on video as a subject of one of his first interviews. Volunteering to make a video for us about our project and our organization, Joe is writing a Wordpress blog each day and he is posting on our Facebook page, "Surgeons of Hope", if you would like to follow his travels. He is a marvelous writer and photo journalist. His camera's eye has captured some great photos, some of which are shared here. Thank you, Joe.
All of this success is not possible without the continuing support of our Global Giving friends. Please consider your usual one-time donation, or if you want to venture a "recurring" donation, know that we will appreciate it and help your donation dollars to go even further. We are thrifty people at Surgeons of Hope. We are also very grateful to you.
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