Saving Lives through Neurosurgery in Sucre, Bolivia
Up to $2,000 cash and $2,000 DDF to support Global Grant #2118993
From the International Committee led by Jeff Tideman, with members including Jean Pierre (JP) DeHeeger, Larry Kanar, Ned Schechter and Dave Masters we have the following update that was approved in the November board meeting.
The committee liked that the request came from Marga Hewko, PE of the Chicago Club and that it will be implemented by Solidarity Bridge, a partner organization based in Evanston, with a 20+ year track record of sending medical missions and supplies to the area.
Reallocate $2,000 cash and $2,000 DDF from the Sauci project to early childhood development and literacy in South Africa Global Grant #2092536. Libertyville is the International Sponsor of this grant. It adds needed upgrades and supplies to facilities that are currently delivering services to kids under a previous global grant. There IS director says there is an individual donor who would donate $2,000 to our charitable foundation if it could be matched with DDF and Rotary Foundation funds. So we also ask that, if that donation is made to us, we commit that $2,000 + $2,000 DDF to the global grant.
The committee recognized it is a tight budget year due to diminished fundraising. The money we committed to ACE II, came from a refund of the Bedouin Grant not going through. The Sauci Water Project funds are recommended to be recommitted to South Africa. Thus, the IS committee is only recommending commitment of $2,000 cash from our charitable foundation.
Because of The Rotary Foundation making many Covid commitments, there is not likely to be any more global grants after 12/31/20. Thus, International Service is only giving $4,000 total for global grants for this Rotary year, which is about half of what our club usually does.
In 2019-20, our club committed $1,000 to Global Grant #1981369, a grant to help peasants in Ecuador for an organic produce coop. This grant is sponsored by the Winnetka/Northfield Club. The GG application is pending. It may not go through this Rotary year.
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To find out more about this important mission keep reading. Our club is partnering with “Rotary One” club in Chicago to work with Solidarity Bridge an Evanston based organization. Here is more about them from their website www.solidaritybridge.org.
Nearly one-third of the global disease burden stems from surgically treatable conditions. And while many global health initiatives focus on primary and preventative care, five billion people around the world still lack access to basic surgical services. Rooted in the tradition of Catholic social justice and a spirituality of solidarity, Solidarity Bridge seeks to respond to this concrete reality.
We work in partnership with the medical communities of Bolivia to increase access to safe, essential, and timely surgical care. With our partners, we operate four year-round surgical programs. Through short-term medical mission trips, we connect US medical practitioners to their peers in Bolivia. Together, we are building a healthier future.
Solidarity Bridge builds a healthier future with the people of Bolivia and Paraguay through domestic and international partnerships. In a spirit of mutuality, we train and equip medical communities, empowering them to provide high-complexity surgery and other health care for patients who lack access to treatment.
Through our partners, we operate four year-round surgical programs in general surgery, gynecologic surgery, heart surgery, and neurosurgery. Medical mission trips support these programs, bringing US doctors and nurses to Bolivia and Paraguay to work with local physicians, surgeons, nurses, and other medical personnel. Additionally, on our annual Multi-Specialty Mission Trip, US missioners work alongside their Bolivian colleagues to provide care to hundreds of patients in need.
Nearly one-third of the global disease burden stems from surgically treatable conditions. And while many global health initiatives focus on primary and preventative care, five billion people around the world still lack access to basic surgical services. Rooted in the tradition of Catholic social justice and a spirituality of solidarity, Solidarity Bridge seeks to respond to this concrete reality.
We work in partnership with the medical communities of Bolivia to increase access to safe, essential, and timely surgical care. With our partners, we operate four year-round surgical programs. Through short-term medical mission trips, we connect US medical practitioners to their peers in Bolivia. Together, we are building a healthier future.
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