Gift of Life International Missions

Gift of Life Missions An essential aspect of the Gift of Life network is the mission. Missions are conducted on a regular basis. The three types of missions are: diagnostic screening, surgical, and medical/training. All of these missions are funded by individual Gift of Life programs, which are aligned with Rotary Clubs and Districts around the world. Rotarians in developing countries will help to identify the facilities where the missions will be conducted. In some instances, Gift of Life provides the necessary equipment and supplies to the healthcare facility so that the mission may be conducted.

The Diagnostic Screening Mission:

Screening missions identify children with congenital heart defects in developing countries. Customarily, a diagnostic screening mission will consist of a pediatric cardiologist, an echo technician and a Rotarian affiliated with a Gift of Life program. They usually last between five and seven days and screen an estimated 100 children. The children that are brought in for screening have already been diagnosed with some form of heart defect. The children from these missions will ultimately become candidates for treatment.

The Surgical Mission:

Surgical missions require that a team of surgeons, cardiologists, nurses and other healthcare professionals travel to a country where children do not have access to the medical procedures necessary to save their lives. These missions allow Gift of Life to reach more and more children each year, and without the intervention of Gift of Life, these children would likely succumb to their medical conditions. The surgical mission's sole goal is to perform surgery on children.

The Medical/Training Mission:

Medical/Training missions have become more prevalent over the past couple of years. With Gift of Life's focus on establishing sustainable pediatric cardiac surgery programs in developing countries, these missions have become the center point of that effort. Medical/Training missions are similar in nature to the surgical mission. Where they differ is that they take place at hospitals in developing countries that have the potential to house a pediatric cardiac surgery program of their own. These facilities must have the capability to support such a program, including operating rooms, intensive care units, and physicians and nurses who can be trained. The Medical Teams that conduct these missions focus on two goals: saving the lives of children and training the healthcare professionals at the hospital. The training of these healthcare professionals can last for a period of 3 to 5 years, with the ultimate goal of establishing the institutions so that they may sustain their own programs.

2010 GIFT OF LIFE MEDICAL MISSIONS

Tegucigalpa, Honduras (Rotary District GOL: 7500, 7470, 7260, 6630, 7980): January
Port au Prince, Haiti (Rotary District GOL 7260): January
Kemerovo, Russia (Russian GOL/Rotary District GOL 7250): January
Amman, Jordan (Rotary District GOL 6560/Amman Rotary Clubs): February
Santiago, Dominican Republic (Rotary District GOL 7980): February
Kampala, Uganda (Our Hearts Are in Uganda Program – Dr. Craig Sable): February
San Salvador, El Salvador (Music For Heart Foundation/Gift of Life Intl): February
Assuit, Egypt ( Rotary District GOL 6630): February
Tegucigalpa, Honduras (Rotary District GOL 7260): March
San Salvador, El Salvador (Music For Heart Foundation/Gift of Life Intl): March
Nairobi, Kenya (Various GOL programs): March
Santiago, Dominican Republic (Rotary District GOL 7980): April
Kampala, Uganda ( Our Hearts Are In Uganda Program – Dr. Crupi/Dr. Gaffney): May
San Salvador, El Salvador (Our Hearts Are In El Salvador): June
Kingston, Jamaica (Rotary District GOL 6960): June
Kemerovo, Russia (Russian GOL/Rotary District 7250): June
Kampala, Uganda (Our Hearts Are In Uganda – Rotary District GOL 6560): September
Kamplala, Uganda (Our Hearts Are In Uganda – TBA): December

2008-9 Gift Of Life (GOL) Medical Missions

El Salvador (Music For Heart Foundation): January 2008
Rabat, Morocco (Rotary D7470 Gol): April 2008
Tomsk, Siberia (Russian Gol): April 2008
Toluca, Mexico (Rotary D7980 Gol): May – October 2008
El Salvador (Music For Heart Foundation/Gol): May 2008
Dominican Republic(Rotary D7980 Gol): July 2008
Manizales,Colombia (Pequeno Corazon): September 2008
Tegulcigalpa, Honduras (Rotary D7260 Gol): September 2008
Uganda (Gift Of Life International): October 2008
Haiti (Rotary D7260 Gol): October 2008
Kemerovo, Siberia (Russian Gol): July/August 2008
Panama (Rotary D4240 Gol): August 2008
Vietnam (Rotary D7490 Gol): January 2009
Tegulcigalpa, Honduras (Rotary D7260 Gol): January 2009
Dominican Republic (Rotary D7980 Gol): February 2009
Amman, Jordan (Rotary D6560 Gol): February 2009
Tegulcigalpa, Honduras (Rotary D7260 Gol): March 2009
Tomsk, Siberia (Russian Gol): April 2009
El Salvador (Music For Heart Foundation/Gol): May 2009
Dominican Republic (Rotary D5340 Gol): July/August 2009
Kemerova, Siberia (Russian Gol): August 2009
Colombia (Rotary D7250 Gol): September 2009
Kemerova, Siberia (Russian Gol): November 2009
Tegulcigalpa, Honduras (Rotary D7260 Gol): November 2009

Mission Work

GOL has participated in many missions recently. Here are several video clips that tell the stories of the lives we've helped save.

El Salvador "In September of 2009...."

Honduras "Diary of Honduran Trip"

Honduras "Long Islanders Saving Lives in Honduras"

In September of 2009, Gift of Life International affiliate Music For Heart Foundation co-sponsored a medical mission to San Salvador, El Salvador along with Sana Mi Corazon and Heart Care International. 48 El Salvadorian children received their life-saving surgeries during this mission. The following video is a news account of this mission (please note that it is in Spanish)

Click here to view Telemundo in El Salvador video on GOL

Diary of Honduras Trip 1/11/10

January 11th - We arrived at the airport and were met by Ron Roll the head of the program. He gave us some information on what to expect and what we will be doing. He is an incredible human being. After meeting Ron we drove to the Humuya Inn. It’s a quaint little Inn owned by an American. We settled in and then went to dinner at TACO TACO with the team. The owners of the restaurant had a welcoming for us as their son had undergone spinal surgery in the states through the program. The team is an incredible group of young medical professionals who donate their time and travel worldwide to do this work.

January 12th - Went to the hospital for the first time. Quite an experience. Definitely not like our American hospitals. There were broken chairs in the waiting rooms. The halls were full of people waiting for treatment. The ICU team rooms were the best facilities in the hospital. The operations were amazing to see. Kids who were blue came back pink and the next day many were walking and getting ready to leave. Amazing.
I learned however they also have their heartaches. There was a little girl Diana they were working on who had had surgery a few years back and was not doing well. Parents are the same all over the world and it was heartbreaking to see them. Her name is Diana and she is a fighter.

January 13th - I got up and walked to the hospital with the nurses and a gentleman named Frank who is known as the best ICU team coordinator in the world. When we got to the hospital everyone immediately went into action. There had been part of the team which stayed all night and they returned to the inn. Diana was still hanging in but her condition was very serious. I returned early to the inn after taking some pictures and downloading DVDs for the cardiologist.

January 15th - Spent all day at the hospital. Long day as they decided to try emergency surgery on Diana. There is a conflict on whether to treat her or not as either way survival chances are very low. It was hard to see Mom and Dad saying good bye as they took her to surgery.

January 16th - No hospital as on the weekend only a skeleton staff is in. We rested during the day and at 2:30 attended Rotary function for new members. It was held at a Rotarian’s house here that was like a castle.

January 17th - Went to the Valley of Angels, an old village with craftsman. Met several nice people. We then went to street fair in a small town called Santa Lucia. Really got to see the local people and their customs.

January 18th - Diana has made it through the weekend but looks terrible. It’s hard to believe looking at her she is still alive. Today I went into surgery with Dr Gilbert. Open heart surgery is amazing. He was operating on a 9 month old that only weighed 10 lbs. I watched Mike do the Heart lung machine and got to watch Erin the scrub nurse instruct Honduran nurses on how to work in the OR. The purpose of these missions is to teach the locals how to do the surgeries on their own.

January 19th - Spent the day at the hospital taking videos and photos. I am amazed at the patience of the parents and the staff. Everyone is so kind and trusting considering it is such a difficult situation. The stress on the parents and staff must be very high but you wouldn’t know it from watching them and the way everything is handled.

January 20th - Today was a quiet day. Just went to the hospital as I have every day and again got to observe the wonderful staff and the kids they work with. I am becoming very interested in all the teaching that goes on. Whenever a patient returns to ICU, there are anywhere from 10 to 15 people around the bed. Some are learning and some are teaching but all taking care of the child.

January 21st - Sometimes it is obvious how much help the hospital needs. It seems once something is pointed out they do their best to correct it but sometimes the equipment and information is not available. Tonight we went to a Rotary meeting. It was very interesting. They have their own building but do not enter from the front as it is not safe. Several of the members have had experience with kidnapping and house break ins. The program was a gentleman from the UN who spoke on the serious situation in Honduras and the difficult times ahead.

January 22nd - Last day at the hospital. Kind of sad saying goodbye to the kids and staff but I know I will return. I met the UN ambassador and his wife. They live in NY and she is very interested in the program and fund raising.

January 23rd - Packed up and returned home. I am glad to be going home but I also know this experience has given me more than I could have hoped for and I know I will be back.

Long Islanders Saving Lives in Honduras

Forest Dunbar reports on Suffolk County's Rotary District 7260 Gift of Life Program that used to take place in Stony Brook University Hospital. Instead of having the children fly to Long Island, the doctors now fly to the children to perform life-saving open heart surgery.

South Florida's Jamaican Children's Heart Fund (JCHF) gets a boost from Jamaica's Rotary Club