Welp, good afternoon and happy end of July! This is the coldest July I think I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. Yay for living in the southern hemisphere. And since there’s always too much I could probably tell you, I’ve decided to make a list of 31 lessons, whether learned or relearned, to represent July. Yep. So, here we go… Read the rest of this entry »
Next Tuesday, August 2, 2011, there will be a hearing titled “Hydrocephalus Treatment in Uganda: Leading the Way to Help Children,” held by the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, part of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. Three expert witnesses have been called to testify at this hearing. Benjamin Warf, M.D., of Children’s Hospital Boston and the founding medical director of CURE Uganda, and Steven Schiff, M.D., of Pennsylvania State University, have both been called. These two experts have done extensive research on the causes and treatment of hydrocephalus. CURE Uganda has been a focal point for much of this research.
The third witness is Jim Cohick, the Senior Vice President of Specialty Programs. Jim has been working tirelessly to expand the CURE Hydrocephalus program and bring healing to more children afflicted by this deadly condition.
This opportunity to testify before Congress represents a critical next step in the growth of global health programs to address infant hydrocephalus. Congress regularly provides aid for life-saving medical treatment in third-world countries; through this hearing, we hope to see Congress inspired to join in the cause of fighting hydrocephalus in their future developing world healthcare initiatives.
Please keep Benjamin, Steven, and Jim in prayer as they prepare for this hearing. Pray as well that the hearing will ultimately result in more children cured of hydrocephalus. Thank you!
Read more about the hearing here: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1344
Mission Network News interviewed Stuart Palmer, Executive Director of CURE Malawi, for a story on the recent unrest in that country. Around 20 lives have been lost in the protests, and that danger has hampered efforts to continue to treat children at the hospital. In the article, Stuart reports a 50% drop-off in patients coming in to CURE Malawi as a direct result of the unrest. He also issues this request:
Pray that there is some material change in the dialogue that’s happening between now and the 17th of August. Otherwise, there will be further demonstrations held and possible further loss of life.
You can read the story and listen to the full interview here: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/16017
Meet Binicia from Honduras. She suffered from knock knees, had trouble walking, and was ashamed to wear shorts, even in the hot Honduran summer. She received a life-changing surgery at CURE Honduras, and her healing really did change everything for Binicia and her family.
You can make the same life-changing healing happen for another child just like Binicia by getting involved in CUREkids. Your gift will cover the cost of surgery for a child who needs it. You’ll see the results of the surgery online, and you can share that experience with others.
If you don’t have money to give, you can still lend your voice by Following a child’s story online. We’ll send you the updates via email and Facebook and you can share the experience with your friends and family. Be a part of a life-changing journey today!
This week, we received news that CURE’s own Director of Technology Development, John Kleinschmidt (better known as JK) has been invited to present at WordCamp San Francisco, the official annual conference of the WordPress open source project. To our knowledge, CURE is the only non profit that’s been invited to present at WordCamp.
John’s talk is entitled “WordPress for the Greater Good (CURE).”
John will be sharing with the WordPress technical community how CURE transformed its web presence at cure.org through the use of the WordPress platform and the launch of our CUREkids system.
John will also be announcing and demonstrating a brand new piece of technology that we’ve been working on this summer: an open source WordPress plugin for the non-profit community called Personal Fundraiser. We believe this technology has the potential to transform the way CURE engages our constituents and fans — and that it can do the same for any other organization that uses the WordPress platform. Look for its official release at cure.org this fall.
You can read more here: http://2011.sf.wordcamp.org/2011/07/21/a-few-more-confirmed-speakers/
As CURE’s Multimedia Producer I have shot in some pretty interesting places. My passion is telling the stories of the kids CURE has healed. I enjoy every minute of working in the barrios and villages.
One of the toughest shoots I ever had was when I went to Haiti a week after the earthquake. I was there solely to tell the world the selflessness and compassion that our employees poured out to the folks in Haiti. That story was told in the short documentary we made about their work.
“Born for This Moment” was accepted to the Lights. Camera. Help. film festival in Austin, TX, which will be starting this week. The presence of “Born for This Moment” at the festival has been noticed by others as well, including slackerwood.com, a website devoted to the film community in Austin. You can read the slackerwood.com article here: http://www.slackerwood.com/node/2334
“Born for This Moment” will be playing at Lights. Camera. Help. later this week. If you can’t make it to Austin, you can see the film here: http://cure.org/haiti-movie/. Or, send us an email and we can mail you a DVD copy of the film.
Recently, a local newspaper in Al Ain, UAE, published a story on the “Oasis of Health.” The story quotes an interview with a long time patient of the hospital, an employee of 36 years, and our current President, Mr. David Printy. Take a look at the article here: Oasis of Health
If you haven’t looked up the definition of “wealth” lately, consider this my endorsement. But since I’m feeling wealthy and generous, I guess I’ll go ahead and lend you the definition I looked up:
wealth [noun]
(1) an abundance of valuable possessions or money. (2) the state of being rich; material prosperity. (3) plentiful supplies of a particular resource or of a particular desirable thing.
I know. Groundbreaking. I’m sure reading that definition just changed your life. And yes, I’m being completely sarcastic (Kenyans don’t use or really understand sarcasm, so please bear with me). Maybe you’re thinking, “Yeah yeah, I’ve heard this tactic before… using the definition of a common word as some attempt at a creative entrance into a topic.” You’re right… that’s absolutely what I’m doing. You got me. Now let’s move on… Read the rest of this entry »
Recently, I was at the CURE Oasis Hospital in the UAE with my husband, Scott, and another couple, Dixie and Kelly Morgan. The highlight of our trip for me was the invitation for Dixie and me to visit the home of an Emirati woman with Jessie Hulsey, who is on staff at the hospital. Jessie has become friends with the woman and her three daughters-in-law, who live with her. When we arrived at the home, we were greeted warmly by the women, who mainly speak Arabic (which, thankfully, Jessie is fluent in). We were served coffee and fruit and were made to feel very comfortable in her lovely home. Read the rest of this entry »
Editors Note: The following is information put together from updates provided by CURE Malawi Executive Director, Stuart Palmer. You can keep up with Stuart on Twitter at http://twitter.com/malawiman.
Yesterday was a day of demonstrations and mini-riots across the major cities of Malawi. The demonstrations were generally peaceful, but many thousands of people took to the streets to protest against what the government is doing. We closed CURE Malawi for the day. Marchers came past the front gate. I tasted tear gas in the air, but apart from that, all was well! Throughout the night, criminal elements used the protests as a cover for looting and mayhem in Blantyre. That element is not a part of the demonstrations, but it adds to chaos of this time.
Today, protests and some violence continued. All non-state owned radio stations have been taken off air. Only Facebook and Twitter are enabling us all to find out what is happening on the ground. CURE Malawi continues to operate, but in a limited capacity for the safety of our staff and patients.
We have set up a security committee to check each day where travel is safe throughout Blantyre. Then we can determine whether to send staff home early or stop them coming in if they must pass through a current “hot spot.”
Please continue pray that Malawi can peacefully resolve the brewing tensions within it and that CURE can continue to treat the children we serve.
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