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Family Care Foundation Newsletter: Volume 4 -- No. 3 -- October 2000 International Relief Effort to Chile By Steven Colón and Agueda Martin, Project Managers of Hearts in Hands, Santiago, Chile Our project, Hearts in Hands, began just over two years ago when we determined to do something to help the children in the community of Huechuraba, one of the poorest sections of Chile’s capital, Santiago. Our work began with organizing a team of volunteers united in the desire to improve the lives of these impoverished children. Our simple goal was to try to bring them some happiness despite their dire living conditions. Through these small beginnings, doors began to open, both here in Chile and in the United States, which has led to our being able to begin pouring a steady lifeline of supplies into this community.
What began with us delivering bags of used clothing to this poor community of 70,000, soon grew to a mountain of aid that far surpassed our original goal. Thanks to the work of the Finlayson family, a direct link was established with In His Love Inc. in Florida, a group whose goal is to help funnel aid from Florida to needy areas of the world. Through the generosity of In His Love Inc. we received two 40-foot containers bearing much-needed clothing, beds, furniture, baby supplies, school equipment, toys, bicycles, wheelchairs, and other orthopedic equipment that we personally distributed to those in need. The work we first undertook in Huechuraba has now grown to include three other communities of Santiago. These four impoverished communities have a combined population of nearly 800,000. We have been able to establish food donations from local companies that we regularly distribute to about fifteen facilities. These include an institution that cares for children at high risk of repeat child abuse, a center for teen pregnancy and drug prevention, an orphanage housing 70 children, a sports club for poverty-stricken youth, as well as a community of 5,000 people who live in makeshift housing. Although the challenge seems daunting at times, we feel compelled to continue to seek out new means of supply and manpower to meet the need on an even larger scale. We are working with the mayors and directors of these four communities, along with a network of social workers, to determine the priorities. We have found so many individuals, businesses, and corporations who want to get involved. They only lacked a unified structure to be able to put all these pieces of the puzzle into place. Among the many needs that we identified in these four communities is the lack of even the simplest of medical attention. Take El Bosque (pop. 290,000), for example, with its one small medical facility and six doctors, whose maximum output would only allow them to be able to examine each child in the community an average of 1.7 times each year. For adults, the ratio is considerably lower: 0.6. This entire community of over a quarter million lacks even one ambulance. Doctors frequently use their own personal vehicles to pick up patients and drive them to a medical facility. If an ambulance is necessary, a hospital in another part of the capital is contacted in hopes of negotiating a ride. As you can see, the need is great. Just after the worst floods that Santiago experienced in 30 years, we received our second container of needed medical supplies from In His Love Inc. This container included wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and other orthopedic supplies donated by Wheelchairs International in Colorado. Forward Air donated their services to help transport all the pallets from Colorado to the Port of Miami. Then Crowley American Transport shipped it free of charge all the way to Santiago, Chile. Not long after we distributed these items locally, our parent organization in the States, Family Care Foundation, put us in contact with a nonprofit organization whose mission is to collect surplus medical supplies and equipment in the US, and distribute these to developing countries in an effort to raise the standards of medical services offered to indigent people throughout the world. This agency generously helped us fill a 40-foot container with 13 tons of medical equipment and supplies worth over $170,000 dollars, which we have just unloaded and delivered here in Chile to a host of waiting medical facilities. Furthermore, a shipping company kindly donated all the shipping from Texas to Santiago. Among this invaluable equipment was: An ultrasound machine, sophisticated hospital beds including some specifically designed for giving birth, surgical supplies including gloves and surgical masks (which are almost nonexistent here), a dentist chair and sufficient supplies to open a dental care center, wheelchairs and orthopedic devices, as well as a host of other equipment and supplies. This donation will not only help replace antiquated equipment and provide essential medical supplies that are otherwise nonexistent, but it will also facilitate these communities being able to hire more doctors and professional help, increasing medical care for thousands, as well as creating job opportunities.
This has indeed been an international effort. Besides those already mentioned, we want to acknowledge many others who had apart in this first international effort, including the Chilean shipping company, the storage company who donated storage space, as well as all the institutions and companies who have helped to make this venture possible. Our gratitude also goes out to dedicated individuals like Roberto and Lorena, Felipe and Carmen, Christian and Sherry (FCF Project Hope in Miami), as well as Ivan, Millie, Claire, and the many other young volunteers who donated their time and hard work.
Medical Briefs from FCF Projects Worldwide Miles for Smiles, Arusha, Tanzania Our Miles for Smiles team makes regular visits to a leper colony located about 50 kilometers from our home. The Upendo center, which means “cared for with love” in Swahili, is without running water and electricity. Yet, in spite of their suffering and lack of necessities, those cared for there thank God for the life they still have. Our Miles for Smiles team shipped containers of clothes, shoes, children’s toys, and medical supplies from Italy.
Youth Mission Network, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea This month one of our major areas of focus was the unloading and distribution of a container of $30,000 worth of medical supplies donated by various pharmaceutical companies in Europe, $5,000 worth of school supplies donated by office supply companies in Spain, 1000 pairs of shoes, seven computers, and one vehicle. Action in Focus, Nairobi, Kenya We held a medical camp recently that treated 600 people. The event received coverage on national news and in the newspapers. We are preparing another camp in the next few months.
Save the Youth Association, Antananarivo, Madagascar Morning and evening we operate a free dispensary from our house. A lot of medicines have been donated from France. Our co-worker, Bruno, assesses the needs of the people and attends to them. Eternal Vision, Naples, Florida Michael Medich, project manager of Eternal Vision, had a vision to supply free eye examinations and dispensing of eyeglasses to indigent people in developing countries. Since February of 1998 he has made trips to Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Philippines, and Vietnam for this purpose. “Altogether I have dispensed 3000 pairs of glasses on these trips, and spoken to all about my belief in God’s love for all mankind.”
Family Volunteer Services, Kathmandu, Nepal Some time ago FVS became aware of the plight of the Nepal Orthopedic Hospital (NOH) in Jorpati. This small, newly-constructed hospital needed orthopedic equipment and supplies, and we felt called to help. We are grateful to the Po-Cheng Orthopedic Institute in Taiwan for their continued support in donating orthopedic instruments and implants for the hospital. Tampa Family Mission, Tampa, Florida Since our last humanitarian trip to Cuba, we’ve contacted several clinics and individuals who have donated basic medical supplies, medicines, and equipment for use by our adopted maternity hospital in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The hospital needed a laproscopic system and the owner of a company that sells these $35,000-machines sold one to the hospital for a price of $2,500. Side by Side International, Tokyo, Japan After sending several shipments of needed goods to hospitals and orphanages in Cambodia and Uganda, we are now preparing another shipment for Cambodia containing an ambulance, 40 computers, medical supplies, and educational books. Family Services, Bangalore, India We organized a medical camp for over 200 orphans and physically handicapped children in Bangalore. Fifteen doctors from various faculties, general physicians, dentists, E.N.T. specialists, and opticians donated their services. The children had check-ups done and then proceeded to a sumptuous lunch provided by various restaurants. Later, entertainment was provided by our young people. In the following weeks all the children who require medical attention will be treated by these same doctors.
Previously, we had been approached by the National Association for the Blind (NAB) to help them in a fundraising venture for the nine million blind people in India, of which two million are children. NAB invited the world-acclaimed Blues guitarist, Jeremy Spencer, to hold benefit concerts toward this end, and we were able to approach over 20 companies to acquire sponsorship. The concerts were a wonderful success, news of which hit newspapers and magazines throughout India, and more importantly, the funds raised will be making a world of difference to a great number of the needy of India.
(Note: Shortly before his India Tour, Jeremy Spencer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with the other founding and present members of Fleetwood Mac.) We have been ministering to children and mothers at the Bucharest Colentina Hospital for AIDS. The facility has been in desperate need of sufficient medicine for their AIDS patients. We approached the Glaxo company and were elated when we heard that they had agreed to donate Epivir-Retrovir, an amount valued at $9,000. The doctors and hospital staff were nearly in tears when we delivered this medicine, which is sufficient for a whole month of therapy for all the children. |
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