Provide Urgent Heart Care to a Venezuelan Child.

Over the past four months, Fundación Estrellita de Belén has continued its commitment to providing essential medical and cardiac care to children living with congenital heart disease (CHD) in Venezuela. Through our ongoing support, patient children and their families have been able to access medical services that would otherwise be difficult, and in many cases impossible, to obtain consistently. Our efforts have focused on ensuring that children with complex and lifelong heart conditions are not forgotten and can continue receiving the care they need to monitor their health, manage their conditions, and improve their quality of life.

During this reporting period, our patients received important medical appointments, including general medical evaluations and specialized pediatric cardiology consultations. These visits are critical for children with congenital heart disease because their conditions require continuous monitoring and individualized medical management. Access to cardiology specialists remains a significant challenge for many families in Venezuela, particularly those living in communities with limited healthcare resources. By helping families access these appointments, we are providing more than a single medical visit—we are helping establish continuity of care for children whose health depends on regular follow-up.

Many of the children also received critical diagnostic testing, including electrocardiograms (EKGs) and echocardiograms (ECHOs). These tests provide physicians with essential information about heart rhythm, cardiac structure, heart function, and changes in a child's condition over time. For children with congenital heart disease, timely diagnostic testing can be vital in identifying complications, adjusting medications, determining the need for additional intervention, and preventing a manageable condition from becoming a medical emergency. Our support helps ensure that these children can continue to be monitored by medical professionals and receive treatment based on their current medical needs.

The importance of this ongoing care has become even more evident as Venezuela continues its recovery efforts following the earthquakes that occurred in early July. Communities and families are facing additional challenges as resources, healthcare services, and household finances are stretched even further. For families already struggling to obtain specialized cardiac care for their children, these circumstances create additional barriers to transportation, medical appointments, diagnostic testing, medications, and other essential services. Our continued involvement provides families with a critical source of support during a particularly difficult period, helping children maintain access to the care they need despite these circumstances.

We remain deeply grateful to our donors, supporters, medical partners, and volunteers who make this work possible. Every contribution helps us continue providing appointments, diagnostic testing, cardiac evaluations, medications, and other essential assistance to children and families affected by congenital heart disease. The need remains significant, and continued donations are essential to sustaining this program and ensuring that children do not lose access to care simply because their families cannot afford it or because healthcare resources are unavailable. We ask our community to continue standing with these children and their families as they navigate both the challenges of congenital heart disease and the broader difficulties facing Venezuela.

This reporting period also comes with a profound loss for our organization. We recently mourned the passing of our President and Founder, Belén Blanton, whose life and work were deeply dedicated to children with congenital heart disease. More than anyone, Belén understood the importance of quality, timely, and compassionate cardiac care for these children. Her personal experience and unwavering commitment inspired the mission of Fundación Estrellita de Belén and shaped the work we continue today. As we move forward, we honor her legacy by remaining committed to the children she cared so deeply about and by continuing the work she believed could change—and save—lives.