Mileen Christiaens (far right) and Amina Suleiman (seated, centre) take questions from parents.

Last week CURE Zambia hosted the annual Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida Seminar. The International Federation for Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida (IFHSB) sponsors the annual seminar.

The federation itself was formed 31 years ago as a support group and information centre of sorts for the parents and sufferers of hydrocephalus, spina bifida and cerebral palsy. This international nongovernmental organization is supported by the European Commission, UNICEF and WHO and has a membership of 40 national and regional umbrella hydrocephalus and spina bifida organizations.

Before anyone in Zambia knew the IFHSB existed, however, Zambian parents of patients suffering from these ailments formed their own group at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka in 1998. The IFHSB got wind of this group and decided to support and sponsor it by providing medical supplies and funding.

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Some of the many blankets and other items that have been generously donated.

At the end of August, radio show host, Brant Hansen sent me an email with an idea for his upcoming trip to Afghanistan.  He thought it would be amazing if he could ask listeners to knit blankets for the babies who are delivered at our hospitals in Kabul.  We expanded it to blankets, hats and booties and – WOW! The listeners of WAY-FM and its affiliated stations have responded!

The packages have been arriving daily at our offices.  I think the mailman is the only one not rejoicing in the generosity of the Mornings with Brant listeners!  The blankets, hats and booties that have been made for Brant to deliver to the new moms in Afghanistan are beautiful.  And the notes that are included are just fantastic.  One listener shared that she will soon be a mom herself and how blessed she felt to make a blanket and hat for another new mom.  One church group wrote to say how encouraging this project was to one of its members who is 88 and never thought she would be able to participate in their Compassion in Action project.  She made 30 hats for the project!!

Best of all, the knitters (and a few crocheters too!) have been praying over these items as they were made.  That is such an incredible blessing for these new moms.  Imagine how they will feel knowing that so many people in America cared enough to take the time to make something special just for their baby.  I would venture to say that this could be quite an effective foreign relations campaign!

There is still a little bit of time to get involved with the Knit, Pray, Love project.  You can find the details here.

A new program, Dance 4 Kids Who Can’t, will give teens the chance to make a huge impact in the lives of children around the world. CURE college interns (positions still available) are already in motion working to connect with young people in Middle Schools and High Schools across the country in an effort to spark dance parties in their schools while raising funds to support CURE child surgeries.
 
The concept is simple; a school dance party, 200+ students in attendance, $10 donation at the door adds up to two children cured.  Add more students, corporate sponsorship or some more child sponsorships and the sky is the limit for how many kids they can cure.  We’ll deliver to each dance party specific child names, the country they live in and their disability explanation to provide a tangible takeaway for students at the dance.
 
We would love it if you would help connect us to teens that might want to get involved by hosting a dance at their school.

If you or someone you know is interested in Dance 4 Kids Who Can’t, shoot us an email at info@cureinternational.org.

Harrisburg’s WITF posted a story about the opening of the Niger hospital and interviewed the executive director, Leron Lehman.

Go here to read and listen.

CURE Zambia Executive Director, Peter Kyalo (left) & Dr. Siakanthu of Zambia's Ministry of Health cut the ribbon

Well, I told you that I would be providing all the details on the official opening of the brand new Institute of ENT and Audiology at CURE Zambia, and here they are! The event was definite success of at least 150 guests, local media and press in attendance.

Things started off with the singing of the Zambian national anthem and prayer. CURE Zambia’s board chairman, Mr. Larry Kalala, warmly welcomed everyone to the festivities. Then, Michele Angeletti, a representative of the Christian Blind Mission; Dr. Kieran O’Driscoll of ENT for Zambia; Jennifer Coyne of Gorta; German ambassador Frank Meyke and Irish ambassador Tony Cotter gave a series of speeches of encouragement and congratulations to the staff of CURE Zambia and the Irish engineers who helped set up the facilities.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Siakanthu, director of clinical care and diagnostic services for the Zambian Ministry of Health. In his speech Dr. Siakanthu pledged the support of the Ministry of Health in CURE Zambia’s efforts to provide care to the thousands of Zambians suffering from hearing impairments.

The attendees were also entertained by two songs from parents of patients of CURE Zambia. After the proceedings, Peter Kyalo, executive director of CURE Zambia, led all the guests into the ENT & Audiology building for the ribbon cutting. Once the ribbon was cut, guests were invited to tour the brand-new facilities.

The new ENT mobile clinic provided by Gorta

The staff of the Institute of ENT & Audiology is hoping to treat at least 1,500 patients a month with the new state of the art equipment and the ENT mobile clinic. Ambitious, but not impossible for the hard working staff of CURE Zambia!